The Republic of Srpska government has granted formal approval for the 100% owned Petrovo tenement, a 10km² licence that covers the historically known Sockovac area. This decision provides Yugo Metals with unimpeded access to advance what the company describes as a high-potential polymetallic system. The permit unlocks an asset with both historical drilling that returned strong base metal grades and recent surface sampling that highlighted significant precious metal values, setting the stage for systematic follow-up work.
The project hosts a shallow, relatively flat-lying mineralised body that appears amenable to near-surface extraction methods. Recent surface rock-chip sampling identified values up to 5.7 g/t gold and 1,330 g/t silver, complementing historical drill intercepts from the 1969–1970 campaign. Those legacy holes reported high-grade nickel, zinc, lead and antimony, but only a small portion of core was assayed for a full suite of elements at the time, meaning important metals like cobalt and some precious metals were not analysed.
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What the approval enables
With the tenement now formally granted, Yugo Metals can plan and execute a staged exploration program across the Petrovo licence. Full access allows the company to complete modern drilling, detailed geophysics and comprehensive geochemical testing. The permit opens the door to converting historical results into a properly documented, industry-standard resource estimate and to evaluate the potential for cost-effective open pit extraction given the shallow geometry of the mineralisation. Importantly, the northern Tethyan corridor location offers logistical advantages for European supply chains.
Historical data and grade highlights
Legacy drilling from 1969–1970 returned several high-grade intercepts that confirm the polymetallic nature of the system. Noteworthy results include drillhole B-16 which reported 5.1m @ 6.6% Ni from 57.9m and contained a higher-grade sub-interval of 1.5m @ 15.0% Ni from 60.0m, with additional nickel mineralisation continuing to the end of hole. Drillhole B-6 intersected 9.35m @ 8.2% Zn+Pb & 0.4% Sb from 41.8m to end of hole. These intercepts demonstrate multi-element continuity, and the fact that only ~21% of the total core length was assayed at that time points to substantial upside in re-evaluation and re-sampling.
Surface precious metal indications
Recent surface work has identified gold and silver occurrences that were not systematically tested in the historical program. The rock-chip peaks of 5.7 g/t Au and 1,330 g/t Ag suggest discrete high-grade zones may exist near the historical drilling footprint or at shallow depths elsewhere across the licence. These findings broaden the project’s commodity exposure and support a multi-disciplinary follow-up that integrates soils, trenching and targeted drilling.
Planned exploration pathway
Management has outlined a phased approach to progress the asset. Phase one focuses on resource validation — twin and confirmatory drilling of priority holes such as B-16, B-10 and B-9 to verify historical grades to JORC 2012 reporting standards, combined with multi-element assays including cobalt, gold and silver. Simultaneously, metallurgical testwork will assess processing routes and recoveries. Phase two targets resource expansion through extensional drilling and ground geophysics to refine and grow targets, while phase three moves toward compilation of a formal resource and preliminary economic assessment for potential open pit development scenarios.
Strategic relevance for Europe
The Petrovo project sits within a metallogenic belt that has delivered several important European deposits, positioning it as potentially strategic for local supply of critical minerals. The combination of battery-related metals such as nickel (and untested cobalt), base metals like zinc and lead, and precious metal credits could support diversified revenue streams and more resilient project economics. Proximity to existing infrastructure and European processing networks strengthens the asset’s development appeal amid heightened focus on regional supply chains for green technologies.
Yugo Metals’ Executive Director and Interim CEO, Petar Tomašević, described the approval as a defining moment that allows the company to advance what it regards as one of Europe’s higher-grade undeveloped polymetallic prospects. The company calls the outcome a potential “company making” milestone and has signalled further updates as exploration and drilling plans are rolled out. Investors and stakeholders can expect systematic confirmation work, multi-element assays and staged growth-focused exploration across the 10km² Petrovo tenement.
