The end goal of operating a mine is to produce. However, before a company can reach that milestone, one must explore for the asset’s goods.
The exploration stage is the earliest stage for the mining industry.
An explorer’s role is to identify mineral deposits that could eventually support a mine through geological science, technical studies, and staged drilling programs, as reported by Mining.com.au.
In 2024, Australia saw a total mineral exploration expenditure of $3.95 billion, with $2.82 billion of that total from exploration across brownfields and $1.12 billion across greenfields.
While Western Australia – also referred to as Australia’s mining hub – took charge in 2024, with 64% of the country’s total exploration expenditure, Queensland fell to second place.
Accounting for 14% of total expenditure, Queensland spent $566 million on exploration expenditure in 2024.
Revolver Resources (ASX:RRR) is one Queensland-focused explorer looking to add to the state’s exploration spend in 2026 – the year of new beginnings.
Spanning from 17 February through until 3 March 2026, the Chinese New Year is transitioning from the Year of the Snake into the Year of the Fire Horse.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, Managing Director Pat Williams explains that while Revolver is focused on producing copper cathode from its Diane Mine, the company is looking to dive back into exploration at Project Osprey, located 220km north of Mt Isa in Queensland.
“I certainly hope that we can continue exploration, particularly on the Mt Isa project, Project Osprey,” Williams shares with this news service.
“It’s been systematically and thoroughly explored. That’s the asset that we founded the company on 10 years ago.
“It’s had a long carriage of state-of-the-art undercover exploration, and we have some significant target areas to progress with.
“This year would definitely be the hope for us to be back out there.”
As reported by Mining.com.au, the company is targeting new iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) and Mount Isa-style copper deposits at the project, which comprises six exploration permit minerals for an area of 765km2.
“We have got quite some experience and capability in North Queensland. North Queensland is minerally abundant and underexplored,” Williams adds.
“The ability we’ve got to see value where others can’t, that’s lucrative.
“We’re qualified by the fact that we’re here. We’re adjacent, we’re approximate, we know contractors, we know the way of business in the north. There’s a lot of opportunity.”
Hitting exploration stride in the US
Exploration is a significant stage for all miners worldwide.
The International Council on Mining and Metals reports there to be 15,188 mining and processing facilities globally, accounting for 12,876 mines.
From the total distribution of mining and processing activities in the Global Mining Dataset, 45% of these facilities are located in Australia, China, and the US.
Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) is an Australian explorer reaching into the US minerals grasp this year, following the acquisition of six critical minerals projects, strategically located in Nevada.
As reported by Mining.com.au late last year, Viking entered into a binding terms sheet with US-based BLK Group to acquire six tungsten projects, namely the Linka, Alpine, Long, Terrell, Ragged, and Victory projects.
Speaking to this news service, Managing Director Julian Woodcock describes the acquisition as an “opportunity to have a diversification of projects” that were tabled together by the vendor.
“We have been recognising the growth in the tungsten price. We also recognise as the opportunity in the United States at the moment in terms of projects are moving more rapidly and getting much more traction, the onshoring of critical mineral supply, and really the desire that that recent project bolts that was announced by the White House with regards to building a critical mineral stockpile,” Woodcock explains.
“Being aware of those factors, we were focused on looking at projects in the US in the right commodities, we weren’t necessarily solely focused on tungsten, but we were looking for projects that we saw good potential with the opportunity to move forward rapidly.”
Viking Mines intends to spread its exploration focus on these new assets, along with the company’s Western Australian portfolio.
“Linka is the primary project out of the suites that we’re looking at because it essentially has the most historical work, is the most advanced, and the best position to move forward rapidly,” Woodcock tells this news service.
“The conceptual pathway, if everything was to line up, would be to see a rapid pathway to some production.
“In order to cement that pathway, we’ve got to go through some of the technical steps.”
Mining.com.au reported the company to have identified widespread ‘high-grade’ tungsten mineralisation from face sampling at the Linka Project at the start of the month, returning 14.7% tungsten trioxide and 5.2% tungsten trioxide from face sampling at the Conquest pit.
Viking currently has samples undergoing metallurgical testwork at a lab to establish if samples can be put in a modular mobile system.
“We’ve got high grades sitting on the surface, and we’ve got a large data pack of historical data, which we’re currently working through and we’ll be releasing that data to market in the next couple of weeks,” Woodcock adds.
Information from this data pack is intended to guide drilling, followed by a resource estimate.
“We could see that coming together for a modest production scenario in a relatively short time, subject to purpose,” Woodcock says.
Chinese culture is celebrating the transition from Year of the Snake into the Year of the Horse, with Chinese New Year celebrations kicking off on 17 February 2026, lasting through until 3 March.
The Year of the Horse represents vibrant and fiery energy, symbolizing adventure, vitality, and momentum, according to Chinese New Year.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au & Viking Mines
