Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) has received approval from the US Bureau of Land Management to collect up to 907 tonnes of mineralised material from surface stockpiles at its Linka Tungsten Project in Nevada, US.
The approval covers a 1,000-short-ton (around 907 tonnes) bulk sample, which Viking says it plans to send to a US toll-treatment facility to produce tungsten concentrate for assessment by potential offtake partners.
Sampling of the stockpiles earlier this year returned an average grade of 0.4% tungsten trioxide (WO₃) across 41 samples, with individual results reaching 1.1% WO₃.
Applying the average grade across the maximum bulk sample, Viking estimates the material could contain approximately 363 metric tonne units (mtu) of WO₃, with 1mtu representing 10kg of WO₃.
The estimate reflects contained material before processing and does not account for metallurgical recovery or losses during toll treatment.
Previous test work using a 10kg Linka Pit sample produced a 56.9% WO₃ concentrate at 76% recovery through combined gravity and cleaner flotation circuits, as reported by Mining.com.au in June.
CEO Julian Woodcock says the larger sample will allow Viking to move beyond bench-scale testing.
“A bulk sample of this scale allows us to move beyond bench-scale test work and produce meaningful quantities of concentrate for assessment by potential offtake partners in the United States,” Woodcock says.
“We are now engaging with prospective toll treatment facilities in the US and look forward to updating shareholders as this workstream and our broader metallurgical programs advance.”
Viking says it is assessing US facilities capable of processing the bulk sample and will plan the collection, handling, and transport once a suitable toll-treatment route has been identified.
The resulting concentrate is intended for evaluation by US ammonium paratungstate refineries as Viking explores potential offtake pathways.
Alongside the bulk-sampling work, the company says it is continuing metallurgical test work and advancing a drilling program targeting near-surface mineralisation around the historic Linka mine.
Linka contains historic mines, a former mill site, surface stockpiles, and a tailings dam from previous tungsten operations.
Viking Mines is a Perth-based exploration and development company looking to advance six tungsten projects in Nevada, US, alongside the Canegrass Battery Minerals Project in Western Australia.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Viking Mines
