Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) has completed its second field mapping and sampling program at the Linka Tungsten Project in Nevada, collecting 98 samples from the Linka Main, Conquest, and Hillside historic mine sites.
Sampling work included trench resampling, rock stockpile investigations, outcrop sampling, and geological mapping across six historical trenches.
A highlight from the program is the identification of visual mineralisation with scheelite, confirmed under UV light, from two historical stockpiles from an area adjacent to Conquest.
These samples contain mineralised material together with waste rock, which Viking says is potentially well suited to ore sorting.
Additional samples from the Linka Main stockpile from a previous sampling program have been received by TOMRA in Germany, and testwork is underway to assess the viability of ore sorting.
Viking says that if it is to advance the project to development, the stockpiles from Conquest represent a potential source of additional feed. With the material located at surface, no drilling, blasting, or mining is required.
Managing Director Julian Woodcock says that the sampling program has delivered strong results.
“First, the confirmation of mineralisation in the historical trenches at Linka which we have sampled. Second, and more strategically significant, the identification of visual mineralisation within two previously unrecognised historical rock stockpiles adjacent to the Conquest mine.”
“If assays confirm grade, this is material already sitting at surface that could provide a near-term, lower-cost feed source as the project advances toward development.
“As mineralised rock is mixed with waste, ore sorting [is] the natural next step. We have moved quickly to engage TOMRA in Germany to test that pathway with samples delivered and testwork about to commence.”
The field campaign was focused on five key workstreams including the collection of 98 samples for testing, historic trench mapping and resampling, stockpile investigation, outcrop sampling, and geological mapping.
The trench mineralisation has been visually verified and confirmed under UV light, and the stockpile mineralisation has also been identified from the two historical stockpiles at Conquest.
Mapping work has also confirmed the presence of alluvial cover and unmineralised tuff west of the Linka Mineralised Trend, which supports a scout drilling approach for the maiden drill program.
Viking is focused on rapidly advancing the Linka Project, with a maiden 63-hole drill campaign scheduled to commence in late June 2026.
The company is awaiting assay results from the field campaign from the Linka Main stockpile, as well as the TOMRA ore sorting testwork.
Viking is likewise awaiting metallurgical updates on the gravity concentration testwork and flotation cleaning testwork, as well as the outcomes from the conceptual processing study which will provide capital expenditure and operational expenditure estimates and development timelines.
The results from the second field campaign are also expected in July 2026.
Viking Mines is advancing a portfolio of tungsten projects in Nevada, with a focus on the Linka Project potentially being a source of tungsten supply for the US market.
Viking Mines will be attending the RIU Gold Coast Investment Showcase, held between 11-12 June, at the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa.
Mining.com.au is an official media partner of this year’s conference.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Viking Mines
