Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) doubles Linka strike to 1.6km through historical data integration

Viking Mines has materially expanded the surface footprint of its Linka Tungsten Project in Nevada after integrating newly acquired historical datasets, revealing a 1.6km mineralised corridor and pointing to broader regional scale around a buried intrusive system.

Highlights

• High grade surface mineralisation confirmed 800m southwest of the Linka (Main) Pit, including a historical grab sample returning 0.6% WO3.

• Mineralised corridor strike length doubled to ~1.6km following integration of historical surface sampling and geological mapping.

• Multiple high grade surface grab and channel samples at the Linka (Main) Pit, including 1.0% WO3 over 8.5m and individual grabs up to 1.5% WO3.

• The 1.6km corridor represents ~29% of an interpreted ~5.5km intrusive contact horizon.

• Viking continues digitisation of 68 historical drillholes and assay records, with further results pending validation.

The update follows Viking’s January acquisition of an extensive historical technical dataset for Linka, which is now being digitised into a modern 3D geological environment.

The company says replicating this body of work from scratch, including mapping, trenching and nearly 3,000m of drilling, would likely have required up to 12 months of field seasons and more than $1M in expenditure.

The critical technical outcome is confirmation that tungsten mineralisation extends well beyond historical mining limits, with tactite hosted mineralisation identified from a shallow shaft and surface pits approximately 800m southwest of the Linka (Main) Pit, including a grab sample grading 0.6% WO3.

This location lies beneath younger Bates Mountain Tuff volcanic cover, meaning the mineralised system effectively re emerges after nearly 1km of concealment.

That single datapoint has doubled the interpreted strike length of outcropping mineralisation to approximately 1.6km and supports a broader conceptual exploration target around the full ~5.5km circumference of the regional intrusive contact.

Managing director and CEO Julian Woodcock said

“Confirming a high grade surface result nearly a kilometre from the main mine suggests the system has the potential to be of a much greater magnitude than previously understood. This doubles the immediate strike potential of the mineralised corridor to 1.6km, which may represent only ~29% of the ~5.5km interpreted contacts of the regional intrusive.”

At the Linka (Main) Pit itself, historical sampling has delivered individual grabs up to 1.5% WO3 and an 8.5m channel sample at 1.0% WO3.

Viking notes these grades are consistent with its own due diligence metallurgical sample from the pit, which returned 1.3% WO3, providing independent support for the tenor of historical results.

Geologically, the project hosts scheelite bearing skarn developed at contacts between intrusive rocks and Ordovician limestone, consistent with tactite style mineralisation, with surface mineralisation also present east and southwest of the pit, indicating the potential for shallow mineralisation requiring definition as a future shallow open pit target.

Operationally, Viking is advancing several parallel workstreams. Historical drillhole data from Linka (Main), Hillside and Conquest is expected before the end of February as digitisation nears completion.

Gravity and magnetic surveys commenced in early February, with initial metallurgical results from the 1.3% WO3 Linka sample expected in late February, alongside ongoing drill target refinement using the multi layered dataset and preparation of a Notice of Intent to federal agencies to secure approvals for the planned drilling campaign.

While early stage, the integration driven expansion of Linka’s surface footprint provides clarity around scale and strengthens the technical foundation ahead of drilling.

In a market increasingly attentive to critical minerals supply chains, Viking’s methodical approach to unlocking historical data and advancing subsurface targeting positions the company for a more informed exploration phase across its Nevada tungsten portfolio.

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