Viking gets nod for tungsten drilling blitz in Nevada

Viking Mines has received an official nod of approval from the United States Bureau of Land Management for a maiden drilling programme at its Linka tungsten project in Nevada. The federal green light landed ahead of schedule, locking in timeline certainty as the company moves towards its upcoming drill work.

With approval now secured, Linka is fully permitted for drilling, leaving contractor selection as the final piece of the puzzle ahead of a planned June quarter mobilisation.

The expansive 63-hole, 48-pad programme is set to deliver the first sub-surface exploration at Linka in more than 40 years, cutting across three priority target areas.

A major focus of the campaign will be an 800-metre southwest extension, where historical surface sampling delivered grades of up to 0.6 per cent tungsten trioxide. Viking plans to hammer 16 holes across four sections spaced 125m to 150m apart in a bid to track the source of the surface mineralisation and confirm the continuity of the underlying skarn system beneath shallow cover.

‘We remain on track for our planned June quarter mobilisation to commence site preparations.’

Viking Mines managing director and chief executive officer Julian Woodcock

Viking’s Linka Main target originally produced around 65,000 tonnes at 0.5 per cent tungsten trioxide before operations ceased back in 1956. The company now plans to punch 36 holes into the historic system, aimed at infilling and replicating impressive old-timer results and to fast-track a maiden resource.

Standout historical intercepts at the target included 9.8 metres at 0.5 per cent tungsten trioxide and 7.9 metres at 0.9 per cent tungsten trioxide. The drill bit will also test a historical channel sample that delivered a hefty 8.5 metres at one per cent tungsten trioxide.

Lastly, an 11-hole regional reconnaissance program will be conducted across a broad intrusive contact zone, drilling shallow vertical holes to validate magnetic and gravity anomalies.

Viking Mines says a recently expanded geophysical survey uncovered a far larger intrusive system at Linka than previously recognised, dramatically increasing the scale potential of the project.

Fresh magnetic data outlined a tungsten-bearing intrusive body stretching about two kilometres wide, surrounded by a massive contact zone extending for more than seven kilometres – exactly the kind of geological architecture explorers love to see in skarn-style tungsten systems.

That sprawling contact zone could prove critical because it marks the chemical battleground where hot, metal-rich fluids pushed out from the intrusion smashed into carbonate-rich limestone, creating the perfect conditions for tungsten mineralisation to accumulate.

Viking Mines managing director and chief executive officer Julian Woodcock said: “Receiving the BLM approval is yet another hurdle accomplished at Linka as we move towards the first known drilling at the Project for over 40 years.”

With one eye on near-term production to help feed booming US tungsten demand amid record-high prices, Viking is also sizing up historical above-ground stockpiles at Linka as a potential quick-start opportunity after recent sampling returned grades up to 0.8 per cent tungsten trioxide.

The next steps for Viking include finalising its drilling contractor selection, alongside civil works for drill site access. Pad preparation will be undertaken in parallel with contractor mobilisation, with the stage then set for the drill rigs to arrive late in the June quarter.

Viking says whilst Linka remains its immediate focus, it continues to monitor its other strategic critical mineral interests, including its promising Canegrass vanadium project in Western Australia.

With the drill rods about to spin at Linka in a world-class mining jurisdiction and tungsten prices hovering near record highs, punters will likely be keeping a close eye on the company’s unfolding Nevada story.

If the truth teller delivers the goods, Viking could emerge as a key piece of America’s critical minerals puzzle as the United States races to build a secure domestic supply chain ahead of looming December 2026 military sourcing mandates aimed at cutting Chinese tungsten out of defence supply networks.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au