Viking Mines has hit 14 metres at 0.56% WO3 in the first assay from maiden drilling at its Linka tungsten project in Nevada. The result confirms mineralisation below historic workings, although a duplicate sample returned a lower grade and no resource has yet been defined.
- 14m at 0.56% WO3 from 40m downhole, including 5m at 0.81%
- Estimated true width of approximately 9m beneath a historic stope
- Individual 1m samples graded up to 1.18% WO3
- 16 RC holes completed, with further assays expected in mid to late September
- Regional hole identified 4.5m of limestone above monzonite
First Linka Assay Confirms Mineralisation Below Historic Workings
Viking Mines Limited (ASX:VKA, OTCID:VKALF) has received the first laboratory result from its maiden reverse circulation drilling programme at the Linka Tungsten Project in Nevada, returning a substantial tungsten interval beneath an old mine stope. Hole LKRC0002 intersected 14 metres at 0.56% WO3 from 40 metres downhole, including 5 metres at 0.81% WO3.
The interval has an estimated true width of approximately 9 metres and begins about 38 metres vertically below surface. It sits directly down dip of workings mined from Linka’s historic 150-foot level in 1955-56, confirming that mineralisation extends below the mined void rather than ending at the old workings.
Individual 1-metre samples reached 1.18% WO3. The mineralisation occurs in tactite, or skarn, and matches the scheelite-bearing zone identified under shortwave ultraviolet light during drilling. Viking said the assayed 14-metre zone also closely matched its earlier 12-metre visual estimate, offering some support for the company’s logging approach as drilling continues.
Duplicate Sample Highlights Early Assay Uncertainty
The headline result comes with an important qualification. Because the sample from LKRC0002 was wet and the rig-mounted splitter was judged unsuitable for that material, Viking submitted the full split alongside duplicate samples. The duplicate identified the same mineralised interval but returned an average of 14 metres at 0.47% WO3, below the original 0.56% result.
The company said the reason for the variance has not been determined and that more data is needed to establish whether it is statistically relevant. The result is therefore encouraging exploration evidence, not a resource estimate or a production decision. Viking also notes that the reported interval is downhole, with true width estimated from its 3D geological model, and that no independent verification or twinned hole has yet been completed.
Sixteen Holes Completed as Regional Target Emerges
Viking had completed 16 RC holes by 9 September: 13 around the Linka Main pit and historic workings, two regional holes and one at the southwest extension. Assays from LKRC0003 and later holes are expected in mid to late September, while logging of further skarn and tactite zones continues around the main pit.
One regional hole, LKRC0013, also delivered a geological result that could widen the exploration target. Located 350 metres west of the Linka Main shaft, it passed through 4.5 metres of limestone above the monzonite intrusion. That matters because the project’s scheelite mineralisation is associated with skarn formed where limestone meets granitic intrusive rocks, although the hole has not yet produced a reported tungsten assay.
The southwest extension remains unresolved after LKRC0001 was abandoned at roughly 36 metres, well short of its planned 120-metre depth, because of difficult cover-sequence ground conditions. Viking plans to return to that target while continuing drilling, assay work and metallurgical testwork. The project is still being advanced under a term sheet to acquire 100% of the claims for a total of US$2.88 million over seven years, with a retained 2% net smelter royalty, so exploration success remains only one part of the path toward any future restart.
Bottom Line?
The first assay validates the Linka model, but the next batches must show whether this width and grade repeat beyond a single hole and withstand the sampling uncertainty.
Questions in the middle?
- Will assays from the remaining Linka Main holes confirm continuity around and below the historic workings?
- Does the lower-grade duplicate result indicate a material sampling bias in wet RC samples?
- Can regional drilling convert the preserved limestone above the monzonite into a broader discovery target?