Viking Mines has identified several wide zones of visually confirmed scheelite in ongoing RC drilling at its Linka tungsten project in Nevada, including 22 metres across a 24-metre horizon. The encouraging visual results remain unassayed, leaving laboratory results as the next critical test of grade and continuity.
- 22m of visible scheelite across a 24m horizon in LKRC0005
- 12.2m continuous visual interval in LKRC0017
- 86% visible-mineralisation hit rate at Linka Main
- Samples delivered to ALS Reno with assays expected through September and October
- Drilling paused temporarily before planned mid-October restart
Wide Scheelite Intervals Extend Linka Main
Viking Mines Limited (ASX:VKA) has extended the apparent footprint of tungsten mineralisation at its Linka Project in Nevada, with drilling returning 22 metres of visually identified scheelite across a 24-metre downhole horizon in hole LKRC0005. The company also reported 10 metres across 12 metres in LKRC0006, a continuous 12.2-metre interval in LKRC0017 and 9.9 metres in LKRC0016.
Those observations come from RC drill chips examined under shortwave ultraviolet light, where scheelite fluoresces. Viking says the mineralisation is disseminated and coarse-grained, hosted in tactite or skarn, and appears consistent with the style encountered in LKRC0002, which returned the first reported assay of 14 metres at 0.56% WO3, with an estimated true width of 9 metres.
Visual Results Still Await Laboratory Confirmation
The headline intervals are promising but provisional. Viking has expressly cautioned that visual estimates of scheelite abundance are not substitutes for laboratory assays, do not establish grade, and provide no information about impurities or other physical characteristics that could affect valuation. True widths also remain unknown because the geometry between the drillholes and mineralised structures has not yet been established.
At Linka Main, nine of the 11 newly detailed holes contained visible scheelite. Including previously reported drilling, the company calculates that 12 of 14 holes at the target have encountered visible mineralisation, an 86% success rate. Two holes were exceptions: LKRC0010 intersected a three-metre historic mining void, while LKRC0008 did not encounter significant skarn.
Exploration Model Extends Beyond the Main Target
Drilling outside Linka Main has so far produced geological encouragement rather than visible tungsten. At the southwest extension, two holes penetrated younger cover, limestone and then monzonite, the contact environment where Viking says mineralisation occurs. No scheelite has yet been observed there, but the company plans further drilling. One of two regional holes also reached the limestone-monzonite sequence, while the other failed to penetrate the younger tuff.
The exploration campaign has completed 20 RC holes: 14 at Linka Main, four at the southwest extension, including one abandoned hole, and two in the regional programme. Samples from the programme have been delivered to ALS in Reno, with assay results expected throughout September and October. Tungsten pricing was cited at US$2,950 per metric tonne unit of WO3 on 16 September, although the filing does not quantify the project's economics at that price.
Drilling Pauses Before Mid-October Return
The drill contractor has temporarily left site for rig maintenance and a crew break. Viking expects the rig to return in mid-October and resume on a double-shift basis, with the remaining programme estimated to require two to three weeks at current productivity. In parallel, the company plans to continue metallurgical work on ore sorting and flotation and assess toll-treatment options for approved 900-tonne bulk samples.
The immediate investment question is therefore less about the fluorescence itself than what the assays say about grade, thickness and continuity. Until those results arrive, Linka has a stronger geological narrative, not yet a defined resource or a confirmed economic deposit.
Bottom Line?
The visual drilling continues to build geological momentum, but the next assays must convert fluorescence into reliable grade and true-width evidence.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the wide visual zones carry tungsten grades comparable with LKRC0002's 0.56% WO3 assay?
- How will true widths and mineralised continuity look once the drilling geometry is better understood?
- Can the southwest and regional targets produce confirmed scheelite mineralisation when drilling resumes in October?