Viking Mines Ltd
- ASX Code: VKA
- Market Cap: $22,613,789
Tungsten Left Behind: Viking Mines Confirms High-Grade Mineralisation in Historical Waste Dumps at Linka
Viking Mines Limited (ASX: VKA) has reported tungsten assays of up to 1.8% WO₃ from historical rock stockpiles at its Linka Tungsten Project in Nevada, with the highest result coming from material left at surface from earlier mining. According to the ASX announcement, the Phase 2 field mapping and sampling campaign collected 98 samples, including trench samples and first-pass stockpile sampling, and the results support the presence of near-surface tungsten mineralisation across both waste dumps and historical trenches.
For investors, the update matters because it adds a potential second pathway to value at Linka. Beyond the primary mineralised trend targeted by drilling, the company is now assessing whether previously discarded material could be upgraded using sensor-based ore sorting, a processing step designed to separate ore from waste before conventional treatment.
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What Did the Phase 2 Sampling Campaign Report?
According to the announcement, the May 2026 campaign included:
- 63 trench samples
- 30 samples across three historical rock stockpile areas
- 5 geological grab samples
The work had two clear objectives. First, it tested whether historical stockpiles still contained meaningful tungsten grades. Second, it resampled historical trenches and road cuttings to validate mineralisation ahead of Viking's maiden drilling programme.
The company reported positive outcomes on both fronts.
Stockpile Sampling Returned Grades up to 1.8% WO₃
The first-pass stockpile programme covered the historical mill area run-of-mine, or ROM, pad and two rock stockpiles near the Conquest mine. Ten samples were collected from each area.
| Stockpile area | Samples | Average WO₃ | Min WO₃ | Max WO₃ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical mill area ROM pad | 10 | 0.5% | 0.1% | 1.8% |
| Conquest mine rock stockpile 1 | 10 | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| Conquest mine rock stockpile 2 | 10 | 0.1% | 0.0% | 1.4% |
The ROM pad result is especially relevant because its 0.5% WO₃ average matches the average grade historically mined at Linka, based on the company's summary of past operations. The peak 1.8% WO₃ result sits well above that benchmark.
At Conquest, the company said shortwave ultraviolet light highlighted a strong scheelite response during field inspection. Scheelite is the main tungsten-bearing mineral at Linka and it can fluoresce under UV light, making it easier to identify at surface.
Viking's geological interpretation is that mineralised garnet tactite, a skarn-type rock hosting scheelite, was mixed with barren monzonite and limestone waste during historical mining. In simple terms, ore-bearing rock and waste rock were discarded together because operators in the 1950s did not have modern tools to separate them efficiently.
One point worth noting is that the company's narrative describes a distinction between the two Conquest stockpiles, with one appearing to be closer to stockpiled ore and the other a more mixed ore-and-waste pile. That distinction may become important when follow-up sampling is designed to estimate representative grade and tonnage.
"These results confirm what our field team observed under UV light in May — the historical operators left tungsten behind," said Julian Woodcock, Managing Director and CEO. "This first pass was designed to answer one question: is there tungsten in these dumps, and the answer is clearly yes. Systematic sampling will now establish representative grades, and the TOMRA ore sorting testwork nearing completion will tell us whether this material can be efficiently upgraded."
Trench Sampling Supports Continuity Along the Linka Mineralised Trend
The trench programme collected 63 samples from six historical trenches and road cuttings across the project area. According to the update in the announcement, the work was designed to validate historical trench results and test mineralisation ahead of maiden drilling.
Selected results included:
| Trench ID | Interval | WO₃ Grade |
|---|---|---|
| LKTR0006 | 1m | 1.3% WO₃ |
| LKTR0002 | 5m | 0.4% WO₃ |
| LKTR0002 | 3m | 0.4% WO₃ |
| LKTR0005 | 3m | 0.5% WO₃ |
The company noted that these are sampled widths and may not represent true mineralised widths. Even so, the results are useful because they confirm multiple at-surface tungsten zones across an approximately 820 metre trend from Linka Main to Conquest.
That has practical exploration value. Surface confirmation can help guide drill targeting, particularly in brownfields settings where old workings, trenching and company records can be combined to improve geological confidence before deeper testing.
Why Is Ore Sorting Central to the Linka Stockpile Story?
The most commercially relevant part of this announcement may not be the assays alone. It is the company's view that the stockpiles could be suitable for sensor-based ore sorting.
For readers less familiar with mining processing, ore sorting is a pre-concentration step. Broken rock is passed through a machine that uses sensors — such as X-ray, optical or fluorescence systems — to identify particles or fragments that contain ore. Those fragments are then separated from lower-grade or barren waste.
Because the stockpiles are reported to contain a mixture of tungsten-bearing tactite and barren host rocks, sorting technology that can reliably reject waste before milling may significantly improve feed quality. Furthermore, that improvement may reduce the volume of material sent through the plant, potentially lowering processing costs.
What Does WO₃ Grade Actually Mean?
Tungsten grades are commonly reported as WO₃, or tungsten trioxide, rather than pure tungsten metal. This is standard industry practice because tungsten is typically measured and traded in oxide-equivalent terms at the mining stage.
A few quick points help put the numbers into context:
- Higher WO₃ percentages generally indicate higher tungsten content
- A grade of 0.5% WO₃ means 0.5 parts of tungsten trioxide per 100 parts of rock by weight
- In this announcement, 0.5% WO₃ is important because it aligns with Linka's reported historical mill grade
- Results above that level, such as 1.3% WO₃, 1.4% WO₃ and 1.8% WO₃, indicate zones or fragments with meaningfully higher tungsten content
Grade alone does not determine economics. Investors also need to consider tonnage, recovery, processing route, mining or rehandling costs, and product quality. That is precisely why Viking's pending ore sorting and metallurgical testwork are important follow-up items rather than secondary details.
What Do the Next Steps Look Like?
The ASX announcement outlined four near-term workstreams, each of which addresses a different technical question.
| Upcoming Catalyst | Status | Expected Timing |
|---|---|---|
| TOMRA ore sorting assay results | Testwork completed, assays pending | Shortly |
| Follow-up rock stockpile sampling | Programme to be designed | Near-term |
| Metallurgical testwork | Ongoing | Near-term |
| Maiden drill programme | In progress | Near-term |
The pending TOMRA results are likely to attract close attention. Viking stated that ore sorting testwork has already been completed in Germany on material from the Linka Main stockpile and the Conquest open pit, with assay results expected shortly.
This testwork matters because it can help answer whether the mixed stockpile material can be upgraded into a better feed stream before conventional processing. However, the company has not yet reported a commercial outcome from this work, so investors will need to wait for the assay data.
The company also said follow-up stockpile sampling will be systematic, rather than first-pass in nature, to establish representative grades across the dump areas. That distinction is important because the current stockpile results came from selected grab samples and are not yet sufficient on their own to define an overall stockpile grade or tonnage.
On metallurgy, Viking reported it is advancing flowsheet work targeting more than 80% recovery into a concentrate grading above 50% WO₃. In addition, the company referenced earlier metallurgical testwork that produced a 56.9% WO₃ concentrate at 76.0% recovery using conventional gravity and flotation methods.
How Do the Results Fit the Broader Linka Investment Case?
Linka is not being advanced as a greenfields discovery. According to the company, it is a brownfields restart opportunity with a history of mining and existing site infrastructure.
The announcement states that historical operations processed about 65,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.5% WO₃ through a 360 tonne-per-day mill until 1956. Operations reportedly ceased due to tungsten prices at the time rather than because mineralisation had been exhausted.
Project attributes listed by Viking include:
- A 150-foot shaft and historical underground workings
- Historical pits
- An on-site ROM pad
- A historical tailings dam
- About 8.5km² of consolidated mining claims
- Sealed highway access within 7km
- Grid power within 4km
Furthermore, the company said digitisation of 72 historical drillholes covering 2,908 metres has extended the known mineralised trend to 1.6km within an interpreted regional intrusive contact of about 7km, much of which remains untested.
Taken together, the current stockpile assays do not replace the core exploration story. Instead, they add a possible surface opportunity alongside the main mineralised trend. If the stockpiles can be shown to contain representative grade and respond well to ore sorting, they may provide another source of material in a future development scenario.
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Why Might Investors Keep Watching Upcoming Linka Data?
This announcement answers one early technical question clearly: historical stockpiles at the Linka Tungsten Project do contain tungsten mineralisation, including sample results above the project's reported historical average mine grade. That is useful information, but it is still an early-stage result.
Several questions remain open:
- Can systematic sampling show representative grades across the stockpiles?
- What tonnage might those stockpiles contain?
- Can TOMRA ore sorting improve feed quality enough to matter economically?
- Will maiden drilling support continuity and scale along the broader mineralised trend?
Those are the key issues that the next round of work is expected to address. From an investor perspective, the attraction is the combination of brownfields history, surface mineralisation, ongoing metallurgical work, and a sequence of near-term technical catalysts.
The current results do not establish economics, but they do support further work on a potentially material surface component at the Linka Tungsten Project. For Viking Mines, the immediate focus now shifts from identifying tungsten in the stockpiles to determining whether that material can be characterised, upgraded and potentially integrated into a broader project development pathway.
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