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Viking Mines has struck high-grade tungsten from the first reconnaissance sampling program at its Long and Terrell projects in Nevada, USA, with assays returning grades of up to 2.7 per cent tungsten trioxide. Management says the results confirm rich mineralisation at two historic mine sites and underscore the potential for a significant tungsten endowment across the portfolio beyond its flagship Linka project.
At the company’s Long project, continuous channel sampling across old-timer’s underground and surface workings delivered a solid 1.8-metre intersection grading 1.8 per cent tungsten trioxide, featuring a higher-grade 0.45m core running at an impressive 2.7 per cent. A second channel sample returned 1.35m at 0.6 per cent tungsten trioxide.
In its day, the Long mine reportedly produced 17,000 tonnes at 0.6 per cent tungsten trioxide from two separate underground mines. The mineralisation is hosted in a skarn setting along an intrusive contact, a geological environment known for hosting significant tungsten deposits.
Over at the Terrell project, which includes the historic Terrell underground mine, reconnaissance work also hit the mark. A float sample of contact skarn returned an impressive 2.4 per cent tungsten trioxide, while granite-hosted veins yielded up to 1.7 per cent tungsten trioxide. Samples from a historical stockpile also confirmed the presence of mineralisation, grading between 0.4 and 0.5 per cent tungsten trioxide.
Viking Mines managing director and chief executive officer Julian Woodcock said: “The strength of these early reconnaissance sampling results at both Long and Terrell speaks to the quality of the ground we have secured in Nevada. Both projects have returned high-grade tungsten from historic workings that have seen no modern exploration activity. Our primary focus remains on Linka as our most advanced asset, however the opportunity for additional mineralisation at our other Projects is not to be overlooked.”
The timing of the discovery could hardly be better. Viking’s work in Nevada taps directly into a major geopolitical and industrial theme: the West’s urgent need to secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals such as tungsten. With China dominating global supply, recent price surges for ammonium paratungstate (APT) have highlighted the vulnerability of Western industrial and defence sectors. The US Geological Survey has flagged the western part of Nevada as a key tungsten skarn province, making any new high-grade discovery there particularly noteworthy.
While the new results are encouraging, the Linka project remains Viking’s primary focus. Linka was a historical producer, churning out 65,000 tonnes at a solid grade of 0.5 per cent tungsten trioxide up until 1956, when operations ceased due to a weak tungsten price rather than a lack of ore.
The company recently received approval from the US Bureau of Land Management to collect a 907-tonne bulk sample from the project’s historical surface stockpiles.
The plan is to toll treat the bulk sample locally to produce concentrate samples for offtake assessment with APT refineries. The company believes this processing route might provide a potential low-capital, rapid-restart model that could be rolled out across its broader Nevada portfolio, with the Long and Terrell projects also potentially serving as future sources of mineralised feed.
With high-grade tungsten now confirmed at multiple historic mines and a clear path to production testing at its flagship Linka project, Viking appears to be building a multi-pronged strategy in a tier-one jurisdiction. As the West scrambles to secure its own supply of critical minerals, Viking might be in the right place at the right time to help solve a pressing supply-side headache.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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