Samso News: Viking Mines Ltd – High-Grade Tungsten Intercepts Expand Linka Scale as Early Production Strategy Accelerates - Is This The New Tungsten Landscape.
- Noel Ong
- 3 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Announcement
Viking sees High-Grades at Linka Inc. 12.2m at 1.3% WO3 – 24th February 2026 ( view the announcement )
As the followers of Samso know, I am a big fan of Tungsten and the current price of tungsten is just ballistic. I cannot ignore any new news on the tungsten sector now as the current state of the market, assuming it is sustained, changes the economic scenario of projects dramatically.
What companies like Viking Mines Ltd (ASX: VKA) is now proposing can no longer be taken in the same light as it would have been when the tungsten pricing was in the USD $400s per mtu. This is the reason investors must take notice when VKA is advancing its USA Tungsten Project in Nevada, targeting domestic supply into a tightening U.S. procurement environment.
This ASX release confirms completion of full historical data digitisation at the Linka Project and reports high-grade intercepts at the Conquest area. The announcement also outlines an accelerated pathway toward early production aligned with U.S. defence procurement changes.
Completion of Historical Dataset Validates High-Grade Tungsten Conquest Potential at Linka Project, Nevada
Viking Mines Ltd is focused on tungsten exploration and development in Nevada, USA. The Company has entered into a binding agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Linka Project (Figure 1) and associated tungsten assets from BLK Group LLC, subject to staged payments totalling US$2.88 million over seven years, with a retained 2% NSR (with a 1% buy-down option for US$2M).
The 24 February 2026 ASX announcement confirms that project-wide historical digitisation is now 100% complete, covering 70 drillholes for approximately 2,881 metres. The final tranche focuses on 32 holes (959m) at the Conquest area, which has delivered some of the highest-grade tungsten results recorded within the broader Linka Project.
The Company states that drilling at Conquest averaged only 30m depth, with a maximum depth of 56m. This indicates limited historical testing and leaves open potential along strike and at depth.
Figure 1: Map showing surface geology and drillhole locations at the Conquest Mine. Highlights significant intercepts and the priority untested target area.
Highlights – High-Grade Tungsten With Shallow Intercepts Define Immediate Development Targets
The Conquest area returned the following significant drill intercepts (downhole widths):
12.2m @ 1.3% WO₃ from 26.5m (CR-19), including 1.5m @ 4.8% WO₃ from 32.6m
22.9m @ 0.6% WO₃ from 19.8m (CR-02), including 6.1m @ 1.2% WO₃ from 36.6m
22.9m @ 0.5% WO₃ from 15.5m (CR-20), including 11.3m @ 0.6% WO₃ from 26.2m
10.7m @ 0.6% WO₃ from 14.0m (CR-17)
18.3m @ 0.5% WO₃ from 21.3m (CR-07)
Additional moderate-grade intercepts were reported from CR-16 and CR-15. The Company notes that all widths reported are downhole intercepts and true thickness is not yet established.
Mineralisation at Conquest is hosted in the Vinini Formation, which is considered less favourable than the Antelope Valley Limestone (host to Linka Main mineralisation).
Geological interpretation suggests the Vinini Formation thickness in this area may be between 65–100m, implying potential for additional mineralisation at depth where the intrusive contacts the Antelope Valley Limestone.
Figure 2: Long section Y-Y showing drillholes and untested western zone. Highlights potential lower contact mineralisation and quartz monzonite thickness uncertainty.
Figure 3: Cross section S-S’ showing historical drill results and interpreted contact with Antelope Valley Limestone (source: VKA)
Regional Exploration Potential & Immediate Drill Targets
The digitised historical data defines three immediate target areas:
Conquest Pit and Southwest Contact – No historical drilling directly beneath the pit due to access constraints and vertical hole orientation. Future angled drilling is planned to test beneath the pit and along the southwest contact zone.
Untested Volcanic Cover – Six holes tested only the base of the Bates Mountain Tuff and did not reach the prospective contact beneath. This leaves the southeast zone open for follow-up drilling.
Antelope Valley Limestone at Depth – Geological interpretation suggests potential mineralisation where the intrusive meets the more favourable AV Limestone at depth.
The Company also references ongoing gravity and magnetic surveys to map a 1.6km mineralised corridor, integration of datasets into a 3D geological model, and federal permitting via submission of a Notice of Intent (NOI) for a June quarter 2026 maiden RC drilling campaign.
Management Commentary
Managing Director & CEO Julian Woodcock stated that completion of the digitised dataset consolidates the historical exploration record and validates the opportunity presented by the high-grade tungsten system at Conquest.
The announcement references upcoming changes to U.S. defence procurement rules under DFARS clause 225.7018-2. Through 31 December 2026, restrictions apply to tungsten metal powder and heavy alloy from covered countries (including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea). From 1 January 2027, broader restrictions apply to tungsten mined, refined, or produced in covered countries.
The Company states that its maiden drill programme is being designed to support early mining scenarios by targeting high-grade, shallow blocks identified in historical drilling.
Near-Term Milestones to Watch
Completion of 3D geological modelling integrating all 70 digitised drillholes
Final interpretation of gravity and magnetic surveys across the 1.6km corridor
Submission of federal Notice of Intent (NOI)
Maiden RC drilling programme targeting shallow high-grade mineralisation (June Quarter 2026).
Samso Concluding Comments
The tungsten space is one of the most exciting space in the mineral resource space. I have said that investors are not understanding the key fundamentals of the critical nature of the sector. For the last decade, the phrase "Critical Minerals" have been thrown around but the reality of a mineral being so scarce that it creates a supply crunch is Tungsten.
Rare Earths are not rare and so is lithium. If you do the research, you will suddenly realise that a tungsten deposit that allows mining to occur in an economic manner is indeed rare. The only factor that is making the space very different now is the rising price.
The completion of digitisation of 70 historical drillholes provides Viking with a consolidated geological dataset across the Linka Project. This allows the Company to move from historical compilation into structured technical evaluation (Figure 1), which is exciting for shareholders and management of VKA.
The Conquest drilling demonstrates that high-grade tungsten occurs at shallow depths, with average historical drilling limited to approximately 30 metres. This shallow nature aligns with the Company’s stated intention to evaluate early mining scenarios (Figure 2 and Figure 3).
Another benefit for Viking is the policy framework in the United States under DFARS introduces procurement restrictions on tungsten sourced from covered countries. The timing of Viking’s advancement toward drilling and potential early production aligns with this regulatory transition.
Ongoing work including 3D modelling, geophysics integration, and permitting will determine the next stage of technical assessment. The upcoming maiden drill programme will provide updated data to validate historical results and test open zones identified in the digitised dataset.
Market Implication - The Investor Lens
As we write, Viking is currently at a market capitalisation of AUD $35M and a market that seem to be missing when we are talking about the potential value of a tungsten acquisition. The missing excitement is something that is a mystery to me. Like the market tightness of Molybdenum, the ASX investing community does not seem to understand the potential of tungsten.
Figure 4: The share price chart for Victory Mines as of the 25th February 2026. (source: commsec)
There looks like there is some demand for Viking shares (Figure 4) in January but in terms of the potential that I see, I can only explain it with a lack of market understanding and a lack of capital that is willing to enter this sector in a substantial volume.
As they say, time will be the ultimate judge and for me, anything in the tungsten space now is fair game as the price of tungsten has gone ballistic at around USD $1760 mtu as quoted on the 24th February 2026.
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