Viking Mines (ASX: VKA) unlocking significant vanadium resource at Canegrass Battery Minerals Project

Highlights

• VKA completed pit optimisation studies at Canegrass, yielding a pit-constrained Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 61Mt at 0.81% V₂O₅ and 35.9% Fe.
• Six pit optimisation scenarios assessed, reporting in-pit resources ranging from 31Mt to 92Mt.
• At the Fold Nose Deposit, 3,500m reverse circulation (RC) drilling is planned to increase the MRE confidence.
• Stage 2 metallurgical work unlocked a flowsheet pathway for vanadium production.

Viking Mines Limited (ASX: VKA) has been hitting key milestones while advancing its Canegrass Battery Minerals Project towards development. Through geological work and advanced metallurgical testing, the company has doubled the Canegrass resource in under two years.

Located in Western Australia’s Murchison region, Canegrass is an outcropping hard-rock vanadium magnetite project, conveniently located near airports, roads, and a gas pipeline.  

Successful Pit Optimisation Study Highlights Project Value             

In March 2024, the company announced the successful completion of a Pit Optimisation Study (POS) on the Canegrass project, reporting a pit-constrained MRE of 61Mt @ 0.81% V₂O₅ & 35.9% Fe. This exceeded VKA’s strategic objective of defining more than 30Mt of high-grade open-pitable resources. The company conducted six pit optimisations, all of which were highly successful, delivering in-pit mineral resources ranging from 31Mt to 92Mt. The findings underscored the project's strength and also established specific targets for follow-up drilling. The follow-up drilling aims to enhance MRE confidence to Indicated+ (JORC 2012) levels, in preparation for a scoping study.

Initial Focus on the Fold Nose Deposit

The Fold Nose Deposit is a large open pit (1,300m x 600m x 180m) resource with a pit-constrained MRE of 39Mt at 0.81% V₂O₅ and 36% Fe. The deposit has a conceptual mine life exceeding 20 years.

It is a priority target for follow-up drilling to boost the MRE confidence to indicated+. The company has targeted 3,500m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at a cost of less than AU$0.5 million, which is fully funded.

Further, there are significant opportunities at the Kinks and Kinks South deposit for additional shallow high-grade MRE growth.

Stage 2 Metallurgical Testwork

The additional results from the stage 2 metallurgical testwork conducted on the Fold Nose deposit indicated high-quality magnetite concentrate through LIMS technology and unlocked flowsheet pathway for vanadium production. By employing commercial industry methods,  V₂O₅ flake was produced.

LIMS yielded high-quality concentrate at 1.43% V₂O₅, 59% Fe & 11.7% TiO₂. From ore feed, total recovery stood at 86.7% V₂O₅, with a 53% mass pull from ore to concentrate. Notably, roasting reported V₂O₅ recoveries of 93.2% from magnetic concentrate.

The company intends to optimise purification and roasting process to deliver high purity >99% V₂O₅ flake in order to attract premium pricing.

Project Development Pathway

In the first quarter of CY24, the company competed a Pit Optimisation Study which reported several large open pits across all deposits. In the second quarter, stage 2 metallurgical testwork was concluded, which assisted in unlocking pathway to vanadium production.

Further planned work includes resource infill drilling of nearly 3,500m to increase the confidence in the MRE to Indicated+ before commencing a Scoping Study to determine the value opportunity.

VKA shares traded at AU$0.008 on 27 June 2024.