Highlights

• Viking Mines focused on advancing metallurgical testwork at its Canegrass Battery Metals project during the June quarter.
• VKA successfully produced vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) flake from a sample collected at the Fold Nose Deposit of the Canegrass project.
• The company held A$3.9 million in cash at the quarter end.
• VKA’s planned activities for the September quarter include infill drilling, concluding a farm-in agreement, and reviewing project requirements.

Viking Mines Limited (ASX:VKA) concluded its June quarter focused on advancing metallurgical testwork programs at its Canegrass Battery Metals Project in Western Australia.

Data and image source: Company update

During the reported quarter, the company reached a significant milestone at the Canegrass Project by successfully producing vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) flake from a sample collected at the Fold Nose Deposit. This achievement confirmed the project's potential to produce vanadium, a highly valuable critical mineral, as per the company update .

Before the production of the V₂O₅ flake, the company achieved and delivered the following key milestones:

Data source: Company update

Stage 3 Metallurgical Testwork Programme

Two drillhole intervals of vanadium mineralisation from the Fold Nose Deposit were sent to ALS Metallurgy in Perth, Western Australia, for the Stage 3 metallurgical testwork program.

This program had two main objectives:

• To assess the feasibility of producing a sulphide concentrate for recovering copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) minerals through sulphide flotation tests.
• To enhance the iron grade of the magnetic concentrate by experimenting with alternative magnetic separation techniques to remove titanium minerals (Ilmenite).

Before the sulphide flotation, samples will undergo magnetic separation to concentrate the magnetic minerals using parameters established from the Stage 2 testwork. The sulphide flotation will then be performed on the non-magnetic tails. This process is expected to yield a significant quantity of magnetic concentrate (over 40kg), aiding in future vanadium recovery tests.

Additionally, experimenting with alternative magnetic separation methods aims to enhance the iron grade of the concentrate and assess the potential for producing a marketable titanium concentrate.

Results from the Stage 3 testwork are anticipated during the September quarter.

Plans for the September quarter:

Viking Mines has planned the following activities for the September quarter:

• Planning of infill drill program to increase the MRE confidence to Indicated+ (JORC 2012) for the Fold Nose Deposit.
• Concluding stage 2 of the Farm-In agreement on the Canrgrass project to raise Viking’s ownership to 49%, with a goal of achieving 100% ownership.
• Engaging external consultants to review requirements for advancing the project, including environmental, hydrology, and geotechnical aspects, before starting a scoping study.

As of 30 June 2024, the company had a cash position of AU$ 3.9m.

To summarise, Viking Mines made notable progress in advancing its Canegrass Battery Metals project during the June quarter, achieving a significant milestone with the production of vanadium pentoxide flake. The company remains actively engaged in reviewing and assessing a wide range of mineral acquisition opportunities to enhance its existing project portfolio.

VKA shares traded at AU$0.008 on 29 July 2024.