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VIKIN
Breathing new life
MINING | VIKING MINES
G
MINES
e into a past producing gold mine in WA’s Eastern Goldfields
The historic First Hit gold project, located approximately 150 km Northwest of Western Australia’s famous mining town Kalgoorlie, was most recently mined by Barra Resources in 2001 after they identified high-grade potential within the prospective Ida and Zuleika Shear zones, which are host to many significant gold deposits in the Eastern Goldfields. The former operators mined around 30,000 ounces of gold at ~7.7 g/t, but production from the project proved to be shortlived as Barra curtailed the mine just a year later due to depressed gold prices of around US$320 per ounce in 2002. As a result, the project – which was first discovered back in the 1920s – has remained dormant throughout the last two decades under somewhat ambivalent ownership. That was until ASX-listed explorer Viking Mines acquired the First Hit project in January 2021 via an all-share takeover of Red Dirt Mining and immediately started a first phase drilling campaign that would help bring the historic mine back to life. “On completion of the process we got out on the ground and started drilling very quickly,” says Viking’s CEO Julian Woodcock. “Within three weeks we had a diamond drill rig turning on the property. A few weeks after that we got an air core (AC) rig out.”
A Viking down under Viking’s ability to mobilise drill rigs at great speed was due in in no small part to the Tier 1 quality of the jurisdiction in which the project is located in. “I’m a bit biased but WA is probably the best jurisdiction in the world to be operating in,” Woodcock tells RGN’s editor. “We’ve got a very stable government, a well understood and respected mining legislation. WA is very focused on the resources sector; it’s a huge driver of GDP for the state and a significant contributor to Australia as a whole. For Viking, we know the rules in which we are operating.” Having worked in WA for over a decade spanning previous roles with three well-known
Woodcock was brought in as
mining companies, Woodcock
CEO of Viking in January of
is completely comfortable with
this year and was appointed
the mining laws and all aspects
managing director in April
relating to Viking’s tenements,
after long-serving board
all of which have secure mining
member Charles Thomas
licences granted on a long-term
confirmed his resignation.
basis.
MINING | VIKING MINES
and geologist Michael Cox and dependable company secretary Dean Jagger. The recovery of a US$5 million payment yet to be received relating to a divestment Viking made in Ghana some years back continues to be a key undertaking for the board, alongside the drilling campaigns at First Hit. Woodcock assures that he and his colleagues are eagerly pursuing the matter and expect a resolution in the near feature with a judgment hearing date set for July 28th. “We’ve got a wide range of skillsets within the management team that covers off the legal, financial, accounting and technical. My experience has been working
Thomas had played an
Meet the team
instrumental role in the
A close-knit corporate team
years, and I’ve spent the last 10
acquisition of the First Hit
has supported Woodcock’s
years in Australia.
project and was very involved
acclimatisation into
in the company’s ASX-related
the business, including
“During that time I’ve been
activities, before deciding that
distinguished lawyer Ray
with Gold Fields, Evolution
the time was right to step away. Whitten (AM), highly experienced corporate advisor
with gold projects for nearly 20
Mining and more recently Gold Road Resources. In those
“We’ve got a very stable government, a well understood and respected mining legislation. WA is very focused on the resources sector; it’s a huge driver of GDP for the state and a significant contributor to Australia as a whole” Julian Woodcock, Viking Mines CEO
with very large exploration
A sleuthing exercise
teams and been privileged to
Barra drilled nearly 130
be involved with the discovery
reverse circulation (RC) holes
and growth of several
and three diamond drill (DD)
significant resource projects.”
holes, defining an initial
three companies I’ve worked
resource under the JORC In his latest endeavour,
99 code at the time. Viking
Woodcock is aiming to expand
has been afforded access
on the gold resource identified
to all of the data relating
and mined by Barra at the
to this activity, including
turn of the century, only his
underground development
team are armed with modern
plans and geological
exploration techniques and a
information.
significant catalogue of data left behind by the former
“They developed about 1.5 km
operators of the First Hit mine.
of decline over 200 vertical
MINING | VIKING MINES
V IK I NG M INES AT A G L A N C E
metres and 1.7 km of cross
This valuable existing data
cuts and ore drives along
provided an effective segue
the ore on 20 metre spaced
into Viking’s Phase 1 drilling
levels and then stopped
campaign at First Hit, which
out part of the orebody. We
commenced in February with
recently managed to get hold
a 2,500 metres DD campaign
of the geological maps of
followed by 5,080 metres of AC
the underground workings
drilling.
which have been very useful
STOCK TICKER: ASX:VKA MARKET CAPITALISATION: US$15.5 million (as of June 25, 2021) ajr
in building our understanding
“From the DD, we’re gaining
of First Hit. It’s been a bit
new insights into where the
of a sleuthing exercise. We
mineralisation is occurring
find information then look to
underground. That in turn
assimilate it and bring that
is going to help us find
into our exploration process.”
extensions from the known
MINING | VIKING MINES
mineralisation, and help us
Going to market
2021, the company confirmed
look for new shoots as part of
On the back of encouraging
that it was oversubscribed for
our regional AC programme.”
observations in the drill core,
a total sum of A$4 million.
Viking sought to raise capital from the investor market to
“We wanted to keep the
ensure a seamless transition to
diamond rig turning on site,
the Phase 2 campaign. In April
FIRST HIT CORE WITH VISIBLE GOLD
as we were encouraged by
testing deeper down below the
1 and 2. On completion of
what we’d seen in the drill
known limits of mineralisation
sampling from the final batch
holes so far and wanted to
and also along strike of the
of diamond core, a total of
continue to step out and look
existing resource.
967 samples will have been
for additional shoots. That
submitted to the MinAnalytical
funding has allowed us to
The company identified some
laboratory in Kalgoorlie for
continue the activity without
old prospectors’ workings
analysis.
having to pause while waiting
along strike to the North and
for results to come through, so
South that would’ve been
Viking is also planning the
we can maintain momentum.”
mined up to as far back as 100
next round of drilling to follow
years ago. They haven’t been
up from the AC programme.
Viking’s Phase 2 DD campaign
tested effectively, according to
When the results are returned
began in earnest following the
Woodcock.
from the lab, the company
successful capital raise, with
expects to be able to define
the exercise intended to test
In mid-June, Viking
the corridors within which the
for extensions around the old
announced it had completed
shear structures that host the
mine workings while looking
its DD campaign, which
gold occur.
for mineralisation in material
encompassed 19 drill holes
left behind by the former
for a combined total of
At that point, it will look to
operators in the early 2000s.
3,924 metres in the phases
start RC drilling to confirm
In addition, the company is
and identify those shear
MINING | VIKING MINES
corridors which essentially are
shuttered during a low gold
years ago. The vein is quite
the pathways (or ‘plumbing’,
price environment.
narrow, up to a metre in width
in Woodcock’s words) for
and that means there’s a bit
where the gold has come into
“There are several
of dilution that occurs, but 7
the underground region. Any
underground mines in the
grams out the ground is very
intersections of additional
region being operated by the
high grade.”
shoots from the RC drilling
likes of St Barbara, Northern
will then be followed up with
Star, Evolution Mining and Ora
Finally, the presence of more
more DD, according to Viking’s
Banda Mining. They have cash
than half a dozen active gold
CEO.
costs that range from A$1000-
processing facilities – some
1,500 range per ounce. That
owned by mining companies,
would leave around $1,000
others by private toll treating
of margin at the current gold
companies – within 150 km
price.
of the First Hit project will
Significant Opportunity Overall, Viking is following a tried and trusted method
provide multiple avenues
for success in gold project
“The reason why the
for Viking to monetise any
development in WA; targeting
opportunity at First Hit is so
additional mineralisation
extensions of known
significant is due to the high
it discovers at the historic
mineralisation at a high-grade,
grade nature of the vein, with
resource.
past producing mine that was
around 7 g/t taken out the ground from the mining 20
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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