Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) lifts Linka tungsten recovery to 76% on a simple flowsheet

A 56.9% WO3 concentrate from 1.2% feed grade reshapes the CAPEX case before drilling starts

Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) has just delivered the kind of metallurgical update that quietly changes how investors should value a tungsten developer. Recovery at the Linka Tungsten Project in Nevada has jumped from 59.8% to 76.0%, while the concentrate grade still lands at 56.9% WO3 from a 1.2% feed grade. That is a 1.27x step-up in recovery in under two weeks.

The headline number matters because it crosses the threshold the company set itself in late May, which was greater than 70% recovery at greater than 50% grade. Hitting both at once on a simple gravity-plus-flotation flowsheet is the unlock. It means the conceptual processing study with Mineral Technologies now has a firmer technical base to anchor CAPEX and OPEX estimates.

Timing also stood out. The maiden drill programme at Linka is scheduled to commence this quarter, with permits already approved. Viking is effectively de-risking the processing pathway before the resource workstream even starts.

Why 76% recovery at 56.9% grade reshapes Linka’s economics

Tungsten concentrates are paid for as a function of WO3 grade, recovery, and the prevailing ammonium paratungstate (APT) price. APT is the benchmark traded form of tungsten, currently sitting near all-time highs at US$3,100 per metric tonne unit CIF Rotterdam. Concentrate producers typically receive 30% to 50% of that APT price, with higher grades pulling stronger payability.

Viking’s 56.9% concentrate sits comfortably above the 50% saleable threshold for scheelite. As a useful market comparison, EQ Resources (ASX:EQR) recently reported attaining US$1,189/mtu for Mt Carbine concentrates in the March 2026 quarter. Viking’s per-tonne ore value math starts to look genuinely attractive at these numbers.

The skeptical read is that bench-scale metallurgy on a 10 kg sample does not yet prove plant-scale economics. We would want to see variability testing across the Conquest, Hillside and Stockpile bulk samples confirm the flowsheet holds beyond a single sample location.

The low-CAPEX flowsheet is the real strategic asset

Management has deliberately kept the flowsheet simple, using proven gravity separation with a cleaner flotation stage on the gravity tails. The standalone gravity concentrate alone grades 66.6% WO3, which means Viking can in theory produce a saleable product without flotation at all. Flotation is the upside lever, not the dependency.

That matters because it enables a modular plant design that can be permitted and built faster than traditional on-site facilities. In a market where the US Department of War and domestic manufacturers are scrambling for NATO-grade tungsten supply outside Chinese channels, time-to-production becomes a competitive moat.

The next data point worth watching is the conceptual study with Mineral Technologies, which will produce Viking’s first real CAPEX and OPEX estimates.

Drilling and the 80% recovery target are the next catalysts

Viking is running multiple workstreams in parallel. Flotation reagent optimisation continues, targeting greater than 80% recovery while holding combined concentrate grade above 50% WO3. Variability testing, comminution work, ore sorting trials, and a 3D geology model are all in flight.

The maiden drill programme is the biggest near-term catalyst. With permitting approved and drill site preparation starting this quarter, investors should get their first look at how the historical Linka workings translate into a modern resource estimate.

Our concern is straightforward. None of this is yet a JORC resource, and the binding term sheet to acquire 100% of the BLK Group claims involves staged payments totalling US$2.88 million over seven years plus a 2% NSR.

The Investors Takeaway for Viking Mines

Viking has done the harder thing first. It has shown the rock at Linka can produce a premium concentrate at industry-leading recoveries using a simple, low-CAPEX flowsheet. That is a meaningful de-risking moment for a company still pre-resource.

Maiden drilling now needs to define enough tonnage to justify the modular plant concept, variability testing needs to confirm the flowsheet works across all four sample areas, and the Mineral Technologies study needs to land defensible CAPEX numbers. Investors can find more coverage of ASX-listed critical minerals names at stocksdownunder.