Secures Contractors For 8,500m Drilling Programme
Viking Mines Limited (ASX: VKA) is moving quickly in preparation for a major exploration programme at the First Hit project in Western Australia.
The company has completed the design of its upcoming drill programmes have and secured contractors secured to commence drilling this month.
The company also confirmed the completion of a gravity survey across its tenements in support of a strategy to aggressively explore and advance the projects in its West Australian portfolio.
Multiple phased field work programmes are being planned to rapidly assess and test the First Hit project area. These programmes are being designed to run concurrently to:
- Test the underground mine extensions at the First Hit gold mine.
- Commence exploration for additional mineralised gold shoots across the landholding.
- Enhance the company’s understanding of the geology.
The gravity survey completed over the First Hit project tenure has an initial phase of data collection at 200m x 50m. The data is being processed and will be provided to Viking for evaluation in early February.
CEO, Julian Woodcock, said the new gravity maps will assist in the detailed regional geological interpretation which is underway and will allow Viking to identify and prioritise targets and develop an understanding of the controls of mineralisation.
“With the completion of the acquisition of Red Dirt Mining and the First Hit project, I am excited that we have made significant advancements to get on the ground quickly and rapidly advance our exploration activity,” Mr Woodcock said.
“The delivery of the DD and AC programmes will allow Viking to quickly expand our knowledge of the First Hit project pipeline, and with successful results deliver value to shareholders via the drill bit.”
A comprehensive phase 1 diamond drill programme has been designed to test the mineralisation at First Hit and is estimated to incorporate ~11 diamond holes for ~2,500m. This programme is strategically designed to:
- Test for extensions of mineralisation along strike and down plunge.
- Drill in-between existing mined stopes to test remnant mineralisation.
- Test the structural and lode model which has been developed.
- Test the hanging wall geology to gain an understanding of the mineralisation controls.
- Determine geochemical fingerprint of mineralisation to assist in regional Air Core programme interpretation to identify the mineralised structures.
A DD contractor has been secured and will commence as soon as DD planning has been completed and drill pads prepared. Based on the current state of progress it is expected that drilling will commence mid-February.
A first phase regional AC programme has been designed to cover the First Hit tenements on a nominal 400m x 50m drill spacing with follow up programmes to be designed based on results. This programme is in the process of being evaluated and rationalised in conjunction with new information which is being obtained from the geological assessment and new gravity dataset.
It is expected that the programme will be prioritised to test the most prospective parts of the tenure first. The phase 1 programme is estimated to incorporate ~300 holes for ~6,000m.
The main objective of the AC drill programme is to build the understanding of the geology and to vector towards follow up bedrock targets. This strategy is based around the objective of identifying and tracing the fertile structures hosting the First Hit mineralisation.
