$0.009
Opened: 16-Dec-2025
Shares Held at Open: 95,000,000
What does VKA do?
Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) is a junior mining exploration company acquiring six tungsten projects in Nevada, USA.
VKA’s new projects have historically produced a combined ~123,000t at 0.54% tungsten grades, with one of the projects (Linka) producing from an old 360 tonne per day mill between 1955-56.
What is the macro theme?
Critical minerals and US-based projects are attracting attention and capital.
Trump has continued to maintain pandemic-era level urgency to create its own critical minerals supply chain in the US, removing any supply from China.
VKA has exposure to tungsten - a critical mineral that China controls ~80% of the processing and production of.
Tungsten is a dense material used for things like armour-piercing ammunition, missile warheads and aerospace components.
Our Big Bet for VKA
“VKA re-rates to $100M+ market cap with a fast to market tungsten production and downstream strategy, as well as continued interest and capital flows into the USA critical metals thematic”
NOTE: our “Big Bet” is what we HOPE the ultimate success scenario looks like for this particular Investment over the long term (3+ years). There is no guarantee that our Big Bet will ever come true. There is a lot of work to be done, many risks involved, including development risk, country risk and commodity price risk - just some of which we list in our VKA Investment Memo.
Success will require a significant amount of luck. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
Why did we invest in VKA?
Low market cap with room to re-rate higher
VKA will have a market cap of ~$11M and an enterprise value of ~$5.5M (at 0.5c post capital raise).. We think the company’s valuation is currently at a level where it can re-rate to multiples of where it is now - if the US critical minerals playbook is executed well and the market continues to reward the sector.
VKA has the same team and backers as Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY).
Board, management and major shareholders of VKA are very similar to VKA. LKY at its peak was up 626% from our Initial Entry Price. We are backing the same group to deliver more wins with VKA.
Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
Tungsten prices trading at all time highs
Tungsten prices are currently at all time highs (source), driven by Chinese export restrictions (see reason #4 below).
We think it's a good time to have exposure to tungsten in our Portfolio.
China dominates the global supply and has placed export restrictions on tungsten
China controls ~80% of the world’s tungsten mining and processing supply chain. In February 2025, the Chinese government put export controls on tungsten imports out of China. (source)
The US has no domestic production and is 100% reliant on imports for tungsten, which we think makes projects like VKA’s (inside US borders valuable).
VKA’s tungsten assets are in Nevada, USA
We like Nevada as a mining jurisdiction within the USA because it's home to some of the biggest, lowest cost mines in the country, and we have had some good wins in Nevada before (SS1, BKB).
Very few companies with tungsten projects on the ASX - even less with projects inside the USA
There are very few tungsten-focused companies on the ASX - especially ones with projects inside the US.
IF US tungsten companies go on a run it could mean a lot of capital looks to flow into a handful of companies of which VKA will be one.
VKA’s projects have produced tungsten in the past
Across the six assets VKA is acquiring, there has been ~123,000 tonnes mined from open pits, and underground adits.
One project also has a 360 tonne per day mill in place. Channel sampling from VKA’s project returned grades of ~2.11%. The biggest tungsten deposit inside US borders (also in Nevada) has average grades of 0.25% tungsten.
Capital is flowing into US critical metals macro thematic
We think VKA’s US tungsten assets could attract increased capital flows both on the ASX and from North American investors/governments/institutions.
Funding from US government agencies could be from places like the Department of War, Department of Energy, Department of Interior.
Alternatively, VKA’s project could attract capital from tungsten end users or big financiers like JP Morgan who is just starting to become active in the critical minerals space.
VKA can follow the “US critical minerals playbook”
There is a playbook for ASX stocks to attract more attention and capital to projects that are based in the US. VKA isn’t yet listed in the US, and we think that if its project gets any traction it could go for a US listing that opens up the project to North American investors.
What do we expect VKA to deliver?
Objective #1: Complete the acquisition of the new tungsten assets.
We want to see VKA complete acquisition of the 6 tungsten projects in today's announcement.
Milestones
Due diligence process completed
Acquisition completed
Objective #2: Target generation work (mapping/sampling)
We want to see VKA complete rounds of sampling (including channel/rock chip sampling) to confirm historic tungsten mineralisation at the project.
We also want to see the project mapped with LiDAR to reveal the full extent of the underground workings on the project.
Milestones
Mapping and sampling (soils and rock chips)
Geophysics/LiDAR
Drill targets confirmed
Objective #3: First drilling program
We want to see VKA work through the permitting process and commence its maiden drill program on one of its newly acquired tungsten projects.
Milestones
Drill permitting
Drilling starts
Drilling results
Objective #4: Define a downstream tungsten strategy
We want to see VKA define a clear downstream tungsten strategy.
Milestones
Bulk sampling to run metallurgical testing.
Downstream partnerships/agreements
Objective #5: Bonus objective: US government engagement for funding
This would be an added bonus for us.
We would like to see VKA apply for and then land some non-dilutive US government funding to progress its projects.
What could go wrong?
Deal risk
While there is a binding agreement in place to acquire the new tungsten assets, there is always a risk that the transaction does not complete due to due diligence findings or other closing conditions not being met.
Exploration risk
There is no guarantee that VKA’s upcoming drill programs will be successful. VKA may fail to find economic deposits of tungsten in which case we would expect the share price to re-rate lower.
Funding risk/dilution risk
As a pre-revenue small cap company, VKA is reliant on capital markets to advance its projects. If something negative happens at a macro or company level, VKA could struggle to access capital on favourable terms.
These capital raises may take place at a discount, and result in the issuance of new shares which incur dilution to existing shareholders.
Commodity price risk
The performance of commodity stocks are often closely linked to the value of the underlying commodities they are seeking to extract. Should rare earths or antimony prices fall, this could hurt the VKA share price.
Market risk
Broader market sentiment could deteriorate, and shares as an investment class trade lower, taking VKA’s share price with it. Alternatively, there could be further sector specific pain ahead where junior explorers suffer a lot more than the broader market.
Other risks
Like any small cap exploration company, investing in VKA involves a range of risks, some known, some unknown (this is the nature of investing in early-stage companies).
Here we aim to identify a few more risks.
VKA’s new tungsten projects rely heavily on historical data, production records, and sampling from the 1940s and 1950s. There is a risk that VKA is unable to verify this historical data with modern exploration work.
A key part of our Investment Thesis relies on VKA successfully executing the "US market listing playbook" (including US listings, appointing lobbyists, and securing downstream partnerships).
There is a risk that VKA fails to execute these corporate strategies effectively or that they do not generate the anticipated interest from US investors.
Although the US government is actively funding critical minerals projects, there is no guarantee VKA will receive any government grants or strategic funding.
VKA will need to secure permits for its planned drilling programs and any future development in Nevada. VKA may face regulatory delays that could slow down exploration.
Finally, the market for tungsten is relatively opaque and dominated by China. Any changes in Chinese export policies or global demand could impact the underlying commodity price and investor sentiment toward the sector.
Investors should consider these risks carefully and seek professional advice tailored to their personal circumstances before investing.
What is our investment plan?
We are Invested in VKA to make a discovery and define a tungsten resource.
Our plan is to hold the majority of our position in VKA for 1 year as part of our Catalyst Hunter exploration portfolio, which we hope is enough time to see VKA drill out its project, make a discovery and release a maiden JORC resource.
We may look to sell up to 20% of our holding if the company delivers on one or more of our Investment Memo objectives and/or the share price materially re-rates in line with our minimum hold conditions.
Disclosure: Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 95,000,000 VKA Shares at the time of publishing this Investment Memo. The Company has been engaged by VKA to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in VKA over time. This information is general in nature about a speculative investment and does not constitute personal advice. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Any forward-looking statements are uncertain and not a guaranteed outcome.
