First Hit Project
The First Hit Project is centred around the historic high-grade First Hit gold mine situated along the prospective Ida and Zuleika Shear zones in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The Project incorporates ~28km2 of tenements with 6 active Mining and Prospecting licences and 1 Exploration licence under application. At the core of this landholding is a 6.4km2 group of contiguous tenements which host the historic First Hit gold mine.
Prior to closure of the First Hit gold mine by Barra Resources in 2002 and at a time of depressed gold prices of US$ 320/oz, the First Hit mine produced ~30koz ounces of gold at an average grade of ~7.7g/t Au. No modern exploration activity has been conducted in the past 18 years and creates a significant opportunity for Viking. The Company is focused on delivering exploration programmes to test near mine extensions and regional targets around the First Hit Project with the objective of defining fertile structures and discovering gold ounces.
Examples of the high-grade nature of the mineralisation previously drilled at First Hit include:
• 4.9m at 64.8g/t Au from 62.1m (FHU045)
• 3m at 77.6g/t Au from 224.0m (BFH030)
• 4m at 26.1g/t Au from 58.0m (BFH005)
The Project area is well serviced by infrastructure and is located 50km west of the sealed Goldfields highway and the township of Menzies. It is within 100km radius of 4 operating Gold Processing Plants, the nearest being the Davyhurst Mill 50km to the south, owned and operated by Ora Banda Mining (ASX:OBM). The nearest operating gold mine, owned by OBM is the Riverina open pit, located 8km south of the First Hit gold mine.
The Company also has projects located in Ghana and Mongolia. Viking is currently undergoing legal proceedings to secure an outstanding payment of US$ 5 million, associated with the sale of the Akoase project in Ghana.