District Metals has commenced diamond drilling at the Österkälen mineral licence in central Sweden, marking the company’s first drill programme specifically targeting Alum Shale mineralisation across its Swedish exploration portfolio.
The programme will test a MobileMT conductive anomaly identified in 2025 that extends approximately 8 kilometres in length and up to 3.5 kilometres in width. The geophysical feature coincides with geochemical soil anomalies interpreted as indicating favourable Alum Shale stratigraphy. The target area has not previously been tested by drilling.
District Metals CEO Garrett Ainsworth said the large dimensions of the anomaly are consistent with a district-scale target. “By integrating geophysical, geochemical and geological datasets, we have identified a high-priority target that has never been previously drill tested. This programme is designed to determine whether the Österkälen target hosts the characteristics of a Viken-style mineralised system while continuing to demonstrate the significant exploration upside across our Alum Shale properties,” he said.
The number of holes and total metres drilled will be guided by geological observations and uraniferous radiometric measurements collected during drilling. The Österkälen programme forms part of District Metals’ approved 2026 exploration budget, under which the company plans to drill approximately 5,000 to 7,000 metres across its Viken and Alum Shale properties during the year.
District Metals’ primary asset is the Viken property, which hosts what the company describes as the world’s largest undeveloped uranium mineral resource estimate.
