Indium is categorised as a strategic mineral
American West Metals Limited (ASX: AW1; FRA: R84; OTCQB: AWMLF) is no one-trick pony. The first copper resource for the main Storm project on Sommerset Island in Nunavut is expected early next year, followed by a DSO study. American West’s portfolio also includes the advanced West Desert zinc-copper and indium project in Utah, USA. It is one of the largest and highest grade undeveloped indium projects in the world and is the only indium deposit in the USA!
No wonder the project has landed on the radar screen of government officials, as the US currently imports 100% of its indium, which is classified as a critical mineral. Now, for the first time, American West has presented an expanded resource estimate for the project, which includes the base metals zinc and copper as well as indium, gold and silver. The independent JORC resource estimate (MRE) for West Desert defines 33.7 million tonnes at 20 g/t In and 0.1 g/t Au. The open-pit mineable portion comprises 18.7 Mt @ 13 g/t In and 0.09 g/t Ag. The higher grade, underground portion of the resource is 15 Mt @ 28.7g/t In and 0.12g/t Au. The updated JORC MRE adds 23.8Moz of indium and 119,000oz of gold to the existing 1.3Mt of zinc, 49Mt of copper and 10Moz of silver at West Desert.
And only 35% of the drill samples used in the historical and JORC resource estimates were assayed for indium, suggesting that the extent of the indium resource at West Desert is potentially much greater than currently defined.
Located in a world-class mining district in the USA
West Desert is located in a world-class mining district in Utah, which includes Kennecott’s world-class Bingham Canyon copper mine. Despite the resource, only a small part of the licence area has been explored. Most recently, drilling has identified a new high-grade ‘Copper Zone’ (including 17.22m @ 1.04% Cu, 0.58g/t Au and 12.46g/t In from 325.21m in WD22-01c). These results have not yet been included in the resource estimate. 250m west of the current resource, high-grade indium-zinc-copper mineralisation (including 4.58m @ 5.21% Zn, 0.46% Cu, 0.6g/t Au, 18.68g/t Ag, 88.05g/t In from 455.65m in WD22-19) was discovered which has also not been included.
Dave O’Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals, commented: “The updated MRE adds a world-class indium resource to the existing large quantities of zinc, copper and silver defined in the maiden resource announced in February of this year. Indium and gold were omitted from the initial MRE for West Desert due to data gaps in historical drilling, but further studies now allow us to add these two highly valuable metals as inferred resources.”
Indium is categorised as a strategic mineral
Indium is considered a critical and strategic mineral and is used in the aerospace, defence, energy and telecommunications sectors. In 2021, the U.S. was a 100 per cent net importer of indium sourced from China, Canada, the Republic of Korea and France (U.S. Geological Survey, 2022).
Indium is most commonly extracted from sphalerite, a zinc sulfide mineral, in which indium occurs in amounts of less than 1 part per million (ppm) to 100 ppm (U.S. Geological Survey, 2022). It also occurs in roquesite (copper indium sulphide) and magnetite (iron ore) in West Desert. In the USA, indium is mainly found in porphyry and skarn deposits.
Due to the unique characteristics of the West Desert deposit, the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) received a $300,000 federal grant to conduct a detailed study of the indium at West Desert (see ASX release dated 9 November 2022 – US Federal Grant for West Desert Critical Metals Study).
West Desert has great potential for further growth
American West Metals geologists see significant potential to increase the current resource. Several historic and current drill holes around the West Desert deposit have intersected high-grade zinc and copper mineralisation outside the current resource envelope (Figure 3). Drill hole WD22-01C provided evidence that mineralisation at West Desert is associated with a large underlying molybdenum-rich porphyry system. Significantly, the metal assemblages and volume of mineralisation within the porphyry also bear striking similarities to the giant Bingham Canyon mine in Utah (current resource averages 0.017% Mo. Source – Rio Tinto, February 17, 2021). Only 10% of the porphyry contact has been explored to date. There is also great potential for further high-grade skarn-type mineralisation (see Figure 3).
Conclusion: At 33.7 million tonnes of ore, the West Desert resource is already of considerable size. The updated resource estimate adds 23.8 million ounces of indium and 119,000 ounces of gold to the existing 1.3 million tonnes of zinc, 49 million tonnes of copper and 10 million ounces of silver at West Desert. Although the project remains predominantly a zinc-copper project, the extremely high-grade indium adds a significant economic and probably also a political bonus. West Desert is the only indium resource in the USA and one of the largest undeveloped deposits of the metal in the world. In view of increasing geopolitical risks in the supply chains in the raw materials sector, the project could become strategically important in the USA. What's more, the project can continue to grow, as only a small part of the licence has been explored to date.
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