100% Hit Rate: American West Confirms Massive Copper Horizon in 4th Diamond Drill Hole at Storm
American West Metals Limited (ASX: AW1; FRA: R84; OTCQB: AWMLF) continues its success streak at the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island in Nunavut, Canada. As reported by the company today, the fourth diamond drill hole ST23-04 has also intersected a massive 18.5 m zone of visible copper sulfide (chalcocite and chalcopyrite) between 339 m and 357.5 m borehole depth.
This zone correlates with the promising sediment-hosted copper horizon that has already been intersected at similar target depths in all other diamond drill holes this season. Drill hole ST23-04 is located approximately 2 kilometers west of the previous diamond drill hole ST23-03. Immediately south of ST23-04 is an 880 m x 470 m untested electromagnetic conductor (FLEM), indicating the potential for further strong copper mineralization in this area (see Figures 1 and 2). Meanwhile, drilling at Storm continues. Laboratory analyses are still pending and are expected in the next two weeks.
Dave O’Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals, commented: “The outstanding 100% success rate of diamond drilling at Storm continues, with the fourth diamond drill hole intersecting another thick section of visible copper sulfides. This exceptional hit rate over a very wide area is further evidence of a truly regional copper system. The hole was designed to test a strong gravity feature in an untested area between the high-grade, near-surface 3500N Zone and the other high-grade copper zones over 3 km further east. The hole was also designed to intersect one of the regional graben faults for the first time. The hole hit both targets and confirmed the presence of significant sediment-hosted copper sulfides south of the graben fault, while also confirming the main fault system as a productive conduit for copper mineralization and a potential target for additional copper mineralization. The sediment-hosted copper intersection in ST23-04 is within the same stratigraphic package intersected in previous American West diamond drill holes and is over 2 km from the nearest deep drill hole. With every hole targeting the large gravity features hitting copper sulfides, our confidence in the large-scale potential of the copper system continues to grow.”
Reverse-circulation (RC) drilling is also progressing rapidly, with planned drilling completed in the 4100N, 2750N, and 2200N zones. The rig has now moved to a series of priority ‘Thunder-style’ exploration and geophysical targets to further expand the exploration and expansion potential of the Storm project.
Conclusion: The repeated intersections of copper sulfide within a predictable stratigraphic target horizon are clear evidence of the effectiveness of gravity data as a reliable targeting tool. This insight has enormous implications for the potential for further discoveries in the Storm area – far beyond the current drilling success. By now, geologists can confidently assume that all major gravity anomalies previously identified in the 2017 airborne gravity survey are promising copper targets. One should always use the label ‘world-class’ cautiously. However, Storm’s signature already points to a large contiguous high-grade copper belt that extends far beyond the area currently drilled. It’s not out of the question that we are witnessing the largest copper discovery in our lifetime.
