American West Metals (ASX: AW1; FRA: R84; OTCQB: AWMLF) has intersected thick sections of copper sulfides with five additional reverse circulation (RC) drill holes in the 4100N Zone. The company reports this after announcing the first four successful drillings just last week. This means that nine out of nine holes have penetrated the expected, flat-lying mineralization near the surface! While analyses are still pending, American West plans to drill at least ten to twelve more holes in the 4100N Zone before moving on to other targets on the Storm Project.
The visual results of the latest drillings are: 16.7 m with strongly visible copper sulfides from 42.7 m in SR23-05; 15.2 m with strongly visible copper sulfides from 54.9 m in SR23-06; 13.7 m with strongly visible copper sulfides from 48.8 m in SR23-07; 13.7 m with strongly visible copper sulfides from 68.6 m in SR23-08 and 32 m with strongly visible copper sulfides from 56.4 m in SR23-09. The drillings now confirm extensive near-surface copper mineralization over a strike length of 1,000 m!
The ongoing drilling program at 4100N is aimed at an initial resource estimate in the fall of this year. The Moving Loop Electromagnetic (MLEM) survey in the 4100N Zone is nearing completion, with new, strong conductors identified for drilling. The Moving Loop EM indicates a highly conductive corridor through the central 4100N Zone. This feature is likely a highly charged zone with copper mineralization, as samples with over 30% (!) copper were taken from historical drill holes in this conductive zone. American West announces targeted drilling in this zone.
Dave O’Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals, commented: “Drilling in the 4100N Zone is progressing rapidly and continues to deliver excellent results. Nine out of nine drill holes have delivered significant intersections of visible copper sulfides. The drilling confirms our assumptions that the mineralization in the 4100N Zone is laterally extensive and shallow.”
Parallel to the drilling, the ground gravity survey to identify drill targets in the deeper sedimentary copper system at Storm has been completed. The data still needs to be evaluated before a planned diamond drilling.
Meanwhile, geophysical measurements are focusing on the Tempest target, located 40 kilometers from Storm, which hosts a 250 m long copper anomaly at the surface. There, the EM crews are set to begin a Moving Loop Electromagnetic (MLEM) survey.
Conclusion: With its current drilling, American West is laying the foundation for a maiden resource, including a scoping study planned for autumn on the possibility of simple processing and direct shipping of ore concentrate. We have pointed out that Storm could become a “Company Maker” for American West. So far, Storm’s drilling covers just 0.01% of the 4,000 km² project license. The geophysical surveys on the Tempest target, 40 kilometers away, are also important because they could provide a better idea of the dimension of the copper opportunity on the project.
