American West Metals (ASX: AW1, FSE: R84, WKN: A3DE4Y) has received the first results from this year’s drilling at the Storm Copper Project. These confirm the findings from previous years regarding the already identified near-surface mineralization and indicate that American West will also be successful at depth, as core drilling that has penetrated to greater depths shows visible copper in parts.
At the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island in the Canadian province of Nunavut, the 2025 drilling and exploration program is in full swing. Both near-surface reverse circulation drilling and core drilling targeting deeper zones are being conducted. A key objective of this year’s campaign is to confirm and expand upon the discovery drilling from last year, in order to convert the discovered mineralization into resources.
American West is moving closer to this goal step by step, as high-grade copper discoveries at the Storm Project continue and the reverse circulation drill holes completed to date have confirmed thick, near-surface intersections of high-grade copper. The company is also very satisfied with the diamond drilling already completed, as these continue to indicate an extensive copper system present at depth.
The nine diamond drill holes completed to date totaled 2,295 meters and intersected thick sections of visible copper sulfides. Particularly noteworthy are the drill holes completed in the Cirrus target area, as these intersected further thick sections of visible copper sulfides.
Drill hole ST25-04, for example, intersected approximately 57 meters of visible copper mineralization in sedimentary rock below and along the strike of the near-surface Cirrus deposit. In addition, this drill hole also provided important stratigraphic information, which further underscores the large-scale mineralization potential at Storm.
American West Intersects 12.2 Meters at 1.9% Copper and 77 G/T Silver
Laboratory results are already available for the first ten reverse circulation drill holes completed at the Corona, Thunder, Lightning Ridge, and The Gap deposits. For example, drill hole SR25-005 at the Corona Zone intersected 12.2 meters at 1.9% copper and 77 g/t silver from a depth of 19.8 meters. Over a length of 4.6 meters, the copper content even increased to 3.2%, while the silver content rose to 129.0 g/t. A few meters deeper, a second intersection with significantly higher mineralization was encountered. Here, over a length of 1.5 meters, the copper content increased to 2.9%, while the silver content rose to 115.0 g/t.
Drill hole SR25-006, also completed at the Corona deposit, intersected 7.6 meters at 1.7% copper and 3.2 g/t silver. It is also important here that the mineralization begins at a depth of only 25.9 meters, making it easily accessible. The results from drill holes SR25-007 and SR25-010 point in the same direction. The former intersected a 4.6-meter wide section at 25.9 meters depth with 1.1% copper and 1.3 g/t silver. In drill hole SR25-010, drilled at The Gap deposit, 7.6 meters at 1.1% copper and 2.2 g/t silver were identified at a depth of 73.2 meters. For this drill hole, the results for the final meters drilled between 128.0 and 149.00 meters are still pending.
The first reverse circulation drill holes have been completed at the Prospect deposit. The precise laboratory results are now awaited. However, the visual observations obtained during drilling are quite promising and thus underscore the significant potential that still exists at the already known deposits at Storm.
Initial Assessment of Discoveries is Positive
When evaluating visual observations, it should be noted, however, that these cannot replace precise laboratory results. It is always gratifying and an encouraging sign when visual findings indicate rich mineralization. However, based solely on visual observations, the important question of whether a deposit’s ore is economically extractable cannot be reliably determined.
To make precise statements, American West must therefore await further laboratory results. These are expected to arrive in the next six to eight weeks. American West will then also be able to determine whether and to what extent the existing resources at the individual deposits can be increased and upgraded to higher categories.
The opportunity for this is certainly present, as the drilling results already available have once again shown that the near-surface mineralization can be further expanded. It will be of particular interest for the start of the planned mining at Storm, as American West expects it to be easily extractable and directly shippable as ore. This saves the expensive and very time-consuming process of developing, permitting, and constructing a dedicated processing plant.
The evaluations of the core drilling are also eagerly awaited. Since these also contain visible copper, there is also an opportunity here to significantly extend the mineralization at depth. The results already available from last year and from the current drilling are certainly encouraging, as the results have exceeded expectations and confirm the excellent continuity of the high-grade copper zones in the Corona and Thunder deposits. For American West Metals Managing Director, Dave O’Neill, and all invested shareholders, these are good reasons to remain optimistic and confident about the future.
