American West Metals (WKN A3DE4Y / ASX AW1) is advancing its 100% owned West Desert project in the US state of Utah with a clear focus on critical metals such as indium and gallium. The company is reporting new target areas based on an ongoing resampling program and a detailed evaluation of historical drilling – and is thus preparing an extensive drilling program for 2026. The work is taking place against the backdrop of a tightened US strategy to secure domestic supply chains for critical raw materials.
American West Metals concretizes growth strategy at West Desert
American West Metals’ West Desert project is located approximately 160 kilometers southwest of Salt Lake City in the Sevier Orogenic Belt, a region that also hosts large deposits such as Bingham Canyon and the Tintic Mining District. The project area comprises approximately 32 km² of private land, claims and a state metal ore license.
West Desert is a porphyry-related, polymetallic system with skarn and carbonate replacement mineralization (CRD). The existing deposit already hosts significant zinc-copper-silver-indium mineralization; at the same time, only a fraction of the interpreted porphyry contact has been systematically drilled.
In the course of preparing the 2026 drilling program, American West Metals has resampled historical drill cores and evaluated the extensive data archive. The aim is to further refine the model for critical metals and to better define indium and gallium zones in particular, in addition to zinc and copper – both within and outside the existing mineral resource estimate.
Indium at West Desert: High-grade zones outside the existing resource
As part of the recent resampling program, 116 samples from six historical boreholes were examined in an area that has not yet been included in the West Desert mineral resource estimate. The cores originate from areas with copper- and gold-rich skarns along the interpreted porphyry contact.
The laboratory analyses at American Assay Laboratories in Nevada confirm critical metal mineralization with high grades. In the newly evaluated sections, up to 324 g/t indium, 4.9% copper, 155 g/t silver and 5.4 g/t gold were detected, among other things. These values indicate a pronounced enrichment of indium in connection with copper, gold and magnetite skarn mineralization.
This reinforces the picture of West Desert as a significant indium address: The project is already considered the largest undeveloped indium resource in the USA. For American West Metals, the resampling provides important parameters to refine a predictive exploration model for indium and to specifically define drilling targets with a high probability of critical metal grades.
In parallel, the company is planning an expanded resampling program that will cover additional historical drill cores both within and outside the existing resource. The aim is to systematically quantify the indium potential and, if necessary, prepare a revision of the resource base.
Gallium targets in the Apex style along the Juab Fault
Gallium is also now a particular focus. According to American West Metals, the evaluation shows that gallium grades of up to 77.3 g/t Ga occur in magnetite skarn and CRD rock near the Juab Fault. This geological situation is similar to the well-known Apex Mine, a high-grade gallium-germanium deposit approximately 300 kilometers south of West Desert.
At Apex, gallium and germanium are mineralized in a carbonate replacement system, with the highest grades occurring in partially weathered zones above the main deposit on large structures. West Desert exhibits comparable structural and lithological features, particularly in the area of the Juab Fault, whose near-surface, oxidized areas have hardly been drilled to date.
Historical drilling has already shown that extensive gallium mineralization is present in the deeper part of the system. In individual boreholes, the mineralized lengths add up to several hundred meters with average gallium grades in the range of 20 – 30 g/t and local high-grade sections of over 50 g/t.
The current results suggest that fresh, magnetite-rich skarns with already elevated gallium grades could be further enriched by weathering processes near the surface – similar to Apex. Against this background, American West Metals considers the Juab Fault Zone to be a priority drilling target for 2026 in order to test potentially high-grade gallium mineralization in near-surface oxidized areas.
Historical dumps, critical metals and US security strategy
In addition to the drill cores, American West Metals is also focusing on historical dump material. On the areas that are 100% privately owned by the company, there are extensive dumps from the mining of high-grade silver-lead-zinc ores from around 1900. These old waste dumps are easily accessible and are now being systematically sampled for indium, gallium, antimony and other critical metals.
The background to this is that modern analytics and process technologies can now record and economically extract metals that did not play a role in historical production. The company is examining whether this material could prospectively flow into a possible future processing plant as an additional starting material.
The work at West Desert fits into a politically influenced raw materials landscape. In the new US National Security Strategy published in December 2025, the government emphasizes the need to establish independent, reliable supply chains for critical raw materials. In particular, metals that are indispensable for defense, high-tech applications and the energy transition are mentioned.
Against this background, American West Metals is positioning the West Desert project as a potential future source of indium, gallium and other critical metals from a US domestic deposit on predominantly private land in Utah. The company speaks of an intensified exchange with American government agencies on funding opportunities and framework conditions for critical metals.
For 2026, American West Metals is planning a combined diamond and RC drilling program on the West Desert project, which will focus on indium, gallium and copper targets. In parallel, the resampling of historical drill cores and dump material is to be expanded in order to better record the potential for additional critical metal resources and derive further exploration targets.
