Samples from five additional drill holes on the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island in Nunavut have once again delivered thick intersections of near-surface copper sulfides with grades of up to 7% copper in the 4100N zone! As American West Metals Limited (ASX: AW1; FRA: R84; OTCQB: AWMLF) reports, the results confirm or even exceed previous visual estimates. A high-grade, continuous, near-surface copper mineralization that could be mined in an open pit is becoming increasingly apparent on the Storm project.
Test work on processing for a potential Direct Shipping Operation (DSO) is ongoing. Results are expected shortly. So far, the horizontally running copper layers in the 4100N zone have been confirmed over a length of one kilometer and a width of around 400 meters. The mineralization is open along strike to the east and west.
– Drill hole SR23-02 intersected 29m @ 1.1% Cu from 59.4m, including 9.2m @ 2.2% Cu from 71.6m, including 1.5m @ 5.1% Cu from 79.3m
– Drill hole SR23-03 yielded 67.1m @ 1.1% Cu from 54.9m, including 4.6m @ 2.6% Cu from 64m, and 9.1m @ 2.5% Cu from 79.3m, including 1.5m @ 7.1% Cu from 82.3m and 4.6m @ 2% Cu from 97.5m.
– Drill hole SR23-04 intersected 6.1m @ 1.1% Cu from 50.3m, and 19.8m @ 1.1% Cu from 77.7m, including 3.1m @ 4% Cu from 94.5m.
– Drill hole SR23-05 intersected the following: 21.3m @ 1% Cu from 41.2m, including 3.1m @ 2.5% Cu from 45.7m.
– Drill hole SR23-06 intersected 7.6m @ 1.1% Cu from 53.3m, including 3.1m @ 2% Cu from 54.9m, and 6.1m @ 1.2% Cu from 82.3m, including 3.1m @ 2.2% Cu from 82.3m.
Dave O’Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals, commented: “The second series of assay results for the drilling in the 4100N zone has continued to impress us and confirmed further thick intersections of copper mineralization in close proximity to the surface. Several high-grade assay results indicate the presence of additional semi-massive and massive sulfide copper zones within the ore body, which we believe will significantly increase the overall grade of the resource. The mineralization at Storm is quickly demonstrating the quality and extent of what we believe will be a world-class open-pit copper mining opportunity. We look forward to providing further updates on the drilling and other exploration activities in the coming weeks.”
Conclusion: The drilling at 4100N could hardly be going better for American West. Every drill hole is a hit, and all drilling results available to date demonstrate consistent copper grades and excellent lateral continuity of the high-grade mineralization. Additionally, there are large amounts of contiguous copper mineralization (<1% Cu) outside the stronger mineralization zones. The data will be incorporated into the future resource model of 4100N, which is steadily gaining in size and certainty. American West also plans to drill in the neighboring 2200N and 2750N zones shortly, where high-grade copper sulfides were found near the surface in 2022, including 41m @ 4.18% Cu from 38m in ST22-05.
