American West (ASX: AW1, FSE: R84, WKN: A3DE4Y) is launching a new exploration and development program on the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island in the Canadian province of Nunavut these days. This program is designed to deliver the maximum possible expansion of the existing resource with minimal effort and cost.

American West is thus setting the bar comparatively high, but at the same time following a very pragmatic approach: A series of easily accessible targets on Storm are to be investigated. These have been selected not only to be easily and cost-effectively accessible, but also to offer a high chance of drilling success and thus a medium-term increase in resources.

If both can be implemented as planned, American West could not only succeed in significantly expanding the existing resource, but also in conserving its own financial resources. This is not only shareholder value in its purest form, but also demonstrates that American West’s management is always aware in all its decisions that, as an explorer, it has no money to give away and should turn every dollar over twice.

American West certainly does not lack targets on Storm, as the relatively narrow project has an enormous extension, especially in length. From the coast, it stretches as a narrow 110-kilometer-long strip initially in a southeastern direction before bending southward. The planned work for the new drilling season focuses on a zone about 20 kilometers long, starting approximately 25 kilometers before the bend and reaching up to it.

American West has achieved great success in these zones over the past two years. The geology is well known, and they know where the probability of success for new discoveries is very high. Therefore, it made sense for the geological team to focus on precisely these target zones this year in order to achieve the greatest possible yield with comparatively little effort.

American West Aims to Significantly Expand Known Mineralizations

Several target zones are therefore particularly in focus this year. They are not unfamiliar to invested shareholders, as they not only contain parts of the current resource but also have a number of large-scale exploration targets for resource expansion.

The Tornado and Blizzard deposits are two of these zones. They are located five kilometers east of the Storm deposit and host a 3.2 by 1.5 kilometer geochemical copper anomaly, as well as two large electromagnetic plates. All three target zones have not yet been tested by drilling.

Another target zone is the Midway deposit. It is located about five kilometers west of the Storm deposit, and the previous owners drilled a single hole there. At the time, it intersected visible copper sulfide over a length of 58 meters. It is remarkable that this target was not pursued further at the time despite this success.

As a fourth zone of interest, American West has identified the Tornado South deposit for this drilling season. It is located south of the Tornado/Blizzard area and includes a large structural hotspot that can be considered a textbook example of copper mineralization.

New Airborne Geophysical Surveys Complement Drilling and should Identify New Drilling Targets for Coming Years

The high-grade copper finds (including 1.2% copper over 10 drill meters) made in the past in the Cyclone Deeps target area make this part of the Storm project appear particularly promising for drilling to increase the current resource. Here, too, there is potential to significantly increase the existing resource very quickly and cost-effectively. The situation at Cirrus Deeps is similar. American West has also identified this deposit as a high-priority electromagnetic target, with the stratigraphic position very similar to that at Cyclone Deeps.

Good conditions for quickly and cost-effectively expanding the resource are also offered at The Gap. A strong electromagnetic anomaly was also discovered in this part of the Storm project, which was subsequently confirmed as a priority copper target after evaluations. Initial drilling here yielded 20 meters with 2.3% copper at a depth of only 28 meters. At its peak, the copper content even rose to 5.3% over a length of 8.0 meters.

The recent good results encourage American West to once again subject a largely untouched part of the Storm project to an initial investigation using geophysical methods this year. As in the previous year, the goal is to identify new drilling targets for the future based on electromagnetic measurements. Further aerial surveys are therefore planned along the 110-kilometer-long potential copper horizon this summer as well.

Spoilt for Choice

Making decisions can sometimes be quite challenging. Especially when, as in the case of American West, there is a 110-kilometer-long strip with many attractive drilling targets to choose from. With tasks of this magnitude, a small company can easily get overwhelmed. To prevent this from happening on Storm, American West follows an approach that is both systematic and pragmatic.

Its starting point is the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of the project completed a few months ago. It presented a highly interesting way in which the Storm project can be developed quickly and cost-effectively. For American West, it is therefore logical to focus primarily on those targets and zones that particularly well meet the PEA requirements for a future mining scenario when selecting its drilling targets.

Therefore, their exploration and development will be vigorously pursued in 2025 and 2026. Preparations for the new field season are already well advanced. Through sea transports completed in the fourth quarter of 2024, American West managed to land large quantities of necessary materials and equipment on Storm. This allows for shorter lead times this year and reduces costs by about four million Canadian dollars compared to previous years. With this money, the company can now either conduct additional drilling or finance other development work on Storm.

Regardless of which specific path the company chooses, this highly pragmatic approach is an enormous benefit for invested shareholders, as it conserves the company’s financial resources while offering the prospect of maximum success. Many shareholders will therefore already be eagerly anticipating the start of drilling and the arrival of the first results from the laboratory, and rightly so.