American West Metals (ASX AW1 / WKN A3DE4Y) kicks off the week with new, more than convincing drill results from the Storm copper project on Somerset Island (Nunavut, Canada)! The latest diamond drilling at the Cyclone deposit has again delivered thick, high-grade and predominantly near-surface copper intersections – some of which are outside the current pit designs!
At the same time, fresh RC drill results from the Cyclone, Chinook, Thunder, Cirrus (and Corona) zones confirm the continuity of mineralization and indicate potential for further resource growth. On this basis, American West Metals is now working on an updated JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) and is advancing preparations for a pre-feasibility study (PFS).
American West Metals: Strong Results from the Cyclone Deposit
Two geotechnical/resource-oriented diamond drill holes on the northern and southern edges of Cyclone confirm additional copper mineralization beyond the previous pit contours. In PFS-002, 12.1 meters grading 5.6% copper and 21 g/t silver were intersected between 70.0 and 82.1 meters, including 3.8 meters grading 8.1% copper (72.7-76.5 meters) and a peak of 0.5 meters grading 27.3% copper at a depth of 76.0-76.5 meters! This zone is located approximately 70 meters north of the current pit plan; mineralization is predominantly stratabound in dolomitic host rocks of the Allen Bay Formation and remains open along the northern flank.
Drill hole PFS-001 on the southern edge of the deposit returned 18.2 m grading 1.1% copper and 11 g/t silver from 30.0 m depth and 7.5 m grading 0.5% copper from 81.0 m – the latter outside the current pit contour. Geologically, both stratabound and sectional fault-bound sulfide sections are described.
Significant for mine planning: The new sections suggest an extension of the mine boundaries along the drill profile and could increase the inventory of mineable resources. According to the company, the PFS drilling also served to collect geotechnical data to optimize the mine wall designs.
RC Program Underpins Resource Expansion on the Storm Project
In addition to the diamond results, further results from the reverse circulation drilling from resource zones and edge areas are available. To be emphasized are, among others, at Cyclone 6.1 meters with 1.0% copper (73.2–79.2 meters; incl. 1.5 meters with 2.0% copper) in SR25-016 as well as in SR25-017 9.1 meters with 0.6% copper (88.4–97.5 meters) plus additional, shallower intervals. At Cirrus, SR25-019 reports several short, but higher-grade copper sections up to 1.7% copper over 1.5 meters, while Thunder (SR25-020) intersected, among other things, 1.5 meters with 2.7% copper. In addition, Chinook (SR25-021) shows near-surface mineralization with 0.7% copper over 3.0 meters from the surface.
Overall, the RC results indicate strong copper intervals near the surface within and outside the existing resource envelopes. This is relevant for pit optimization modeling and, subject to the entirety of all assays, may support both the conversion of inferred resources to higher categories and an extension of the planned pits. American West Metals emphasizes that all RC drilling has intersected copper sulfide resources in and around the resource areas. In addition, the Cyclone deposit remains open to the north/northwest, providing targets for further follow-up drilling.
From a technical perspective, the copper mineralization at the Storm project is predominantly described as stratabound – often as veins, breccia fillings, and matrix mineralization in dolomitic host rocks. Local faults may additionally displace mineralization and open up additional targets at the edge of the central trench system. These observations are consistent with previous geological models at the project and are being incorporated into American West Metals’ ongoing MRE and PFS work.
Next Steps: Resource Update, PFS – and the Indium Project in Utah
Beyond Canada, American West Metals is expanding its activities at the West Desert Project in the US state of Utah. According to the company, work on site is being ramped up and coordination with government agencies is being intensified – including a meeting with the Governor of Utah later this week! The goal is to contribute to a domestic supply chain for critical metals in the US. Just last week, American West raised AUD 7 million to accelerate the West Desert indium project. (We reported. https://goldinvest.de/kurssprung-von-fast-60-american-west-erhaelt-millionen-fuer-indium-projekt-in-den-usa/)
Beyond Canada, American West Metals is expanding activities on the West Desert project in the US state of Utah. According to the company, work on site is being ramped up and coordination with government agencies is being intensified – including an appointment with the Governor of Utah later this week! The goal is to contribute to a domestic supply chain for critical metals in the USA. Just last week, American West raised AUD 7 million to advance the West Desert indium project more quickly. (We reported.)
Conclusion: The new analyses from Cyclone and the supplementary RC results from Cyclone, Chinook, Thunder, Cirrus (and Corona) strengthen the data basis for the extent of the resources and the pit planning on the Storm copper project. For the next months, American West Metals will focus on the resource update, the work on the feasibility study as well as the further approval and environmental processes – accompanied by an active project development now also in the USA. So further newsflow should be ensured!
