The focus of American West Metals (WKN A3DE4Y / ASX AW1) is rightly on the Storm copper project. However, this does not mean that the company’s other projects are less exciting – quite the opposite! The West Desert project in the USA, for example, could be of ever greater value to Managing Director Dave O’Neill’s company simply because of its location in the mining centre of the USA and the raw materials available there, many of which are considered “critical” by the current US government!

West Desert is located in the US state of Utah, around 160 kilometres southwest of Salt Lake City, in the heart of the orogenic Sevier Belt, which includes the world-class Bingham Canyon copper deposit and the Tintic Mining District. In total, the property covers an area of 32 square kilometres, where American West has proven indium and gallium in addition to copper, silver and gold and in some cases very high-grade molybdenum!

To be precise, the company has already identified large, Australian JORC-compliant resources for indium, zinc, silver, copper and gold at West Desert. (And the indium resource at West Desert is the only such JORC 2012 resource in the entire USA!) There is – as yet – no resource estimate for the gallium and molybdenum deposits proven in drilling, but this could soon change, at least with regard to molybdenum.

Outstanding Project, Outstanding Conditions

In any case, the location of the project in the USA and the composition of the raw materials available are currently of great advantage to American West, as an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump in March of this year entitled “Immediate Action to Increase American Mineral Production” requires all US government agencies to take immediate action to boost domestic mineral production as much as possible. Which in turn significantly increases the urgency and commitment to developing key mineral deposits in the US.

This is particularly relevant with regard to American West’s indium resource. This is because the USA currently imports all of its indium requirements from outside the country. The critical metal is needed, for example, in the manufacture of semiconductors, solar cells, military equipment, smartphones and other high-value technology products. As West Desert has the largest undeveloped indium resource in the United States, American West says there is the potential to establish a domestic US-based supply chain for indium. And thus significantly improve the security of supply of this strategic metal to the US economy!

American West Has Already Produced Strong Molybdenum Drilling Results

The same applies to molybdenum, which the company encountered in large quantities during its drilling at West Desert. Among other things, thick mineralization intervals such as 417.55 metres with 0.02% molybdenum as well as extremely high grades for molybdenum such as 1.03% over 10.5, including 1.67 metres with 4.05% molybdenum, were encountered. Currently, American West is working on molybdenum resource modelling to establish an initial resource for West Desert.

The metal is mainly used to increase the strength, durability and heat resistance of steel and is therefore found in particular in military equipment such as bullets, fighter planes and machine guns. Which makes the importance of the metal for the USA obvious.

Especially as the People’s Republic of China, which dominates the market for most critical metals, imposed export restrictions on indium and molybdenum at the beginning of February, making it considerably more difficult for the USA to gain access to these important metals!

High Potential for Significant Gallium Discovery

China has also banned the export of the critical metals gallium and germanium to the USA since the end of 2023. American West has already identified thick zones of anomalous gallium in drill holes targeting copper and zinc mineralization at the West Desert project. However, the company has assayed just 10% of the completed drilling for gallium. This means that there is still considerable potential to make a significant gallium discovery on the project with future exploration activities!

American West is currently evaluating the best and fastest way to advance the development of this exciting project, as the company itself is primarily focused on the Storm copper project, for which it has just raised a total of around 14 million dollars in capital. Strategic alternatives to unlock the value of the large critical metal deposits at West Desert, for which all necessary drill permits have already been obtained, include non-dilutive financing from the US government, a possible spin-out of the project into a separate ASX-listed company or other commercial arrangements to develop the project – for example, an equity investment by a major resource company at the project level.

American West’s CEO Dave O’Neill reiterated that West Desert is a rare opportunity in the critical metals sector, strategically located in the mining centre of the U.S. Already, he continued, the project has the scale and quality of many large mineralizing systems in the western United States. And Mr. O’Neill pointed out once again that although West Desert already has significant zinc, copper, indium, silver and gold resources that meets Australian standards, there is also outstanding potential to increase these further and increase the value of the project even more. After all, only 10% of the project area has been tested with drilling and several minerals are not even listed in the resource estimate!

Short-term Opportunity to Convert Large Quantities of Molybdenum into Resource

In the near term in particular, there is an opportunity to convert large quantities of molybdenum and iron ore identified by drilling into JORC resources, while also determining the extent of deposits of metals such as gallium and germanium at West Desert. Mr. O’Neill also noted that drilling by American West and other companies had already demonstrated high-grade intercepts of copper, zinc, silver, indium and molybdenum outside the already defined deposit, all of which were opportunities to make further discoveries.

The American West Managing Director further explained: “The Trump administration has sent a clear message that it will support the development of domestic supply chains for critical metals. With the U.S. importing 100% indium, West Desert’s large indium deposits present an opportunity to build an “all-American” domestic supply chain that would eliminate U.S. dependence on foreign sources of indium. We continue to engage with U.S. government agencies to explore opportunities for financial support to advance the West Desert project.”