Already impressive MRE to be expanded further
The American West Metals (ASX: AW1; FRA: R84) team has commenced this year’s drill and exploration program at the Storm Copper Project in Nunavut, Canada. According to the company, exploration drilling and high-power geophysical surveys are now underway. The drilling is aimed at significantly expanding the Maiden Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Storm project (defining 17.5 million tons at 1.2% Cu and 3.4 g/t Ag). For the first time this season, American West is using a track-mounted RC drill rig at Storm. This rig can operate autonomously and does not need to be mobilized by helicopter. This move is expected to bring operational and production benefits, with up to 12,000 meters of RC drilling initially planned.
The company is also deploying the particularly powerful moving loop electromagnetic (MLEM) survey at Storm to generate new targets at higher resolution and at deeper levels than previous surveys. The EM anomalies tested to date in the Storm area show a 100% correlation with high-grade copper mineralization of over 2%. Several IP anomalies tested by drilling show a correlation with copper sulphide mineralization in the 0.5-2% Cu range. Plans are also underway to explore numerous high-priority copper sulphide targets within the more than 2,000 square kilometer project property. Preparations are underway for the deployment of two drill rigs on site – an RC drill rig and a diamond core drill rig – increasing the planned 2024 drill meters to more than 20,000m.
Dave O’Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals, commented: “We are very pleased to announce that the 2024 drilling and exploration program at the Storm Copper Project in Nunavut, Canada is now well underway. This first phase of drilling will utilize the crawler RC drill rig to rapidly develop the initial exploration and resource definition areas. We believe these targets offer great potential for the discovery of new zones of copper mineralization and confirmation of resource potential in key areas. Early success in these areas will help us prioritize and focus the remainder of the drill program. We are also looking forward to commencing the high power Moving Loop Electromagnetic (MLEM) survey at Storm. This survey has the potential to generate new targets at higher resolution and at deeper levels than previous surveys, opening up the area for further copper discoveries and providing important target information for resource drilling. EM surveys have proven to be a reliable targeting tool as all EM anomalies tested to date have correlated with high-grade copper sulphides.”
Phase 1 exploration drilling will target existing EM and IP anomalies that are high priority due to nearby copper sulphides in drill holes and areas of strong copper geochemical anomalies at surface. These compelling targets include an EM target immediately east of the Cyclone deposit where a very high conductivity EM anomaly of over 17,000 siemens has been modeled. (see Figure 1, marked in red)
Conclusion: American West is doubling its drilling activities on its Storm copper project this season from around 10,000 meters last year to a total of 20,000 meters. Last year's 10,000 meters were already enough to produce an impressive maiden resource of that contains over 200,000 tonnes of copper with open pit potential. This year, the company is even better prepared for the season: a track-mounted RC drill rig could further increase productivity. State-of-the-art electromagnetic methods are to define the targets even more precisely in order to make drilling even more effective. In addition, drilling is planned on large-scale copper targets on the under-explored Tornado, Blizzard and Tempest properties, which could enable completely new large copper discoveries on the 2,000 km² license. At the same time, studies on the chemical- and water-free extraction of copper concentrate for direct shipping ore (DSO) are still underway. In short, this year the Storm project could finally prove that it belongs to the elite of world-class copper districts.
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