American West Metals has revealed one of the best-ever drill hits at its Storm project in Canada after a hole put in on the south side of the North Graben fault intercepted 22.9m at 8.5 per cent copper.
The interval includes semi-massive sulphide zones with individual assays up to 27 per cent copper and importantly, lies outside the Cyclone target’s mineral resource within the Storm project.
The hole was collared 75m south of the current resource and intersected 53.3m going 3.9 per cent copper and 12.6 grams per tonne silver from 86.9m downhole. It includes the 22.9m at 8.5 per cent copper and 17.8g/t silver from 86.9m, which also has 9.1m running 14.4 per cent copper and 21.3g/t silver from 93m.
Potential for the hit was hinted at by the company in details reported from two previous holes, including a deep diamond hole, last week. The diamond hole was collared just south of and outside the Cyclone resource and intersected 10m at a grade of 1.2 per cent copper and 1.6g/t silver from 311m.
The hit also includes 3m at 2.2 per cent copper and 1.5g/t silver from 315m, which in turn includes 0.5m going a handsome 3.7 per cent copper and 3g/t silver from 315.5m.
It places the intercept about 320m vertical depth below surface, while the bottom of the Cyclone deposit sits at about 115m. A similar, but shallower, hit shows 15.2m at 1.4 per cent copper including 1.5m at 6.4 per cent copper from 109.7m.
The previous holes point to the significant expansion potential of the Cyclone-style mineralisation south of the North Graben fault.
American West Metals managing director David O'Neill said: “The drilling program has now exceeded 22,500m of drilling and continues to impress us with the exceptional quality of the copper mineralisation at Storm. The latest assays from the Cyclone deposit have delivered one of the best copper intersections at the project to date.”
O’Neill says another “significant milestone” and cost-saving initiative at Storm has been the completion of a sealift facility. The cargo ship MV Mitiq, owned by Canadian-based shipping company NEAS, recently spent two days offloading crucial supplies directly to Somerset Island for the 2025 drilling season, which is expected to provide significant savings of some C$4 million (AU$4.31 million) for the company’s logistics budget.
The graben block averages about 1.2km wide and strikes for at least 5km and possibly 10km along strike, meaning that the layered stratigraphic copper-silver mineralisation could extend for more than 10 square kilometres.
North of the North Graben fault, American West’s recent results include two holes put into the extreme south-west margin of the Cyclone resource on the same section where both intersected strong zones of copper sulphides. Both drill holes exhibit zones of intense vein and fracture-style copper sulphide mineralisation, with thick intervals assaying more than 3 per cent copper hosted by the fractured dolomite of the Allen Bay Formation.
The southernmost hole intercepted 45.7m going 1.9 per cent copper and 9.4g/t silver from 35.1m including 27.4m at 3.1 per cent copper and 14.6g/t silver from 35.1m with 15.2m running 4.2 per cent copper and 16.2g/t silver from 35.1m. The northernmost hole intercepted 57.9m running 1 per cent copper and 4.3g/t silver from 32m including 10.7m at 3.2 per cent copper and 16.0g/t silver from 65.5m.
The company says results continue to highlight the expansion and upgrade potential of the Cyclone deposit and it has prioritised results for inclusion into its resource estimations and upgrades.
If American West keeps up its current drilling success rate, it could begin to look like it has caught a copper-coloured tiger by the tail as future drilling south of Cyclone expands its potential resources into the deeper lodes lurking in the down-faulted block.
It also begs the question of what is controlling the lateral cut-offs – if there are any – at the east and west ends of Cyclone and do they apply to mineralisation within the downfaulted graben block? All will undoubtedly be revealed in due course.
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By Doug Bright
