The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - September 5, 2023
Boulders with the copper mineral chalcocite collected from the surface of American West's Storm Copper project in Nunavut.
American West Metals Ltd. Sept. 4 reported that its near-surface drill program has tapped high-grade copper in two separate zones at Storm and discovered yet another promising zone of shallow mineralization at this intriguing project on Somerset Island in northern Nunavut.
The company's 2023 program involves reverse circulation drilling focused on defining a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (JORC) compliant resource around zones of shallow, high-grade copper at Storm, plus diamond drilling primarily focused on testing deeper geophysical targets that appear to be the source of the high-grade surface mineralization.
The near-surface portion of this drill program began at 4100N, one of three zones where American West hopes to establish an inaugural resource this year.
Highlights from previously released intercepts from the 2023 drilling at 4100N include:
• 29 meters averaging 1.1% copper from a depth of 59.4 meters in hole SR23-02, including a 1.5-meter subsection averaging 5.1% copper.
• 67.1 meters averaging 1.1% copper from a depth of 54.9 meters in hole SR23-03, including a 1.5-meter subsection averaging 7.1% copper.
• 29 meters averaging 1.2% copper from a depth of 62.5 meters in hole SR23-13, including a 1.5-meter subsection averaging 8.2% copper.
• 25.9 meters averaging 1.3% copper from a depth of 61 meters in hole SR23-14, including a three-meter subsection averaging 3.7% copper.
• 15.3 meters averaging 1.6% copper from a depth of 59.4 meters in hole SR23-17, including a 3.1-meter subsection averaging 4.8% copper.
The latest batch of assays includes results from one diamond drill hole that cut the highest-grade copper encountered so far at 4100N.
Hole SM23-02 cut 46 meters averaging 2.2% copper, starting at a depth of 64 meters, including a 0.3-meter (about one foot) bonanza grade band averaging 42.8% copper.
"This is the highest-grade assay result to date at the 4100N Zone," said American West Metals Managing Director Dave O'Neill. "Importantly, it is located in a key area that will underpin the resource classification of this prospect."
Drilled in the central area of 4100N, SM23-02 is an infill hole that provides quality assurance and quality control information for this roughly 1,300- by 250-meter zone at Storm.
The latest round of assays includes results from 2750N, a zone about 1,600 meters southeast of 4100N that was the primary target of American West's 2022 program at Storm.
• Six meters averaging 2.3% copper from a depth of 65 meters in hole ST2201.
• 57 meters averaging 2.5% copper from a depth of eight meters in hole ST22-02
• 41 meters averaging 4.18% from a depth of 83 meters in hole ST22-05.
This year, the company drilled six holes to infill key areas and to test the margins of 2750N in preparation for calculating a maiden resource for the zone.
Highlights from this year's 2750N Zone drilling include:
• 6.1 meters averaging 1% copper from 9.1 meters and 1.5 meters averaging 2.1% copper from 67 meters in hole SR23-19.
• 27.4 meters averaging 1.5% copper from surface and 27.4 meters averaging 1.3% copper from 30.5 meters in hole SR23-21.
• 6.1 meters averaging 1.8% copper from 44.2 meters and 19.8 meters averaging 1.1% copper from 61 meters in hole SR23-22
• 6.1 meters averaging 1.2% copper from surface and 1.5 meters averaging 1.1% copper from 42.7 meters in hole SR23-23.
"As expected from the 2750N Zone, the drilling also continues to highlight the very high grades of the prospect. Significantly, the latest drilling has also shown that the very strong mineralisation continues to surface, which supports the potential for a high-grade, near-surface deposit suitable as a starter pit," said O'Neill.
American West is currently considering the use of ore sorting technology to upgrade the already strong copper mineralization found near the surface at Storm into a direct shipping ore product.
Initial testing of this concept produced a DSO product averaging 53.9% copper. Ore sorting, beneficiation and process optimization testing continues on a range of ore types from the 2750N and 4100N zones.
In addition to establishing an inaugural resource in the known zones of near-surface copper mineralization at Storm, American West continues to make discoveries in underexplored areas of the Nunavut property.
In August, the company announced the discovery of Thunder, a new zone with strong near-surface copper that corresponds with an electromagnetic geophysical anomaly about 1,000 meters west of 2750N.
Based on visual observations, the 76 meters of mineralization cut in the Thunder discovery hole is similar to but more intense than what has been encountered by drilling at 2750N.
American West's latest Storm discovery is Lightening Ridge, which lies along a fault that is about midway between the 2750N Zone to the north and the 2200N Zone to the south.
"Exploration drilling between the 2750N and 2200N Zones has defined two thick intervals of strong visual sulphides associated with a large fault system and historical EM anomaly," said O'Neill. "The new discovery has been named Lightning Ridge due to the exposure of massive chalcocite near the gully ridge, and continues to highlight the exploration and growth opportunities within the Storm area."
The Lightening Ridge discovery hole, SR23-52, targeted an untested airborne electromagnetic target in an area where one shallow hole drilled in 1997, ST97-06, cut 2.6 meters averaging 6.83% copper from a depth of 35.4 meters.
The company reports that copper sulfides were observed in the chips from over 44 meters of this RC hole, including strong sulfide mineralization over 19 meters.
American West says the Lightning Ridge discovery continues to highlight the effectiveness of electromagnetic geophysics as a tool for targeting strong copper sulfides at Storm.
Assays are pending from both the Thunder and Lightning Ridge discovery holes.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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