The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - October 18, 2024
Storm project geologists Rachel Borg and Jordan Mathieu review core from SM24-02, a hole that cut 14.1 meters averaging 4.9% copper and 7 g/t silver.
American West Metals Ltd. Oct. 17 reported that drilling has cut thick zones of high-grade copper from surface at Chinook that confirm the potential for this deposit as a starter pit for a future direct-shipping-ore (DSO) mine at the Storm Copper project on Somerset Island, Nunavut.
"The drilling at Chinook has intersected thick intervals of copper mineralisation at surface, including very high-grade zones with individual assays up to 11.1% copper," said American West Managing Director Dave O'Neill.
Located along the Northwest Passage shipping route off Canada's northern coast, the 850-square-mile (2,200 square kilometers) Storm property covers a 60-mile- (100 kilometers) long belt of copper and zinc mineralization.
Earlier this year, American West published a maiden resource outlining 17.5 million metric tons of Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (JORC) compliant indicated and inferred resources averaging 1.17% (452 million lb) copper and 3.38 grams per metric ton (1.9 million oz) silver in four near-surface deposits within a roughly 10-square-kilometer (3.9 square miles) area at Storm.
Much of the company's 2024 drilling has focused on upgrading and expanding resources within this area in support of developing a mine plan for establishing a DSO mine.
So far, most of the assays from the 2024 program have been from holes drilled at Cyclone, the largest of the four deposits hosting the Storm Copper resource. Highlights from previously reported holes drilled at Cyclone include:
• 13.7 meters averaging 2.1% copper and 7.9 g/t silver from a depth of 67.1 meters in hole SR24-21, including 7.6 meters averaging 3.2% copper and 12.2 g/t silver from 70.1 meters.
• 57.9 meters averaging 1% copper and 4.3 g/t silver from a depth of 32 meters in hole SR24-045, including 10.7 meters averaging 3.2% copper and 16 g/t silver.
• 45.7 meters averaging 1.9% copper and 9.4 g/t silver from a depth of 35.1 meters in hole SR24-070, including 27.4 meters averaging 3.1% copper and 14.6 g/t silver.
• 53.5 meters averaging 3.9% copper and 12.56 g/t silver from a depth of 86.9 meters in hole SR24-093, including 22.9 meters averaging 8.5% copper and 17.89 g/t silver.
The latest batch of assays included results from 12 holes drilled at Chinook, the second-largest and highest-grade deposit in the current resource estimation.
According to the inaugural calculation, Chinook hosts 2.19 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.47% (71.2 million lb) copper and 4 g/t (282,000 oz) silver.
The exceptional near-surface copper encountered with this year's drilling underscores the potential of upgrading and expanding the Chinook resource.
Highlights from the latest batch of assays from drilling at Chinook include:
• 14.1 meters averaging 4.9% copper and 7 g/t silver from a depth of 11.9 meters in hole SM24-02, including 7.6 meters averaging 8.2% copper and 5.9 g/t silver.
• 42.7 meters averaging 3.1% copper and 4 g/t silver from surface in hole SR24-068, including 1.5 meters averaging 1.5% copper and 6 g/t silver.
• 35.1 meters averaging 2.7% copper and 5.8 g/t silver from a depth of 22.9 meters in hole SR24-080, including 9.2 meters averaging 7.3% copper and 15.3 g/t silver.
• 29 meters averaging 2.6% copper and 4.3 g/t silver from surface in hole SR24-081, including 3.1 meters averaging 11.1% copper and 1.5 g/t silver.
• 18.3 meters averaging 2.5% copper and 16 g/t silver from surface in hole SM24-83, including 6.1 meters averaging 5.4% copper and 2.8 g/t silver.
"The drilling was designed to upgrade the current inferred resources and has also expanded the near-surface footprint of copper mineralisation," said O'Neill. "We believe this will enhance the development opportunity of Chinook, highlighting the deposit as a potential starter mine at Storm."
American West said that ongoing studies are exploring a range of mining and development scenarios for the Storm Copper project.
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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