Copper Gossans Signal Major Discovery Potential at Storm Project
American West Metals has uncovered extensive copper mineralisation along an 8km strike at its Storm Copper Project in Canada, potentially signaling a major copper system that could significantly expand the company's resource base.
Regional Exploration Unveils Game-Changing Copper Discovery
American West Metals (ASX:AW1) has made a significant breakthrough at its Storm Copper Project in Canada with the discovery of extensive copper gossans and outcrop along 8km of strike in the Tornado area. This finding represents a substantial expansion of the project's potential scale, with chalcocite (a high-grade copper sulfide) and malachite mapped extensively along a major fault network.
The regional exploration success comes alongside continued high-grade copper intersections from the company's ongoing drill program, where diamond drilling has intersected thick intervals of visual copper sulfides, including:
- 43m combined total of very strong visual chalcocite and chalcopyrite mineralisation in hole PFS-001
- 49.5m combined total of very strong visual chalcocite and chalcopyrite mineralisation in hole PFS-002
Both holes were drilled as geotechnical holes into the proposed pit walls of the Cyclone Deposit but unexpectedly encountered significant mineralisation outside the current resource boundaries, suggesting potential for resource expansion.
Diamond Drilling Continues to Deliver Strong Results
The diamond drilling program has now completed 8 holes totaling 1,786m, with impressive visual copper sulfide intervals that suggest the deposit may extend beyond current resource boundaries. Particularly noteworthy is that geotechnical holes designed to test the proposed open pit walls have encountered substantial mineralisation, indicating the pit design could be expanded to capture more copper.
"Thick copper intersections in these areas are highly encouraging for potential resource growth and will likely push the pit walls outwards. This will mean more copper coming out of the ground," notes Dave O'Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals.
The company's reverse circulation (RC) drilling program is also advancing well, with 21 holes completed to date for a total of 3,194m. These holes are targeting resource upgrades at the Thunder, Lightning Ridge, Cirrus, Cyclone, and Corona deposits, as well as testing resource extensions and exploring new target areas.
Tornado Area: Potential Game-Changer for Storm Project
The most significant development comes from the regional mapping and sampling program aimed at following up preliminary Mobile Magnetotellurics (MMT) survey results in the Tornado area. This work has discovered extensive visual copper in outcrop, including chalcocite confirmed by portable XRF analysis.
The scale and extent of the mineralisation highlight the company's belief that the Tornado area could host a very large copper gold porphyry potential at depth. RC drilling is now planned to test these fault-related copper occurrences and stratigraphic targets in the coming days.
The discoveries align with the company's strategic exploration approach, which combines geophysical surveys with targeted geological mapping to identify high-priority drill targets.
Understanding Copper Gossans: Signs of a Major System Below
Copper gossans are surface expressions of weathered copper-bearing sulfide deposits and are considered highly significant exploration indicators. The presence of extensive gossans along 8km of strike at Storm suggests a potentially substantial copper system at depth.
These oxidized zones form when copper sulfide minerals like chalcocite weather at the surface, creating distinctive colorful outcrops with copper carbonates such as malachite. Geologists value gossans as they can indicate the location and potential scale of the primary sulfide mineralisation below.
The confirmation of chalcocite in these outcrops is particularly encouraging as it's a high-grade copper mineral containing approximately 80% copper by weight.
Technical Development Path Advancing
American West Metals continues to advance both exploration and development aspects of the Storm project:
- Phase 1 of the mobile magnetotellurics (MMT) survey has defined several large conductive features in favorable geological and structural locations
- Mapping and sampling have now confirmed copper mineralisation along the extensive fault network
- Diamond and RC drilling programs are proceeding to upgrade and expand resources
- Pre-feasibility study work is ongoing, including geotechnical drilling
The company expects laboratory assays for the visual copper intersections in the next 6-8 weeks, which will provide quantitative confirmation of the grades encountered.
Investment Significance: Multiple Growth Catalysts
American West Metals has positioned itself for significant growth with the Storm Copper Project offering multiple avenues for value creation:
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Resource expansion – Current drilling is likely to grow the existing resource base, with geotechnical holes already demonstrating mineralisation beyond expected boundaries
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New discovery potential – The 8km strike of copper gossans at Tornado represents a major new target area that could substantially increase the project's scale
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Development pathway – Ongoing pre-feasibility work indicates the company is advancing toward development decisions
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Processing advantages – Previous test work has demonstrated excellent ore sorting potential, with samples achieving up to 53.1% copper in concentrate with 83.4% recovery
The Storm project continues to demonstrate characteristics of a major copper system with shallow, high-grade mineralisation amenable to open-pit mining methods. Furthermore, this copper discovery by American West Metals Ltd is rapidly expanding understanding of the deposit and its potential scale.
Why Investors Should Watch American West Metals
American West Metals presents a compelling opportunity for investors interested in the copper sector:
- The Storm Project hosts shallow, high-grade copper with expansion potential in a tier-one mining jurisdiction
- Multiple exploration targets could significantly increase resources beyond the current inventory
- The discovery of extensive copper gossans along 8km of strike suggests a much larger system than previously recognized
- Drilling continues to intersect thick, visual copper mineralisation
- Initial metallurgical testing shows excellent concentration potential through ore sorting
- The company is advancing great cobar copper project development studies in parallel with exploration
With copper prices projected to rise due to growing demand from electrification and renewable energy, American West Metals is well-positioned to capitalize on its expanding copper resource in a secure jurisdiction.
In addition, the company's strategic approach mirrors successful strategies employed by other companies like Carnaby Resources' Trekelano expansion and recent Queensland gold production investments, highlighting the growing industry focus on copper-gold assets in stable mining jurisdictions.
Further updates are expected as the company continues its drilling program and receives assay results from the current program.
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