American West Metals Limited (ASX: AW1) continues to define near-surface high-grade copper in its diamond drilling programme at the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada.
“Our first drill programme at Storm has been a huge success. In a relatively short programme, we have intersected extremely high-grade copper near-surface and likely doubled the volume of mineralisation at the 2750N Zone, and discovered a potential large, new sedimentary copper system below the near- surface mineralisation,” Managing Director, Dave O’Neill, said.
“The latest assays for drilling at the 2750N Zone continue to highlight the potential for significant near- surface resources of copper with outstanding upside.
“Strong copper intersections to the west indicate that the zone is open and highly prospective in that direction.
“Outcropping mineralisation with up to 62% copper and surface geochemistry supports our assumptions that the zone has the potential to extend for over 1km to the west.
“The next drill programme at Storm will look to define further resources at the 2750N Zone, and to evaluate the economic potential of other highly prospective near surface occurrences of high-grade copper such as the 2200N and 4100N Zones.
“We are excited about the commencement of the next phase of beneficiation test work, designed to confirm the commercial potential of the high-grade Storm copper. Samples of drill core from this year’s programme are on the way to Perth, Western Australia, for test work that will aim to define a definitive flowsheet for a potential Direct Shipping Ore mining operation.
“We look forward to reporting on the outcomes of the planning and test work.”
Drilling Significantly Expands The 2750N Zone
The final batch of assays has been received for diamond drill holes ST22-03, ST22-04, ST22-06, ST22- 07 and ST22-08. A total of 997m of shallow drilling was completed at the 2750N Zone during the 2022 program (See Table 3 for previously reported significant intervals).
All drill holes completed at the 2750N Zone were designed to test the continuity and extensions to copper mineralisation encountered in historical drilling and to confirm the potential for mineable volumes of copper ore.
Thick intervals of copper mineralisation in the recent drill holes in the west of the 2750N Zone give strong indications that the mineralisation continues across the large north-south oriented gully (interpreted to be a large fault), and at depth. High-grade copper at surface and extensive geochemical anomalism along strike of the 2750N Zone supports the growth potential of the prospect to extend a significant distance to the west.
Drilling in the east of the 2750N shows that the mineralisation may pinch out or be offset by faulting. The results of surface geochemistry suggests a weakening of the tenor of mineralisation towards the east.
Faults are believed to be a major control on mineralisation. Further drilling will aim to define the structural architecture of the 2750N Zone, and to expand the economic potential of the Storm area by defining resources at the highly prospective 2200N and 4100N Zones. These opportunities offer outstanding upside and large-scale potential for a low-footprint, direct shipping ore (DSO) style operation.
Drill Hole Details
Drill holes ST22-06 and ST22-07 were drilled in the western part the 2750N Zone and successfully encountered thick intervals of copper sulphides.
The mineralisation encountered in these two holes is similar to that observed in other drill holes in this area and, importantly, is strongly chalcocite dominant. The typical copper zonation model strongly suggests that the centre of the mineralised system may be close to these drill holes, and potentially located just to the west of the known mineralisation in the 2750N Zone.
Drill holes ST22-03, ST22-04 and ST22-08 are all located in the eastern portion of the 2750N Zone.
ST22-04 was drilled on the same section as ST22-05 and encountered strong copper mineralisation, including 2m @ 4.04% Cu and 1m @ 8.29% Cu within a broader interval of 10m @ 2.36% Cu from 53m downhole.
The assay results for ST22-03 and ST2208 shows intervals of lower grade copper, which is a function of the fined grained/veinlet style of the mineralisation encountered in these drill holes.
The assays also indicate that some mineralisation initially logged within ST22-03 and ST22-08 is sooty pyrite and marcasite, not chalcocite, and this would support the interpretation that this may be a marginal part of the ore system in this zone. Mineralisation at Storm is typically zoned, displaying a core of copper-rich chalcocite and bornite with a margin of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena.
Another interpretation is that the mineralisation in the east may be offset by a series of north-south oriented faults. This type of structure was observed in drill hole ST22-02, as was the presence of strong pyrite, and the sinuous nature of the surficial expression of the zone may indicate some potential for offsets to the mineralisation.
The drill holes completed this year within the 2750N Zone have confirmed the thicknesses and grade of the historical copper intersections and continuity between drill holes. The ore system is interpreted to be open to the west and we can therefore expect further discoveries along strike. Early indications suggest that given the high grades, increasing volumes and shallow nature of the copper mineralisation, there is high potential that the 2750N Zone could support an initial low-footprint, direct shipping ore (DSO) type operation.
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