American West clears Storm study hurdle as West Desert system expands

Storm PFS reaches publication stage

American West Metals Limited (ASX:AW1) has finished the work streams for its Storm Copper Project pre-feasibility study and maiden Ore Reserve estimate, moving the Nunavut project to its next major disclosure point. The company said the study is being compiled with Sacre Davey, Ausenco and the majority Inuit-owned Nuna Group, and is expected to be published in the coming weeks.

The extra time was used to refine project inputs and assess processing options, including ore-sorting and beneficiation approaches that American West says could improve copper recoveries and output. The milestone follows the Storm PFS progress, which had described the study as nearing completion. The PFS will build on the positive findings of a March 2025 preliminary economic study, although the company has not yet released the updated economics or Ore Reserve figures.

Storm permitting clears Nunavut planning hurdle

The Storm project description has been approved by the Nunavut Planning Commission and is ready for submission to the Nunavut Impact Review Board once the PFS is complete. That submission will set out the scale and boundaries of the proposed development and form the basis for future mining licence approvals.

American West also expects up to CA$100,000 from the Nunavut Government’s Community Engagement Support Program during the December quarter. The funding will support community liaison work, including planned meetings in Resolute Bay and Tayoloak with communities and non-government organisations. Separately, the company is conducting structural and geochemical analysis across a largely untested 110km copper horizon to refine targets for 2027 drilling.

West Desert system extends beyond deposit

At the West Desert Project in Utah, the most striking quarter-end result came from hole WD26-07, drilled about 350 metres west of the existing deposit. The 830-metre hole recorded 140 metres of combined visual carbonate replacement-style copper-zinc mineralisation across five zones, followed by 219 metres of visual molybdenum-bearing endo-skarn and altered monzonite porphyry.

The visual logging identified chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite and sphalerite in the western hole, while molybdenite, bornite and chalcopyrite were observed in the porphyry-hosted sections. The result extends the mineral system westward, but the significance remains unconfirmed until laboratory assays establish grades and any impurities or deleterious characteristics. Assays for WD26-06 and WD26-07 are expected within one to two weeks, subject to laboratory turnaround.

Northern and eastern drilling build exploration pipeline

Hole WD26-06, drilled around 1km north of the deposit, intersected a combined 11 metres of visual copper oxide within altered porphyry and quartzite breccia, alongside magnetite skarn along the porphyry-sediment contact. Hole WD26-05, drilled about 370 metres east of WD26-01, identified zinc veinlets and molybdenite while helping define the prospective contact.

Taken together, the company says zinc-copper-indium-gold skarns and porphyry-hosted molybdenum mineralisation can now be traced for almost 2km along the east-west magnetic feature. The latest campaign extends the September West Desert drilling, which had reported thick visual copper, zinc and molybdenum zones but left grades pending. WD26-08 has now been completed, with assays expected in four to six weeks, while new drill pads are being permitted for follow-up work.

Cash position puts timing under scrutiny

American West ended September with A$5.453 million in cash after A$3.449 million of net operating cash outflows during the quarter. Exploration and evaluation spending accounted for A$2.255 million, while staff costs were A$958,000. On the company’s calculation, the balance represented 1.58 quarters of funding at the current outflow rate.

Management said it expects operating and exploration expenditure to fall as planned activities are completed, and said it does not currently propose to raise additional capital. That provides a stated path through the near term, but the runway calculation remains sensitive to drilling, permitting and study costs. The next financial question is whether spending does in fact normalise before the Storm PFS, West Desert assays and 2027 exploration decisions require further cash.