American West closes in on Canadian copper development decision

American West Metals is nearing the final hurdle at its Storm copper project in Canada, with a prefeasibility study (PFS) nearing completion and permitting underway as it aims to become a key copper producer in an emerging region.

The company says the study, which is on track to be completed in the third quarter of this year, is focused on delivering a compelling and potentially expanded development case by optimising the process plant, flowsheet and mine plans in a white-hot copper market of more than US$6 (A$8.7) per pound.

Building on last year’s robust preliminary economic assessment (PEA), the PFS is being designed in tandem with engineering heavyweights Sacre Davey, Ausenco and Inuit-owned contractor Nuna Group, to maximise copper output.

At the same time, the company’s permitting is gathering momentum. Its application is now progressing through the Nunavut regulatory process, with management targeting final approvals in the medium term.

Adding another feather to Storm’s cap, the Nunavut Government has chipped in funding for community engagement activities, underlining the project’s growing importance to the region.

Importantly, the company already has a powerful commercial backer in global metals trader Ocean Partners, which has agreed to fund up to 80 per cent of Storm’s initial development costs through a senior secured loan facility, subject to a bankable feasibility study. Ocean Partners has also secured rights to all future copper and silver production, providing a ready-made path to market.

Importantly, the final process design confirms the unique advantages of the Storm Copper Project, demonstrating that its copper-silver mineralisation can be efficiently upgraded using simple, low-impact beneficiation technologies.

While the PFS is homing in on the initial development, the broader exploration potential at Storm appears immense. The project covers a largely untested 110-kilometre-long prospective copper horizon that has already thrown up several large-scale targets.

These include the 4.1km-long Chevron copper anomaly, the 20km-long Midway-Storm-Tornado corridor and the Tempest prospect, where surface grab samples have returned stunning grades of up to 38.2 per cent copper and 30.8 per cent zinc.

As copper continues to fly at near all-time high prices and American West weighs a potentially expanded operation at Storm, the company’s West Desert indium project in the US has lately taken centre stage in its exploration and expansion plans.

With an impressive JORC-compliant resource of 33.7 million tonnes containing zinc, copper, silver, gold and a significant inferred resource of 670,000kg of indium at 20 grams per tonne, the project is widely touted as containing the biggest undeveloped indium resource in the United States. In today’s geopolitical climate, that designation carries increasing weight.

As Storm’s PFS rounds the corner and with permitting well underway, American West looks on track to develop what could be one of Canada’s next copper cash cows.

The backing of a major trading house for both funding and offtake provides a solid commercial foundation, leaving the company to focus on its technical work and the tantalising exploration upside across its vast North American landholdings.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au