American West Metals Limited announced that a 7,500m diamond drilling program has commenced at the West Desert Project in Utah (West Desert or the Project). The West Desert Deposit is a large historical and foreign resource (Ni 43-101 compliant) of over 59Mt, including a higher-grade core of approximately 16.5Mt @ 6.3% Zn, 0.3% Cu and 33g/t In, which significantly, remains open at depth and along strike. The drill program results will be used to prepare an updated JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate.

Drilling data will also be used to complete detailed mining studies for a potential mining proposal including the evaluation of a low footprint, high-grade development scenario. Major Drilling Group International Inc. has been awarded the drilling contract. American West Metals' inaugural drilling program will focus on extending a number of key high-grade zinc and copper zones within the current West Desert resource (59Mt including 16.5Mt @ 6.3% Zn, 0.3% Cu, 33g/t In), and acquiring material for metallurgical test work in the oxide and transitional zones.

The drilling will be completed in areas that have insufficient historical drilling, or that are open and have the potential to add significant tonnes and grade to the existing resource. The higher-grade copper zones in particular (including 10.4m @ 3.2% Cu in historical drill hole CC-39), are sparsely drilled and remain open. The confirmation of further high-grade mineralisation in these locations has the potential to significantly upgrade the overall copper grade and metal inventory of the West Desert Deposit.

Historical test work on the oxide and transitional zinc and copper ores at West Desert has shown promising results, with recoveries of up to 79% for copper and 95% for zinc. Additional testing of the mineralisation in these zones will aim to confirm the prior work, and allow for further optimization of the processing flow sheets. Ten diamond drill holes are initially planned for approximately 7,500m, with drill hole depths ranging from 450m to 800m. Additional drill holes will be added as required and a second drill rig is expected to join the program in the coming months.

The second drill rig will be used for resource extension and to test a number of the West Desert look-alike exploration targets in the near mine area.