The company said the proposed development scenario has an 11-year mine life and is based on an Ore Reserve of 12.58Mt at 1.2% copper and 3.7g/t silver, containing 151,000t of copper and 1.5Moz of silver. The reserve is reported under the JORC Code 2012 and consists entirely of Probable Ore Reserves.
American West's PFS mine plan contemplates conventional open-pit mining from four of Storm's seven copper deposits, using a contractor mining fleet. The planned processing plant would combine crushing, XRT ore sorting, gravity concentration and flotation to produce copper concentrate streams.
The company said permitting studies are well advanced and that the mining permit proposal has been submitted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board. It is targeting a final investment decision in early 2028, construction in 2029 and 2030, and first copper in 2030; these timelines remain company targets.
The PFS economic results are estimates prepared using copper and silver prices of US$5.30/lb and US$50/oz, respectively. American West said the study has an accuracy range of plus or minus 25% and cautioned that there is no certainty its production target or forecast financial outcomes will be achieved.
Source: Download AW1 official ASX announcement, 2026-11-05.
Thunder Deposit section view from American West Metals’ Storm Copper Project Pre-Feasibility Study announcement, dated 5 November 2026.