American West Metals : Over 53% Cu Direct Shipping Ore Generated at Storm Copper

ASX RELEASE

(ASX: AW1)

Monday, 11th April 2022

>53% Cu Direct Shipping Ore generated at Storm Copper

• • Conventional ore sorting on Storm mineralisation has produced exceptional results that are a game changer for potential development

• • Test work using a full scale sorter has successfully generated a Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) product with a copper grade of 53.9% copper with no impurities

• • DSO product has excellent ESG outcomes with a low footprint, environmentally friendly processing and simple, low cost development

• • A resource definition drilling and exploration program on track to commence in June

American West Metals Limited (American West Metals or the Company) (ASX: AW1), a discovery and development company focused on major base metal deposits in North America, is pleased to report the results of the recent ore sorting test work completed on mineralisation from the high-grade Storm Copper Project (Storm or the Project) on Somerset Island, Nunavut.

This work is the first of its type to be completed on the Storm mineralisation and has successfully produced a commercial grade direct shipping ore (DSO) product. The DSO material has no impurities and has the potential to form the basis for a low footprint and low capital development option at the Storm Copper Project.

An extensive drilling program has been planned for 2022 which will focus on resource definition and expansion of the known high-grade copper mineralisation through testing of high priority electromagnetic (EM) targets.

Dave O'Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals commented:

"We are pleased to announce a very exciting development for the Storm Copper Project with outstanding results from ore sorting test work. The work has produced a commercial grade DSO product through an uncomplicated and low-cost process that is game changing for this project and plays to our strategy of developing very low footprint operations.

"The process of generating DSO at Storm is amazingly simple and highlights our Company's focus on generating ESG sensitive mining solutions. Storm Copper now stands out as one of the very few, and highest-grade DSO copper projects globally.

Mr O'Neill continued, "Whilst the assay results for the drilling at the West Desert Project are imminent, our shareholders will be encouraged to see that we are also progressing high value initiatives across our portfolio".

American West Metals Limited

Suite 2, 28 Ord Street West Perth WA 6005

[e-mail]: 645 960 550

www.americanwestmetals.com(ASX: AW1)

ORE SORTING TEST WORK

The straightforward nature of the copper mineralogy and host rocks of the Storm Copper Project indicated that it may be amenable to upgrading through beneficiation processing techniques.

The ore sorting test work was completed with partners Steinert Australia at their test facilities in Bibra Lake, Western Australia. The test sample was processed using a full scale STEINERT KSS CLI XT combination sensor sorter (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Full scale Steinert KSS ore sorter, Bibra Lake, Western Australia

Sample selection and process

The test sample was selected from preserved core from drill hole STOR1601D. This drill hole is located within the eastern 4100N Zone of the Storm Copper Project (Figure 5). The selected 4m interval from between 97-101m down hole was composited and included approximately 5.5kg of core material with an average grade of 4m @ 4.16% Cu. The test sample is considered representative of the high-grade copper mineralisation discovered at the Storm Project to date.

The composite sample was crushed to a size fraction of 10-25mm, which is the optimal size range for the full-scale ore sorting equipment. The crushed material was then washed before being processed. A minor fraction of fines was lost (~0.03kg) during crushing.

A combination of X-Ray transmission and 3D laser sensors were used in the sorting algorithms given the expected density contrasts between the ore and waste.

Figure 2: Drill core from STOR1601D from interval 97-101m downhole - average grade 4.16%. The Chalcocite is seen as the dark gunmetal grey material within the lighter grey dolomite host rock.

Commercial grade DSO

Three distinct products were produced from the test work - a Very High Density material which qualifies as DSO, a High Density material and a Low Density material (Figure 3). The weights of each product was 0.56kg, 0.51kg and 4.4kg respectively. Each of the products was split and samples from each were pulverized and prepared as pressed pellets for analysis (Figure 4).

Metal values are estimated using portable XRF and the results are tabulated below (Table 1). XRF analysis of the pressed pellets is considered an accurate estimate of metal values given the composite and homogenous nature of the pellets.

The grades and yield suggests that the Very High Density product is likely comprised of pure chalcocite (Cu2S) and a small fraction of waste material. This unoptimized grade is superior to many other DSO copper products globally, and is due to the simple, monomineralic nature of the copper mineralisation.

Figure 3:The three products produced from the ore sorting test work. Left to right - Very High Density product

(DSO), High Density product, and Low Density product (waste rock)

Product	Cu Grade	Weight	Estimated Chalcocite Content (approx.)
Ore Sorter Feed	4.16%	5.5kg
V. High Density	53.9%	0.56kg	81%
High Density	10.3%	0.51kg	16%
Low Density	0.3%	4.4kg	0.4%

Table 1: Portable XRF results and ore sorter product details

The High Density intermediate product likely represents a portion of the sampled interval where there is fine grained chalcocite that wasn't liberated with crushing of the 10-25mm fraction. Optimisation of the sorting algorithm to recover the remaining fine grained chalcocite, followed by further crushing is expected to successfully upgrade this material to DSO grades through simple conventional physical separation. Any fines lost in the original crushing circuit will likely be reprocessed with the intermediate material.

The waste material is comprised of dolomite, with very minor unliberated (likely very fine grained) chalcocite. This is expected to have no acid forming potential.

Figure 4: Pressed pellets generated from the ore sorting products ready for XRF analysis.

Working towards a low footprint operation

The ore sorting test work has demonstrated that the typical mineralisation at Storm Copper can successfully be upgraded through a simple process to produce a DSO product. The exceptional grade of the Storm DSO is unique and ranks among the highest-grade copper DSO products globally.

The operational benefits of using ore-sorting processing technology are the low capital and operating costs, low emissions and the lack of tailings and reagents. This, combined with the high-grade and shallow mineralisation, provides the Company with a potential pathway to a very low footprint, low cost and ESG sensitive mining operation.

NEXT STEPS - STORM EXPLORATION PROGRAM

An extensive diamond drilling program has been designed for 2022 with the aim of defining a maiden copper resource at Storm, and to define new zones of mineralisation through testing of high-priority EM anomalies.

The high-grade 2750N zone will be the first to be drilled and will include infill drilling around historical intersections such as 110m @ 2.45% Cu from surface (drill hole ST97-08) and 56m @ 3.07% Cu from 12.2m (drill hole ST99-19). These two intersections are located approximately 100m apart, and within broader a zone of mineralisation over 300m in strike. The 2750N zone is open in all directions.

A number of high priority EM anomalies that were identified as part of the 2021 survey will also be tested. That survey identified seven shallow and seven deep anomalies that are untested and lie in favorable geological locations. For details of the results of the EM survey, see our ASX Release dated 14 December 2021 Outstanding Growth at Storm Copper.

Two of the shallow EM anomalies close to the 2750N zone are associated with significant copper in soil geochemical anomalies and mapped surface gossans, making them compelling targets for the discovery of further copper sulphides.

The geometry and mostly gentle dips of the modelled deep conductors suggest that they may be related to stratiform type targets, and may be indicative of traditional sedimentary type copper mineralisation at depth. One of these deep anomalies lies immediately to the west of the 4100N zone and is interpreted to project close to surface in that location, and therefore may represent the source of the shallow high-grade mineralisation.

Further details of the drill program will be announced soon, with drilling expected to commence in June.

Figure 5: Exploration target areas at Storm overlaying geophysics and drilling