In a significant move for domestic critical minerals supply, American West Metals is gearing up for a major new drilling campaign focused on gallium and indium at its flagship West Desert project in Utah, USA. The program, slated for next year, follows the highly encouraging re-sampling of historical drill core that revealed substantial high-grade mineralisation.
High-Grade Results Fuel New Exploration Push
The decision to launch this targeted drill program comes off the back of a detailed review and re-sampling of historical diamond drill cores. This work has identified a suite of drill-ready targets within the project's oxidised zone, specifically for the sought-after critical metals gallium and indium.
Historical drilling at the West Desert site has already demonstrated exceptional potential. Peak gallium grades hit 77.3 grams per tonne (g/t), with standout intercepts including a 177.5-metre section grading 20.2g/t from 182.7m depth. Other notable results were a 136.1m stretch at 20.1g/t from 436.4m, 85m at 24g/t from 669.31m, and a 28.6-metre interval at 33.9g/t from 399.6m, which included an strong>11.1-metre slice at a remarkable 56g/t.
The upcoming campaign will also aim to expand the company's existing indium resource, which has previously recorded grades as high as 1055g/t. West Desert hosts the largest known indium inventory in the United States, estimated at a staggering 23 million ounces.
Broader Mineral Potential and Historical Parallels
Beyond gallium and indium, the recent sampling program, which tested 116 samples from six drill holes, confirmed rich mineralisation across a spectrum of valuable metals. This included results up to 41.9g/t gallium, 324g/t indium, 4.9% copper, 155g/t silver, and gold grades reaching 5.4g/t. The discovery of multiple copper, gold, and silver targets outside the existing resource hints at further significant mineralisation potential.
Encouraged by these findings, American West will now embark on a larger resampling program of historical core, both inside and outside the known resource. The new drilling will test the oxidised zone, which the company considers analogous to the historic Apex germanium-gallium mine, also located in Utah.
The Apex mine, situated 300km south of West Desert, shares a similar geological setting, with both associated with magnetite-rich carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) style mineralisation. Apex is notable as the only mine in the Western world developed primarily for germanium and gallium production, having yielded eye-watering grades up to 0.7% (7000g/t) germanium and 2% (20,000g/t) gallium.
Aligning with US National Security and Defence Priorities
American West Metals' push in Utah is timely, coinciding with a renewed US government focus on securing domestic supply chains for critical raw materials. The recent Trump Administration National Security Strategy emphasised that the US must never rely on a foreign power for materials vital to its defence industry and economy.
Managing Director David O'Neill stated the company is excited to advance towards drilling. "The preparations for the 2026 drill program include a resampling program and review of the extensive historical drilling database for West Desert," O'Neill said. "The review has enabled us to refine our exploration targeting model and define multiple new targets for indium, gallium, and other critical metals."
The company also plans to sample waste from historical surface mining activities from the 1900s, testing for gallium, indium, and antimony—the latter being in huge demand for defence munitions. With its geology indicating a large porphyry-related system similar to the nearby world-class Bingham Canyon mine, American West believes West Desert is ideally positioned to supply the gallium, indium, and other metals crucial for US defence and economic requirements.
