Key highlights

  • American West Metals Ltd (ASX:AW1) shares touched a 52-week low during the 19 October 2026 session and closed at $0.029, down 12.12%.
  • A 22 September 2026 announcement says the company has engaged Washington-based GreenMet to support the West Desert Project in Utah.
  • West Desert hosts a JORC Inferred resource of 33.7 Mt at 20 g/t indium for about 23.76 million ounces of indium.

American West Metals Ltd (ASX:AW1) (OTCQB:AWMLF) is exploring and developing the 100%-owned West Desert Project in Utah, which hosts zinc, copper and indium. On 19 October 2026, the shares touched a 52-week low during the Trading session and closed at $0.029, down 12.12%. In an ASX release dated 22 September 2026, the company announced it had engaged Greentech Mineral Holdings Inc, trading as GreenMet, a Washington DC strategic advisory group, to support the project.

The GreenMet engagement

GreenMet describes itself as a conduit between private capital, government and critical mineral innovation. The announcement says its work for American West will focus on developing West Desert to create a US Supply chain for indium, since the United States currently relies entirely on imports. Indium is described as important to aerospace, defence, energy and telecommunications, with US supply disrupted in 2025 when China listed indium among critical metals subject to export restrictions.

The GreenMet team is led by Drew Horn, a former senior US critical minerals and energy security official whose roles spanned the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Energy and the Department of War. American West says the engagement is aimed at government funding, strategic partnerships and possible offtake arrangements. The announcement does not state fees or the length of the engagement.

West Desert resource and drilling

The announcement says West Desert is the only US deposit with a modern NI 43-101 and JORC 2012 compliant indium resource. The JORC Inferred resource is 33.7 million tonnes at 20 g/t indium, or 23,763,978 ounces of indium. The company notes that only 35% of drill samples used in historical and JORC estimates were assayed for indium, which it says suggests the endowment could be larger than currently defined.

Recent drilling at WD26-01 intersected 108 metres at 25.1 g/t indium, with grades up to 140.5 g/t, more than 400 metres east of the existing deposit. The Utah Geological Survey also received a $300,000 federal grant for a study of the indium at West Desert.

Land and setting

The project is 160 km south-west of Salt Lake City and comprises 330 acres of private land, 336 unpatented lode Mining claims and one State Metalliferous Mineral Lease, totalling about 32 km². The deposit is a zinc-copper skarn and carbonate replacement system. Because the deposit sits on private land owned by the company, the announcement says it may have a faster path to development approvals than projects on federal land, and it notes that the Fraser Institute rates Utah as one of the best US mining jurisdictions.

The announcement also recounts how the deposit is structured. The Main Zone lies north of the Juab Fault and is hosted by limestones and dolomites of the Notch Peak Formation, while the Deep Zone lies south of the fault in stratiform shale and limestone units of the Orr Formation. Mineralisation is dominated by sphalerite with lesser chalcopyrite, and the zinc and copper are associated with silver, indium, gold and other critical metals, while lead and molybdenum generally occur on the margins.

The project sits in the Sevier Orogenic Belt, which hosts the Bingham Canyon copper deposit and the Tintic Mining District. The company says the Utah Geological Survey study, funded by a US$300,000 federal grant, examined how the deposit formed and how indium is distributed through it, and that the findings are helping to guide exploration targeting.

Sector backdrop

Across the market on 19 October 2026, the benchmark index moved higher. The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) stood at 8,845.70 at 4:25 pm (GMT+11) on 19 October 2026, up 0.44%, or 39.00 points, for the day. Sector performance was mixed: Energy rose 2.16%, Industrials 0.93%, Financials 0.85%, Utilities 0.38% and Consumer Staples 0.25%; Information Technology fell 1.35%, A-REIT 0.34%, Consumer Discretionary 0.18%, Telecommunication Services 0.16% and Health Care 0.13%.

Risks shareholders should weigh

An advisory engagement does not guarantee government funding, partnerships or offtake, and the announcement gives no commitments from any government body. The indium resource is classified as Inferred, the lowest confidence category, and the statement that it could be larger relies on samples not yet assayed.

Development would require approvals, studies and funding that the announcement does not quantify. Indium and other critical metals markets are small and subject to policy changes. Drilling results come from a limited number of holes, and the company has not described its funding for its continuing exploration.

What’s next

The company says it will pursue government funding, strategic partnerships and potential offtake with GreenMet’s help and will continue corporate and drilling activity at West Desert, reporting further news flow through the ASX.