Mining MarketWatch

Industrial Minerals Temiscaming property with unique geology also prospective for naturally occurring hydrogen and helium.

Fig. 2 (above) -- Location Map of Ville Marie Property. Accessible 15km north of town of Ville Marie, located between two major mining cities.

NOTE: The above claims map has since been increased from 250 sq km to 300 sq km.

The areas that QI Materials is focused on are where the greenstone plunges right under the sedimentary rocks, from a geological standpoint that is key to what produces the natural hydrogen at such a high degree (throughout the system, creating essentially a valley of hydrogen), you don't find this type of natural hydrogen anywhere else in Canada or North America.

Fig. 4 (above) -- The Temiscamingue graben area is severely affected by seismicity and normal faulting related to extensional processes still active today (Fig. below). Such structures may be important in allowing the transfer of gases from deep sources to shallow environments. For H₂ and He exploration, these faults must be well located in space (Lidar, AMT, gravity, magnetometric surveys) and geophysical surveys must be carried out in order to verify the vertical extension (in depth) of the faults. The deeper these structures are, the greater the potential for gas transfer.

Fig. 5a (above) -- The Temiscamingue graben -- QIMC and INRS have selected the Lake Temiskaming Graben area for its unique geological context, which marks the transition between an Archean greenstone belt rich in ultramafic (komatiites and peridotites) and iron formations (Baby's Gp) and the Cobalt Group sedimentary rock basin (Proterozoic). This transition zone is also affected by graben faults and the emplacement of a Cretaceous kimberlite field. These observations indicate that the area has been active for over 2,700 million years, as evidenced by the record of supracrustal and igneous rocks in the region. Geological Survey of Canada aquatic seismic data from Lake Témiscamingue show that a strong earthquake affected the Lake Témiscamingue basin during the Quaternary, and the very large number of epicentres recorded in the area of Lake Kipawa (southern extension of the graben) indicates that the graben is still a tectonically active zone. This geological context could be favorable for the transfer of gas from deep sources to the surface.

Starting in June 2024, INRS teams were out in the field, taking gas samples from the soil (soil gas survey) and conducting underwater surveys in Lake Témiscamingue.

These surveys were used, among other things, to locate degassing zones associated with faults in the Témiscamingue rift.

Subsequently, geophysical surveys will be carried out to detect deep structures in the rock. Drone surveys will also be realized to provide useful remote sensing data for hydrogen and helium exploration.

Fieldwork this Summer-2024 was carried out mainly in the Municipality of St-Bruno-de-Guigues sector.

QI Materials Témiscamingue property offers similar geology to the recent large natural hydrogen Ramsey Project discovery by GoldHydrogen Ltd in South Australia.

"The conceptual exploration model that led to the development of the exploration program is the hydrogen production model in the context of Precambrian basement and more specifically the sub-model linked to the presence of iron-rich rocks associated Archean greenstone belt In the Témiscamingue area and more precisely in the St-Brunode-Guigues sector, the units of the Baby volcanic belt containing peridotites, komatiites, basalts and iron formation.” Furthermore, “These sedimentary rocks, covering the Precambrian basement, are affected by the still active Temiscamingue rift zone (neotectonic deformations)," said Marc Richer-LaFlèche, of the INRS who is heading the program.

Back in May-2024 Mining MarketWatch Journal provided a detailed overview of QI Material's Q2-2024 exploration research summary program written by PR. Marc Richer-Laflèche, PHD., GEO on QI Material's quest for natural sources of hydrogen and helium in the Tèmiscamingue area (QC), archived copy of the exploration program may be viewed here.

The following video from QI Materials shows soil samples being taken on its Ville Marie Hydrogen Project:

Takeaway from watching the above twitter/X video post: Here we can see the sampling methodology. They drill down ~80 cm, connect sampling equipment and hydrogen comes out under positive pressure filling the sample bag. Results can be quickly read -- no lengthy lab waits.

NO FALSE POSITIVES FOR QI MATERIALS: Soil samples are key to any hydrogen project and false positives need to be ruled out (something QI Materials does not have a problem with). Some hydrogen exploration companies are looking for H2 in old oil or gas wells and have issues with anthropogenic values where the corrosion of wells create hydrogen. Other hydrogen exploration companies have false positives coming from bio generation caused by the soil type whereby bacteria could break up and produce hydrogen. In QI Materials case hydrogen comes up from the fault via the water coming up from the fault, which geochemically reacts to the specific type of basement rock that is rich in iron, potassium, radon, etc... that geochemical reaction takes out the "O" from the H20 and that is where the hydrogen seeps from.

1) Source of the H2 (confirmed): QIMC/INRS has established the source of the H2; it’s the underlying sedimentary bedrock, deep in origin.

2) Migration of the H2: QIMC/INRS has released initial geophysics down to 90 m on Line 1 and Line 3, see Oct. 24, 2024 news "QIMC Unveils Landmark Geophysical Survey Findings in its natural hydrogen Ville Marie project". The plan is to go progressively deeper down to ~5 km. This initial geophysics phase of exploration, to locate migration pathways with increasingly defined imagery, will take until ~May 2025, at which time geotechnical drilling is expected to begin. The team has plans to eventually refine geophysical surveys to the point they will be precisely measuring faulting to intervals of every 20 cm.

Figure 5c (above) Section Line 1 -- We can clearly see the clay rich sediments (seen in blue in the image between the green and the yellow) capturing the H2. The geos can clearly see the fractures that allow the H2 to seep upwards North-South and head East-West.

Figure 5d (above) Section Line 3 -- The anomalies are horizontal, and we can clearly see the North-South fractures that plunge down, where the sedimentary rock is broken and fractured, creating conduits of H2 flow to be captured.

3) Accumulation of the H2: The hydrogen system is dynamic, and will focus on both volume, reservoirs, and feeding flow (which is the most important metric), this will give an indication of the rate at which H2 may be industrially drained.

Figure 5e (above) - Idealized model of possible potential - This is an excerpt from a presentation slide-deck used to help explain to laymen how hydrogen is formed, migrates, is trapped, tapped for industrial use, and leaks.

4) Leakage of the H2: QIMC/INRS shines in its ability to detect seepage at surface and has made the association between the hydrogen seeps and positive thorium, radon, and potassium anomalies.

QIMC Unveils Landmark Geophysical Survey Findings in its natural hydrogen Ville Marie project

Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (FSE: 7FJ) ("QI Materials", "QIMC" or the "Company"), is proud to announce the very successful results of the non-invasive geophysical surveys conducted in the St-Bruno-de-Guigues area of Témiscamingue. These surveys were commissioned by QIMC to its partner the INRS following the detection of high hydrogen soil-gas anomalies during its summer soil sampling covering an area of 80km2.

"We are thrilled with the outcome of these geophysical surveys on the first 3 lines measured", said John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC. "The results are in line with our expectations and further confirms Professor Marc Richer-Lafleche hydrogen model of a deep seated hydrothermal source. Even without drilling data, the anomalies seen in the imagery along line 1 suggest a break in the clay horizon's integrity, potentially allowing hydrogen to migrate to the surface. Also, the disturbances on line 3, combined with strong hydrogen soil anomalies, point to the likely presence of gas in the sediments. This geophysics data provides a clear and detailed understanding of the Quaternary geology underlying the hydrogen anomalies and the reservoirs. These findings are critical for future exploration and natural hydrogen development in our natural hydrogen Ville Marie project, as they provide a comprehensive understanding of the area's geology, faulting and gas seepage dynamics reservoir structures"

To document the characteristics of the terrain beneath these high hydrogen soil anomalies, QIMC partnered with the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) to carry out cutting-edge geoelectric tomography (GTS). This technique allows for the detailed mapping of subsurface geological features without the need for invasive stratigraphic drilling.

Surveys

The first survey (figure 1), carried out in October 2024, involved the production of sub-surface imagery with very high spatial resolution (inter-electrode distance spacing of 5 m). This will be followed, in November 2024, by a geoelectric tomography survey with a vertical penetration of the order of 350 m (inter-electrode distance spacing of 20 m), and subsequently by an audiomagnetotellurics (AMT) survey with high vertical penetration of the kilometer order. Being particularly sensitive to the presence of electrical discontinuities associated with faults, this method should make it possible to locate and prioritize the importance of faults associated with the Témiscamingue graben. Concurrently with these surveys, a gravity survey (50m stations) is being currently carried out to document regional variations in the thickness of the sedimentary rock basin.

Figure 1. Line 1 survey line and line 3 East and North survey lines

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Objective

One of the objectives of INRS and QIMC is to identify areas of maximum thickening of the sedimentary rock sequence overlying the Archean basement in order to identify the most likely places for the reservoirs. This objective should be easy to achieve, given the difference in density between the Proterozoic and Ordovician sedimentary rocks and the volcanic and intrusive rocks of the Baby Group (greenstone belt).

The data generated by the galvanic and electromagnetic geoelectric surveys will also be used to optimize the injection and recording parameters for the electromagnetic data (TDEM) to be measured in winter 2024 going into early 2025. The latter will be acquired using a mobile ground-based system capable of producing electrical resistivity and electrical chargeability sections with vertical penetration of the order of 100-200 m and horizontal resolution of the order of 15 cm. This system is essential for locating fractures and faults masked by glaciolacustrine deposits, and for distinguishing Ordovician sedimentary rocks (less resistive) from Proterozoic sedimentary rocks (more resistive).

Geoelectric tomographic survey

The INRS team carried out a very high-resolution geoelectrical tomography (electrical resistivity and chargeability) survey to produce electrical resistivity and chargeability imagery along lines 1 and 3Est and north of line 3E. The objectives of the survey were to: 1) provide imagery to assess overburden thickness variability, 2) clarify the stratigraphy of Quaternary sediments overlying sedimentary rocks, and 3) verify that the strong hydrogen anomalies detected during the Soil-Gas survey are not associated with simple sulfide weathering processes. "This last point is critical", notes Professor Marc Richer-Laflèche, head of INRS' Applied Geoscience Laboratory, "as the aim of the project is to locate hydrogen anomalies originating from deep-seated sources, rather than small local anomalies associated with the weathering of sulphides located at the contact between mineralized bedrock and local groundwater."

The survey was carried out using a Terameter LS (10 channels) and multi-connector cables. Acquisitions were carried out in gradient mode. Zond RS2D software was used for quality control, data inversion and 2D imaging.

"The results obtained indicate that geoelectrical tomography is an effective method that works remarkably well in the electrically conductive terrain of St-Bruno-de Guigues" states Professor Richer-Laflèche. "In the very high spatial resolution acquisition mode, the method reveals the presence of several sedimentary horizons in the Quaternary sequence, and pinpoints the position of the contact with the rocks of the sedimentary basin."

Section Line 1

Figure 2. A) High-resolution geoelectrical tomographic imaging of a portion of the rang IV road (line 1: rte du 4ième rang) in St-Bruno-de-Guigues. B) Contrast enhancement by scaling electrical resistivity values. Modeling and 2D data inversion: M.R. LaFlèche).

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Section along line 1 (rte du quatrième rang): This survey was carried out in the area of the first hydrogen anomaly discoveries (July 2024) in the northern part of St-Bruno-de-Guigues. The section clarifies the contact between bedrock (between I and II) and the Quaternary sequence, comprising some 5 units (II: sand and gravels; III: clays; IV: sands; V: clays and silty sands at the top)(Fig. 2 a). "The imagery obtained along line 1 also shows significant heterogeneity, particularly affecting horizon III, which according to our model would be a low-permeability clay-rich horizon (Fig. 2b)" notes Professor Richer-Laflèche. "Despite the absence of drilling in this area, we believe that this anomalous domain marks a break in the tightness of a clay horizon", continues Professor Richer-Laflèche, "allowing gases such as hydrogen to ascend to the sub-surface and soils."

Section north of line 3E

This 1500m-long section was laid parallel to line 3E to avoid electrical interference associated with a transmission line located along chemin du Quai (line 3E). Note that the Soil-Gas survey for line 3E reported very strong hydrogen anomalies that could not be explained by surface observations.

"The section shows a more complex geological and topographical context than line 1 (Fig. 3a). In the central part, the bedrock becomes sub-outcropping sub-flush (I) (Lorrain Fm sandstone) and shows more conductive sub-vertical anisotropies, which we interpret as major fractures that could be important in the process of hydrogen transfer to the surface(VI and VII)" states Professor Richer-Laflèche. "Note that these fractures (or faults) affect sub-horizontally dipping sedimentary rocks. As with the Line 1 section, it shows the presence of sandy-gravelly (III and IV) and silty-clay (V) sediments (Fig. 3a), which also appear disturbed in sectors VIII and IX (Fig. 3b and C). Despite the absence of drilling data at present, we interpret these disturbances as electrical resistivity anomalies related to the probable presence of gas in the sediments, as they are located in an area characterized by strong hydrogen anomalies in the soils (ref. Soil-Gas survey on line 3 East)."

Figure 3. A) High-resolution geoelectric tomographic imagery calculated from data collected along a section located north of Chemin du Quai (line 3E)in St-Bruno-de-Guigues. B and C) Contrast enhancement by scaling electrical resistivity values. Modeling and 2D data inversion: M.R. LaFlèche.

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Probable origin of disturbances observed in high-resolution ERT imagery

The presence of sub-vertical electrical resistivity anisotropies, affecting glaciolacustrine sediments, could be explained by different geological processes. Given the seismic context of the region, the increase in electrical resistivity values in silty clays could be explained, among other things, by the emplacement of non-cohesive sand dykes in cohesive silty-clay sediments. In fact, an earthquake-related sand eruption was observed in the Témiscamingue graben Northeast of New Liskeard (Doughty et al., 2010). "We believe that the presence of sub-vertical sandy dykes (more porous and permeable) could promote the ascent of hydrogen through the clay-silt cover (impermeable) and thus produce hydrogen anomalies in the soils." states Professor Richer-Lafèche. "Also, locally, if the gas flow is significant (advective flux sectors), subvertical resistive anomalies could be linked to the presence of significant quantities of gas, thus explaining a localized increase in electrical resistivity values." This will be further confirmed by geotechnical drilling planned for Spring 2025.

"Deeper data, located in the sandstone horizon of the Lorrain Formation (Cobalt Gp), suggest that despite the sub horizontal nature of the stratification of the sandstone units, these rocks appear fractured and probably faulted," notes Professor Richer-Laflèche. "This is underlined by a sharp drop in electrical resistivity values. This type of rock discontinuity could be an exploration vector for advective gas flow zones in Proterozoic, Ordovician and Silurian sedimentary rocks of the Témiscamingue graben."

"The successful results of these surveys mark a significant step forward in QIMC's efforts to explore and harness Ville Marie's natural hydrogen resources in a responsible and sustainable manner." continues John Karagiannidis, president of QIMC. The data collected from the geophysical surveys will be further analyzed and integrated into QIMC's ongoing exploration strategy for the region, ensuring that future developments are grounded in sound geological understanding.

QIMC will continue to engage with local stakeholders and provide updates as the project progresses. The company is committed to maintaining transparency and fostering positive relationships with the community throughout this process.

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QIMC Announces Landmark Discovery of Hydrogen Soil Samples over 1000ppm on Recently Completed 9.7km North-South Line, Outlining Highly Charged 70km² Hydrogen Area

Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (FSE: 7FJ) ("QI Materials", "QIMC" or the "Company"), is proud to announce a landmark discovery made in collaboration with our Quebec partner, the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS). The findings from the recently completed 9.7km north-south line 7 have uncovered hydrogen soil samples with concentrations exceeding 1000 parts per million (ppm). Significantly, we observed 8 readings exceeding 600 ppm, with 2 of those surpassing 1000 ppm. Additionally, the average measured 531.9 ppm over a 450 ms interval between the readings above 1000 ppm (Fig. 1). Professor Marc Richer-Laflèche, Scientific Head of Applied Geoscience Laboratory comments, "These highly anomalous values can be considered first-class given the absolute values that, locally, exceed the instrumental detection limit of 1000 ppm. The results from Line 7 validate the geological hydrogen model interpretations we outlined in previous announcements."

The data distribution is illustrated in Figure 2, which maps the anomalies against a backdrop of satellite imagery.

Figure 1. Section showing the variability of H2 concentrations measured in the soils of line 7 at St-Bruno-de-Guigues. Data are given as a function of distance in meters

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Figure 2: Map of the distribution of hydrogen anomalies in the soils of the St-Bruno-de-Guigues area. Data projected onto satellite image background.

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Exceptional natural hydrogen levels

"We are thrilled to announce this transformative discovery outlining a highly charged 70km2 hydrogen area within our 250km2 Ville Marie property," said John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC. "The hydrogen concentrations identified by INRS mark a significant advancement in our pursuit of clean, renewable energy solutions. This breakthrough highlights our leadership in the hydrogen sector and strengthens our commitment to advancing sustainable technologies that support Quebec's clean emission goals. We eagerly anticipate the next steps in developing and commercializing this remarkable hydrogen resource."

Strategic Impact

To delineate the area of high hydrogen values observed along line 1 of the July 2024 soil gas survey, the INRS field crew extended line 1 westward during the first week of August 2024. This extension begins at the boundary between forest and agricultural land and ends near the chemin des secondes et troisième rangs of St-Bruno-de-Guigues (line 7). "As initially predicted in our hydrogen model, the intensity of the soil hydrogen anomalies gradually decreased towards the west (Figure 3)", notes Professor Marc Richer-Lafleche. "This decrease in concentration emphasizes a westward closure of the hydrogen anomaly domain. This spatial variability may reflect, among other things, the presence of contrasting geological units (arkosic sandstones, Cobalt Group conglomerates, Ordovician dolomitic limestones) and also the probable presence of the Rivière-Blanche fault, which may be present in the St-Bruno-de-Guigues area beneath the thick glacial-lacustrine sediments", states Professor Marc Richer-Lafleche.

Fig. 3: Location map of the soil gas survey for Line 7 (North-South) and East-West Lines 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

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"We believe that this fault is partly responsible for the emplacement of hydrogen in the St-Bruno-de-Guigues area," said John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC. The location of this fault is a priority for QIMC and INRS and will be the subject of a high spatial resolution audiomagnetotelluric survey to be carried out in the fall of 2024.

"In the area of the sampling stations containing the hydrogen anomalies, there is no evidence in the field (or in the MRNF databases) of the presence of wells (former mining or oil wells), which could explain, among other things, the presence of H2 anomalies from anthropogenic sources. What's more, unlike the false H2 anomalies regularly reported in the scientific literature, the H2 anomalous zones at St-Bruno-de-Guigues extend for more than one kilometer (along north-south or east-west axes), which cannot be explained by anthropogenic sources.

It is also unlikely that the gas anomalies are the result of subsurface biogenic processes, as the glaciolacustrine sediments hosting the H2 anomalies and also the H2-depleted zones (background) are very similar from one sampling site to another. These Quaternary sediments are essentially dominated by a mineral matrix with little potential to generate significant amounts of hydrogen through fermentation reactions with organic matter. In contrast to the study by Etiope et al. (2024), which was carried out on soils from the Pusteria Valley region (northern Italy), the H2 concentrations observed in soils from the Lake Témiscamingue graben are not associated with very high CH4 and CO2 concentrations. Therefore, it is likely that the source of hydrogen in St-Bruno-de-Guigues soils is geological rather than biogenic," details Professor Marc Richer-Lafleche.

Next Steps:

Soil sampling is scheduled in the fall of 2024 to further analyze the granulometric and elemental characteristics of glaciolacustrine sediments in the St-Bruno-de-Guigues area.

Gravimetry and audiomagnetotellurism (AMT) geophysics are also planned for the fall of 2024 to assess variations in the thickness of local sedimentary rock deposits (gravity troughs) over the Archean basement. These data will allow us to locate the areas most likely to contain reservoir rocks. AMT data will allow us to locate graben-related faults in the St-Bruno-de-Guigue area that are covered by Quaternary sediments.

"The high levels of hydrogen discovered by INRS underscore our commitment to leading the transition to sustainable, clean energy solutions," said John Karagiannidis. "We are excited about the upcoming phases of commercial development and the opportunity to advance our renewable energy initiatives."

REF: Etiope, G., Ciotoli, G., , Bena, E., Mazzoli, C., Rockmann, T., Sivan, M., Squartini, A., Laemmel, A., Szidat, S., Haghipour, N. and Sassi, R., 2024. Surprising concentrations of hydrogen and non-geological methane and carbon dioxide in the soil . Science of the Total Environment, 948.

About the INRS and Pr. Marc Richer-LaFlèche, P.Geo.

The Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique ("INRS") is a high-level research and training institute. Pr. Richer-LaFlèche's team has exceptional geological, geochemical and geophysical experience specifically in the regions of QIMC's newly acquired claims. They have carried out over six years of geophysical and geochemical work and collected thousands of C1-C4 Soil-Gas analyses.

M. Richer-LaFlèche also holds an FRQNT grant, in partnership with Quebec MRN and the mining industry, to develop and optimize a Soil-Gas method for the direct detection of mineralized bodies and faults under Quaternary cover. In addition to sulphide gases, hydrogen was systematically analyzed in the numerous surveys carried out in 2023 in Abitibi, Témiscamingue and also in the Quebec Appachian. M. Richer-LaFlèche is the Qualified Person responsible for the technical information contained in this news release and has read the information contained herein.

In addition, the INRS team has several portable gas spectrometers and the sampling equipment and logistics necessary for taking gas samples and geophysical measurements on the ground or in the aquatic environment. He is a professional geologist registered with the Ordre des géologues du Québec and is the Qualified Person responsible for the technical information contained in this news release and has read the information contained herein and approves the press release.

For more information about Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. and its products, please visit www.qimaterials.com.

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Figure 6 (above) -- Simplified geological map of the St-Bruno-de-Guigues and St-Eugène de Guigues regions. Testing was applied in the ~250-square-kilometre area north of the town of Ville Marie. Five parallel lines spanning five to seven kilometres that are tapped into every 50 metres for sampling run from east to west, separated by around two to 2.7 kilometres. A 9.7-kilometre line runs north to south, intersecting with the five horizontal lines.

In Line 1, soil samples returned hydrogen concentrations between 150 to 300 parts per million (PPM), which is a relatively high figure. This compares to exploratory efforts for a site in France’s Pyrenees Mountains that uncovered under 100 PPM for 70 per cent of its samples, while 70 per cent of QI Materials’ results range from 150 to 200 PPM.

Figure 7. (above) -- Soil-Gas survey Ville-Marie project (From August 6, 2024 news release)

The studies are preliminary, and firm estimates of how much hydrogen is in the site or how much could be extracted remains unknown.

QI Materials also has other hydrogen assets; one in the Lac Saint-Jean region of central Quebec, and another in the Gaspe Bay area;

Figure 8. (above) -- A) Elevation map of the Saquenay region and adjacent Precambrian terrains. B) Simplified geological map of the Saguenay rift area. QIMC's exploration permits are shown in red on the map.

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Lac St. Jean

"In addition to taking into account the geological characteristics that are critical for the identification of exploration zones, QIMC prioritizes sectors that are economically favorable for the establishment of hydrogen plants," said John Karagiannidis, president of QIMC. "For example, the strategic interest of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region is based on the presence of a deep-water port infrastructure at La Baie (Alma) (Figure 1). This would make it possible to export hydrogen (solid or gaseous) to European, Asian or American markets bordering the Atlantic Ocean."

Figure 1: Simplified geographic map centered on the Saguenay Graben. Source: https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=454187

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"The Lac St-Jean hydrogen exploration project is a logical continuation of QIMC's activities in Quebec," said Prof Richer-Laflèche, head of INRS' Applied Geoscience Laboratory. "Based on the compilation of geoscientific data and the comparison of the geological context with the Témiscamingue area," states Prof. Richer-LaFlèche, "the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean area could be a second graben environment on Precambrian basement, highly favorable for the presence of white (natural) hydrogen."

"Geologically, the project fits into the model of continental grabens and rifts developed on Precambrian basement with the essential characteristic of being covered by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks," continues Prof Richer-Lafleche. "The NW-SE trending Saguenay Graben cuts the Precambrian rocks of the Grenville tectonic province over an area of more than 300 km by 50 km between the NW part of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (Albanel sector) and Tadoussac. The graben is associated with a large regional topographic low, clearly visible on lidar or satellite imagery, and locally associated with the Saguenay Fjord (Fig. 2)."

Figure 2: Topographic satellite images of the Saquenay-Lac-St-Jean region and the Saquenay Fjord showing the Saquenay Graben. Source: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/rncan-nrcan/m183-2/M183-2-8826-eng.pdf

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"The tectonic zone of the graben appears to have been active since more than 546 Ma, as evidenced by the emplacement of alkaline magmatism represented regionally by numerous carbonatites (e.g. St-Honoré carbonatite, Niobec Mine), but also by lamprophyres and kimberlites (Gittins et al., 1975)" notes Prof Richer-Lafleche. "The graben's normal faults were subsequently reactivated between 200 and 250 Ma during the Triassic and Early Jurassic (Tremblay et al., 2013). The graben still exhibits neotectonic activity, as evidenced by the magnitude of the earthquake that struck the Saguenay-Lac St-Jean region in 1988." "In addition," states Professor Richer-Lafleche, "in the western and southwestern parts of Lac St-Jean, normal graben faults cut large volumes of potassic granitic and syenitic rocks, as well as mafic intrusive rocks associated with the Lac St-Jean anorthositic complex. Potassic rocks, which are also rich in actinides, are potential sources for the production of hydrogen by radiolytic processes."

"The extensive geological environment of the region is ideal for hydrogen and helium exploration," said John Karagiannidis, president of QIMC. "Our upcoming natural hydrogen exploration program in Lac St. Jean aligns perfectly with our mission at QIMC to support Quebec's ambitious clean energy and emissions reduction goals. By advancing this program, we are not only furthering our commitment to innovative and sustainable energy solutions but also contributing to the province's efforts to achieve a greener and more sustainable future. We look forward, as we did in Ville Marie, to the positive impact our clean hydrogen initiatives will have on the local Lac St. Jean economy."

The schematic section in Figure 3 provides an overview of the geology and topography of the Saguenay Graben.

Figure 3: Simplified geological section of the Saguenay Graben between the Parc des Laurentides and the Monts Valins. Source: https://eco-baleine.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FORMATION-DU-FJORD-DU-SAGUENAY.pdf

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References:

Gittins,J., Hewins, R.H., and∗,Laurin, A.F., 1975. Kimberlitic-carbonatitic dikes of the Saguenay River valley, Quebec, Canada.Physics and Chemistry of the Earth.Volume 9, pages 137-148.

Tremblay, A., Roden-Tice, M., Brandt, J.A., Megan, T.W., 2013. Mesozoic fault reactivation along the St. Lawrence Rift system, eastern Canada: Thermochronologic evidence from apatite fission-track dating. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 125(5-6):794-810.

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Natural Occurring (WHITE) Hydrogen is Superior and a Relatively New Frontier in Exploration:

Figure 9. (above) The hydrogen rainbow -- The current main production methods of hydrogen involve fossil fuel, are environmentally unfriendly, and subject to carbon capture. Green hydrogen (produced using renewable electricity) is expensive. Natural occurring hydrogen (a.k.a. white/gold hydrogen) is formed within the earth via natural reactions of minerals at elevated temperature, also via ionizing radiation within the earths crust, continually flowing, with potential to provide environmentally sustainable and affordable extraction in sizeable volume where favourable geological conditions exist.

View video that explores the exciting potential of naturally occurring hydrogen gas trapped underground:

High-Grade Silica Projects -- Valuable assets in abeyance, awaiting production demand (once next-gen high-purity silica technology applications come online).

QI Materials has an impressive portfolio of high-grade SiO2 properties in Ontario and Quebec that it is able to advance toward a near-term industrial mining production scenario when market demand for high-purity silica comes of age. QI Materials currently has a pilot silica processing plant, able to produce custom products to meet prospective partners specification.

HPQ Silicon Inc. ("HPQ"): MOU signed regarding the procurement of Quartz from QI Material's Charlevoix Silica Project. Additionally, QI Materials has entered into a Right of First Refusal ("ROFR") agreement with HPQ which allows HPQ the ROFR to purchase the first 10,000 tons of high-grade silica material extracted from a QI Materials silica project.

Ekopav: MOU signed March 2023 regarding the procurement of silica sands for production of asphalt products.

Next steps at key projects to be taken, once clients indicate demand readiness:

● Perform a hybrid detailed exploration/geotechnical drill program in order to delineate a resource and design the quarry.

Note: River Valley has no permitting issues, it hosts a substantial quarryable body of 98% - 99.9+% pure SiO2 proximal roads and rail infrastructure.

Charlevoix Silica Project, Quebec:

● Conduct exploration drilling on newly discovered zones 4, 5, and 6 to evaluate the size, geometry, depth, and width of the quartzite formation and determine if they are continuously connected to one another.

The new discovery zones at Charlevoix are high-purity and are confirmed without permitting issues, 100% outside any hunting & fishing zec. Property zones will be stripped clean and various surveys conducted as needed with the intention of going operational; so far zones 4 and 5 have been mapped in detail, cleaned off, channel sampled, and over 120m of strike length is now exposed at surface. The true thickness and width of the quartzite formation is currently unknown as the contacts are buried beneath overburden, however we can observe 5-10 metres high quartzite walls in certain areas. On October-2023 QI Materials announced that it has received a permit to further expand work on its high grade on surface Charlevoix Silica Project. It was an 8 month process and further expands the capacity to deliver even more high-grade material. This permitting is in line with the Québec government’s green supply chain strategy, and expands the QIMC’s operations and ability to deliver even more high-grade silica to clients.

Demand for reliable high-purity quartz/silica feed is increasingly critical for companies such as:

Unlike traditional mining mineral resources (such as gold), which require copious amounts of drilling, silicon dioxide is industrial quartzite and a massive voluminous resource is able to be blocked out quickly with a few 100m drill holes (~1,000 m total should suffice), also these type of bodies are typically operated for multiple decades and the grades/quality get better with depth (where there is less weathering and impurities). The hard part (which QIMC has already accomplished) is to find the right combination of purity, consistency, access, permitting, and infrastructure -- the actual extraction of material is typically inexpensive (as its quarry-style mining), it is the transportation costs that can quickly add up. At River Valley its a short trip down the highway and onto established rail network, and at Charlevoix it is only ~3.5 hours by road to Montreal (where HPQ, and other manufacturers are along the Saint Lawrence). In-short, economics are expected to be robust (once demand kicks in).

Figure 10. (above) -- QIMC has various grades and types of feed stock, mined from its Charlevoix project, prepped and ready for delivery to clients requiring silica according to spec. Visible in the image above in the bags up front and in the insets are large crystalline-like chunks that are milled to specification; in HPQ Silicon Inc.'s case they are very specific: X size, at X grade, X-sort of dimension, roundness angularity, etc. -- reports are HPQ is very pleased with the product being delivered and explains why HPQ entered a ROFR agreement with QI Materials. In the image above, any weathered look is attributed to surface exposure -- simply crack below the surface and the silica is much more translucent white. The rows of bags further to the back are finer material, a by-product of processing the main batch -- this material would go to a different client such as an asphalt company; no waste.

Figure 11. (above) -- QIMC's pilot mobile silica refining processing plant for custom batches, with inset of current world market pricing* (*annotated by Mining MarketWatch Journal). HPQ is able to take the feed from QIMC and upgrade it using proprietary technology to US$500 - $5000/tonne range product, HPQ can produce the value-added product significantly cheaper and more environmentally friendly than any current process being employed now in the world.

This project was recently acquired September-2023 (click here for related news release). This is a remarkably good project, news flow should be steady from QIMC as it is quickly advances toward large-scale operational quartz/silica quarry status.

See related October 24, 2023 news release "Qi Materials Starts Preliminary Modelling of High-grade Silica Projects"; The QI Materials field team has completed the first pass of field exploration and development work on the Company’s wholly owned River Valley Silica project, located in the Sudbury mining division of Ontario, Canada. The Company is now processing the data and commencing preliminary modelling and quarry designs.

The following figures depict examples of the visually highly pure quartz samples recovered from the quartz vein:

Figure 12. (above) - Visual high purity quartz samples from River Valley Project quartz vein (source: October 24, 2023 corporate update news release).

Figure 13. (above) - Quartz outcrops with technicians performing detailed topographic survey (source: October 24, 2023 corporate update news release).

The QI Materials team performed a variety of work scopes in the advancement of this project which included:

The Company also performed a site visit with the engineering team from OptiSim Mining Solutions, of Sudbury, Ontario (See news release Oct-11-2023) for the purpose of preliminary quarry design, engineering, and permitting.

Figure 14. Key mapped quartzite surface expression from historical report (*historical reports: PDF-2019 & PDF-2004)

The River Valley Silica Project is host to a high purity quartz vein. Publically available historical* purity results and mapping indicate that the quartz vein is up 99.9% pure SiO2. Historical* mapping indicates that the quartz vein is over 300m long and over 40m wide.

Figure 15. (above) Historical Results; enlarged image of SiO2 section from lab assay table results from the 2019 report. Site visit by professional geologist Raymond Wladichuk, CEO of Qi Materials, confirms that these historical reports appear to be accurate;

Excerpt from December 12, 2023 news release "QI Materials Confirms High Grade Silica Purity over 99.5% at the River Valley Silica Project"; In October 2023, the QI Materials field team collected roughly 75 channel samples from surface exposure. As shown on the attached Table 1, 19 of the samples collected are over 99% pure SiO2, with the highest being 99.52% and, the average across the sample set being 98.72% SiO2. It is expected that a degree of contamination from surface contamination (surface water infiltrating cracks and fractures, oxidation, and surface debris) is likely affecting these results.

Figure 16. (above) Location Map of River Valley Silica Property with inset claims map (different scale) -- 65 kilometres north east (as the crow flies) from the world-class mining camp of Sudbury, Ontario. It is easily accessed by existing road infrastructure, and a short trip to the River Valley network of rail transfer stations. The Property covers an area of approximately 47 hectares.

Figure 18. (above) Map of Charlevoix Silica Project showing zones -- The new Zones 3, 4, 5, & 6 are 100% located outside the hunting and fishing zec, thus large-scale permitting is no different than neighbour Sitec Mine, just across the highway, which is the largest employer in this mining-friendly region. Sitec quarries high-end quartz countertop material and has operated for over 50 years.

Figure 19 a & b. (above) Aerial photograph of the Charlevoix Silica Project Main Zone 1.

In the summer and fall of 2022, the Company stripped the overburden off the Main Zone silica outcrop (Figure 1). A series of 16 channels were cut across the stratigraphy and sampled at one (1) metre long intervals as seen in Figure 2. Approximately 50% of the channel samples were sent to ALS Global for purity analysis, the remaining samples were delivered to the Institute National Research Scientifique (INRS) in Québec City for further analysis. The results of the purity analysis suggest that the majority of the Main Zone outcrop is comprised of high-grade silica, returning an average grade of 98%, with purity ranging as high a 99.88% SiO2; see related April 26, 2023 news release entitled "QI Materials Reports High-Grade Results from Channel Sampling".

See related August 29, 2023 news release "QI Materials Announces Assays over 99% SiO2 from Newly Discovered Zones at the Charlevoix Silica Project"; The QI Materials field team's mapping and prospecting efforts have led to the discovery of newly found quartzite outcroppings with remarkably high purity grade. The new zones currently named zones 3, 4, and 5 occur approximately one kilometre northeast of zones 1 and 2. According to SIGEOM, the ministry of Quebec's public natural resources database, the new zones are located outside of the Zec des MartresSeven (7) samples were delivered to ALS Global's lab in Val d'Or, Québec where they underwent purity analysis. These samples were selected from various locations on the outcrops and averaged over 98% SiO2 ranging from 97% to over 99%:

Figure 20a&b. (above) Photos of Quartzite Samples from New Zone -- The majority of the samples collected from the new zones are of beautiful, clear, near-crystalline quartzite.

See related October 24, 2023 news release "Qi Materials Starts Preliminary Modelling of High-grade Silica Projects"; The QI Materials team is currently at the Charlevoix Silica Project completing the final field work of the season. The team is following up on the newly discovered high grade zones announced in August 2023 (See news release). The scope of this program includes:

QI Materials Update on Roncevaux Silica Property Exploration

Lachute, Québec--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2024) - Québec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (FSE: 7FJ) ("QI Materials", "QIMC", or the "Company") provides an update on the Roncevaux Silica Property.

As disclosed in the Company's August 31, 2022 news release, Qi Materials acquired mineral claims from HPQ Silicon Inc. (HPQ"), including the Roncevaux Silica Property. The Qi Materials team performed a recent site visit to the property in late October 2023.

"We would like to thank our partner HPQ for this opportunity to further develop this asset and meet their growing high grade silica demand," stated John Karagiannidis, Executive Chairman.

Roncevaux Silica Property
The Ronceveux Silica Property consists of a high purity quartz vein located in southern Quebec, approximately 50km from Amqui, Quebec, as shown on Figure 1. The property consists of 27 mineral claims totalling 1570 hectares. Samples were collected by means of existing trenches found on the property. The quartz vein is estimated to potentially be over 300m long with the width being unknown but likely 10's of metres wide (as suggested by historical work and reports).

"We believe this is another significant addition to our growing high grade silica Quebec portfolio," stated Raymond Wladichuk, CEO.

Historical work conducted by HPQ Silicon Inc. indicates that the purity of the quartz vein is as high as 99.8% SiO2. HPQ conducted testing on the quartz material from this property and concluded that it was able to be converted to silicon metal by means of their patented processes.

The recent samples collected by the Qi Materials field team indicate that visually, this appears to be accurate (Photos in Figure 2 below). Tens of kilograms of samples have been collected for testing and analysis by the Company.

Figure 1 — Roncevaux property location, southern Quebec.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7968/193756_f16e397ed4999acf_002full.jpg

Figure 2 — Roncevaux high grade silica samples.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7968/193756_f16e397ed4999acf_003full.jpg

The author of one of the historical reports acquired by means of SIGEOM (the Quebec government's publicly available geoscience database) provides an estimated tonnage of over 400,000 tonnes of quartz material (if extrapolated to a depth of 50m) (this is a non-43-101 compliant estimate and extracted from publically available data such as historical assessment reports, prospecting reports, etc.).

Please be advised that a qualified person has not completed sufficient work to classify any mineral resources as defined by National Instrument (NI) 43-101; it is therefore uncertain if future exploration will result in the delineation of mineral resources. ...

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