お知らせ • Jun 20
Québec Innovative Materials Corp. Reports Elevated Clean Hydrogen In First 100 Metres Of DDH-26-04 At Bennett Hill, Nova Scotia
Québec Innovative Materials Corp. reported preliminary mud-gas geochemical results from the upper portion of diamond drill hole DDH-26-04, the first hole at its Bennett Hill project in the Advocate Area of Nova Scotia. DDH-26-04 returned elevated hydrogen (H2) readings within the first 100 metres of the hole, including a 9-metre zone with four readings at or above 4.03% H2 — the upper measurement limit (saturation point) of the field analyzer used over that interval and reported as minimum values due to analyzer saturation. Throughout the hydrogen-rich interval, methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were both below or near detection limits — a clean geochemical signature which the Company interprets as being consistent with a structurally controlled natural hydrogen system. Hydrogen was recorded across the upper 100 metres of the hole, including a 9-metre interval with four readings at or above 4.03% H2, each having reached the upper measurement limit of the field analyzer — meaning true values may be higher, pending laboratory calibration. The Company interprets the shallow response as consistent with a potential active migration pathway capable of transporting hydrogen to near-surface levels. Greenhouse gases, including methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), were both below or near detection limits across the hydrogen-rich interval. The elevated hydrogen response at Bennett Hill, approximately 15 kilometres from the earlier Eatonville holes, supports QIMC's working model of a potential district-scale hydrogen system across the Advocate Area. Hydrogen readings below 100 metres are being acquired with a higher-range instrument and are pending; results will be reported once available and validated. Because initial readings in the upper 100 metres reached the 4.03% H2 upper measurement limit (saturation point) of the first EAGLE II analyzer, the Company deployed a second EAGLE II unit with a higher measurement range to quantify the higher-range hydrogen readings encountered below 100 metres. Sampling of the sub-100-metre interval with the higher-range unit is ongoing, and those results remain pending. The Company interprets hydrogen readings of this magnitude this close to surface as potentially indicating an efficient, active migration pathway capable of transporting hydrogen upward, which may be consistent with previously observed soil-gas hydrogen anomalies at Bennett Hill. The accompanying negligible CH4 and CO2 is interpreted by the Company as being more consistent with a natural hydrogen Fe-rich deep-seated source than a conventional hydrocarbon source. Critically, this is the first hydrogen response measured during drilling at Bennett Hill, a separately permitted project approximately 15 km west of the Eatonville Road drill area, which the Company interprets as supporting its working model that the hydrogen system may extend across the district rather than being confined to a single target. The combination of (i) elevated, near-surface hydrogen, (ii) a clean geochemical setting with CH4 and CO2 below or near detection, and (iii) results from a new project area within a multi-target district, supports QIMC's longer-term objective of advancing a multi-province portfolio of clean natural hydrogen opportunities. These results are being integrated into QIMC's proprietary R2G2™ (Reactivated Rift and Graben Geostructure) exploration framework. The hydrogen concentrations measured in the Bennett Hill borehole DDH-26-04 clearly demonstrate the predictive strength of the R2G2™ model applied to natural hydrogen exploration in the Cobequid Highlands of Nova Scotia. Beyond the elevated H2 values and the very low levels of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), the results highlight a broader geological conclusion: the natural hydrogen system identified in the Advocate and Bennett Hill areas operates at a crustal scale. Its continuity along the Cobequid Fault Zone reflects the remarkable extent of the Cobequid-Chignecto Fault System, one of the major structural corridors of the Maritimes. At the Bennett Hill local scale, the first 100 m interval of the borehole intersects intensely fractured and strongly oxidized volcanic and intrusive rocks. Gas circulation in this zone is controlled by a highly permeable fracture network cutting through very competent lithologies. Despite the predominance of magmatic rocks (both mafic and felsic) in the upper part of the borehole, the gas composition closely matches that observed in the Eatonville Road and Reid Lands drill sites in West Advocate. This consistency is significant: it indicates that hydrogen generation processes occur deep within the continental crust, independently of the surface geology and the specific rock types encountered near the borehole. Together, these results support the interpretation of a regional, structurally controlled natural hydrogen system, whose scale and coherence open the door to a new understanding of natural hydrogen potential within the Cobequid Highlands. Mud-gas readings reported in this news release are preliminary and are based on co-collected IsoJar headspace samples taken at approximately 3-metre intervals during the drilling of DDH-26-04. Field readings in the upper 100 metres were obtained using a portable EAGLE II gas analyzer; four readings within a 9-metre zone reached the analyzer's 4.03% H2 upper measurement limit and are reported as "at or above" that value (i.e., as minimum values). Methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were near or below the detection limit of the field analyzer across the reported interval. A second EAGLE II unit with a higher measurement range has been deployed to quantify hydrogen readings below 100 metres; that sampling is ongoing and those results are pending. All reported values are subject to independent verification by Prof. Marc Richer-LaFlèche, P.Geo., of INRS, against certified gas cylinder samples analyzed by a higher-precision laboratory reference instrument. Investors are cautioned that mud-gas and headspace gas readings are exploration-stage geochemical indicators only. They are not mineral resources or reserves, are not indicative of the presence, volume, flow rate or commercial recoverability of any natural hydrogen accumulation, and should not be relied upon as such. There is no guarantee that elevated hydrogen readings will translate into an economically recoverable resource.
