Announcement • Jul 01
Québec Innovative Materials Corp. Reports Multiple Elevated Hydrogen Mud-Gas Readings over 100M-250M Interval of DDH-26-04, Including A Peak Hydrogen Reading of 16.0%, Two Hydrogen Readings of 13.5%, and Nine Readings At or Above 5% Hydrogen
Québec Innovative Materials Corp. reported new preliminary mud-gas geochemical results from the 100-metre to 250-metre interval of diamond drill hole DDH-26-04 at Bennett Hill, Nova Scotia, including a peak hydrogen reading of 16.0% H2 at 236 metres, two readings of 13.5% H2, nine readings at or above 5% H2, and 35 of 60 IsoJar samples returning readings at or above 1% H2. The repeated elevated hydrogen readings over the 100-metre to 250-metre interval are considered significant because they indicate a broadly elevated mud-gas response rather than a single isolated reading. The results were acquired using a higher-range EAGLE II analyzer deployed after the first analyzer saturated in the upper 100 metres. Of the 60 co-collected IsoJar mud-gas samples obtained over the 100m-250m interval, 35 samples returned readings at or above 1% H2. The elevated hydrogen response at Bennett Hill, located approximately 15 kilometres from the Eatonville Road drill holes DDH-26-01 and DDH-26-02, provides additional data supporting Québec Innovative Materials Corp.'s evolving geological model of a potentially extensive natural hydrogen system across the Advocate Area. The percent-level readings occur within the first 250 metres of DDH-26-04, shallower than the deeper percent-level intervals previously reported at the Eatonville Road (West-Advocate) holes, including the 10.77% H2 reading reported near 848 m in DDH-26-03. The readings were obtained using a higher-range EAGLE II analyzer deployed after the first analyzer reached its 4.03% H2 upper measurement limit in the upper 100 metres. Methane (CH4) was recorded at approximately 0% and carbon dioxide (CO2) at or below 0.2% across the interval. The strongest readings coincide with fractured and brecciated zones logged within the deformed felsic and fault-affected lithologies of the hole, including a fault breccia interval logged between approximately 132 m and 149 m. Bennett Hill is located approximately 15 kilometres from the Eatonville drill area. Sampling below 250 metres is ongoing and further results will be reported once available and validated. The upper 100 metres of DDH-26-04 returned elevated hydrogen, including a 9-metre zone with four readings at or above 4.03% H2 - the upper measurement limit (saturation point) of the first EAGLE II analyzer used over that interval. Because that instrument saturated, Québec Innovative Materials Corp. deployed a second EAGLE II unit with a higher measurement range to quantify the hydrogen encountered below 100 metres. Sixty co-collected IsoJar headspace samples were obtained at approximately 3-metre intervals across the 100m-250m interval. Québec Innovative Materials Corp. interprets the repeated elevated hydrogen readings at relatively shallow depths as potentially indicating zones of enhanced permeability that may permit gas migration, subject to laboratory calibration, independent verification and further geological interpretation. The accompanying negligible methane and very low carbon dioxide readings are not, on a preliminary basis, strongly indicative of a conventional hydrocarbon gas signature. The strongest readings are spatially associated with deformed and fractured rocks logged in the hole, including a deformed felsic sequence extending from approximately 43 m to 162 m and a fault breccia interval logged between approximately 132 m and 149 m. These results are being integrated into Québec Innovative Materials Corp.'s proprietary R2G2™ (Reactivated Rift and Graben Geostructure) exploration framework. The new data from borehole DDH-26-04 reveal a clear enrichment in H2 concentrations, on the order of 400%, toward the north, occurring within an increasingly deep structural context. The highest hydrogen concentrations in the drilling mud are found within, or immediately adjacent to, relatively thick fault-breccia zones associated with intense fracturing (RQD%) of the Apple River intrusion. This intrusion lies between the South and North Cobequid faults, which together form a 6.2-km-wide composite shear corridor in the Bennett Hill area. The geology observed in the borehole highlights the dominant influence of the North Fault Zone, which in this region is typically characterized by a higher abundance of breccias and fault gouge, in contrast to the South Zone, where deformation is more strongly expressed through mylonitization and ductile shearing. Given the Carboniferous age of emplacement of the pluton, the strong deformation observed in the potassic granitoid must necessarily be linked to the major strike-slip movements associated with the Cobequid Fault System. The number and diversity of cataclastic rock zones, fault zones, and fault gouges is remarkable, demonstrating that the Cobequid Fault System functioned as a highly dynamic deformation corridor over a long period of geological time. Diagrams show a summary of the geology observed in hole DDH-26-04 between depths of 0m to 250m (measured along the hole). The H2 concentrations (ppmV) from the analysis of the drilling muds (Isojar technique) underline the importance of the H2 concentrations observed as well as the spatial relationship with tectonic breccia zones and core fracturing (RQD%). Mud-gas readings reported are preliminary and are based on co-collected IsoJar headspace samples taken at approximately 3-metre intervals during the drilling of DDH-26-04. Readings over the 100-metre to 250-metre interval were obtained using a portable EAGLE II gas analyzer fitted with a higher measurement range than the unit used in the upper 100 metres, which had reached its 4.03% H2 upper measurement limit (saturation point). Methane (CH4) was recorded at approximately 0% and carbon dioxide (CO2) at or below 0.2% across the reported interval, at or below the detection limit of the analyzer. Readings over the 100m-250m interval were obtained within the measurement range of the higher-range EAGLE II analyzer. All readings remain subject to laboratory calibration and independent verification. All reported values are subject to independent verification against certified gas cylinder samples analyzed by a higher-precision laboratory reference instrument, under the supervision of Prof. Marc Richer-LaFlèche, P.Geo., of INRS. Investors are cautioned that mud-gas and headspace gas readings are preliminary, exploration-stage geochemical indicators only. They are preliminary laboratory measurements obtained from IsoJar headspace samples. They are not mineral resources or mineral reserves, are not indicative of the presence, volume, concentration, flow rate, deliverability or commercial recoverability of any natural hydrogen accumulation, and should not be relied upon as such.