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QIMC Announces Significant Natural Hydrogen Discovery Expansion 11kms to the Northwest and New Land Acquisition Bringing Total Hydrogen Area to over 300 Square Kilometres

Natural Hydrogen Discovery

QIMC Announces Significant Natural Hydrogen Discovery Expansion 11kms to the Northwest and New Land Acquisition Bringing Total Hydrogen Area to over 300 Square Kilometres

Lachute, Quebec–(Newsfile Corp. – October 3, 2024) – Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (FSE: 7FJ) (“QI Materials”, “QIMC” or the “Company”)- QIMC is pleased to announce a significant 11 km expansion of our natural renewable hydrogen discovery to the northwest. Recent soil gas measurements from Line 13, recorded at 594, 543, and 463 ppm, are the highest levels detected outside of those reported from Line 7 in our September 4 press release. These high readings, located 11 km northwest of the 1000 ppm samples collected on Line 7, highlight the district hydrogen-rich zone across QIMC’s Ville Marie property. This milestone is supported by the collection of 1,057 soil samples.

John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC, notes :

Our recent findings have confirmed our natural renewable hydrogen model, underscoring the uniqueness of the geology and rock formations in the region.

“|This further positions QIMC at the forefront of sustainable energy solutions, tapping into abundant and renewable Natural Hydrogen,”

In addition to our westward expansion, we are excited to announce the acquisition of new zones in the Duhamel, Fabre-West, and Bearn areas, located to the south of our current high ppm findings. These areas align with the geological indicators of our natural hydrogen district. With these strategic acquisitions, we have increased our total hydrogen land package to over 300 square kilometers.

John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC, said:

Today marks a significant chapter in QIMC’s journey,

“Our extensive sampling efforts and the confirmation of our hydrogen model demonstrate not only the richness of our geological discoveries but also our dedication to advancing sustainable energy initiatives allowing Quebec to achieve its low carbon emission goals.”

Westward Extension of High ppm Soil-Gas results

The INRS Field team took advantage of the dry, warm weather of September 2024 to carry out complementary geochemical surveys to obtain, among other things, new Soil-Gas data in various sectors of the village of St-Bruno-de-Guigues. In total, the field team has collected 339 gas samples since September 2024, along 7 sections (lines 7-north, 12, 13, 14, 16, 40, 41, 42) (Fig.1). Combined with the Soil-Gas surveys of summer 2024, a total of 1,057 samples have been collected within the municipality of St-Bruno-de-Guigues.

The field team also took advantage of this sampling period to validate the hypothesis that the hydrogen detected in the subsurface originates from bedrock and not from secondary biochemical processes involving glaciolacustrine sediments. For this important demonstration for QIMC, the field team sampled line 13, which borders Lake Témiscamingue in the area of the former Aiguebelle dolomite quarry (Fig. 3) and extended westward the hydrogen discovery area. Along this section, which is devoid of glaciolacustrine sediments, a very thin cover of till (50 cm to 1 m thick) rests on dolomitic limestones or sandstones of the Cobalt Group. “In contrast to the glaciolacustrine sediment-rich areas of the region, the CO2 concentrations of the hydrogen-rich samples from line 13 are very low. Once again, this finding is incompatible with the hypothesis that fermentation of organic matter could have produced biogenic hydrogen” states Prof Marc Richer-Laflèche, scientific head of the INRS’ Applied Geoscience Laboratory.

Geological observations along line 13 show a 1-meter subsidence of the dolomitic limestone platform associated with a network of tight fractures. Hydrogen-rich samples from line 13 (463 and 543 ppm at stations 1400 m and 1450 m, and 594 ppm at station 1750 m) line up along this fracture zone, which parallels the tectonic grain of the Lake Temiskaming graben. “This observation also supports our conceptual exploration model highlighting the importance of graben faults in the process of hydrogen transfer from deep geological sources” notes Prof Marc Richer-Laflèche.

Natural renewable hydrogen model

A 4.15 km-long survey was carried out along chemin de l’aéroport to test the green belt model, proposed by Prof., to explain, among other things, the formation of hydrogen beneath the St-Bruno-de-Guigues sedimentary rock basin. The model predicted, among other things, minimal hydrogen concentrations in the airport area to the east of our model, as the Precambrian basement beneath the sedimentary rocks consists mainly of sodic granitoids (trondhjemite) (poor in Fe, Mg and K) and not Fe- and Mg-rich greenbelt rocks. Data from the St-Bruno-de-Guigues airport road (route à Lemieux), presented in Figure 3, effectively show the near-absence of hydrogen over several kilometers.

Prof. Richer-LaFlèche, said :

This observation confirms the initial model, which requires very large volumes of greenbelt rocks (Fe-rich basalts, komatiites, peridotites and iron formations) beneath the sedimentary rock cover of the Cobalt and New-Liskeard Groups,

“Note that along the Airport Road section, the terrain is covered by sedimentary rocks of the Cobalt Group (sandstones and conglomerates) and dolomitic limestones of the New-Liskeard Group, which form a topographic elevation in the area”, continues Prof. Richer-LaFlèche.

Extension of hydrogen zone in the Duhamel-Ouest, Fabre and Béarn areas

In support of its strategy as a leader in natural renewable hydrogen in Quebec, QIMC has extended its holdings south of Ville-Marie in the sedimentary rock terrains bordering Lake Témiscamingue.

John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC, states :

As a result, all the high priority targeted hydrogen fields in the Témiscamingue region are now spatially grouped together

The Duhamel-Ouest-Fabre-Béarn (DOFB) area, located south of Ville-Marie, contains most of the components of the volcanic belt-graben model used by QIMC and INRS to guide exploration work in the St-Bruno-de-Guigues area.

Prof Richer-Laflèche, notes:

Located more than 30 km from St-Bruno-de-Guigues, the bedrock in the DOFB sector is different in places and contains, among other things, several geological features highly favorable for hydrogen,

In this part of Témiscamingue, the sedimentary rocks of the Cobalt Group are injected by numerous Nipissing mafic dykes that, locally, form sills (sub-horizontal intrusions) that can act as impermeable barriers limiting the ascent of hydrogen to the surface.

Prof Richer-Laflèche, continues :

This geological context is reminiscent of the Bourakébougou hydrogen deposit in Mali, where diabase sills delineate the tops of hydrogen reservoirs that are commercially exploited to generate electricity,

Other features specific to the DOFB area are the considerable elevation of the sedimentary rock hills of the Cobalt Group and the presence of powerful faults bringing volcanic rocks and Proterozoic sedimentary rocks into contact.

Prof Richer-Laflèche, states :

As highlighted on the map in figure 4, mafic volcanic rocks appear to underlie the sedimentary basin, as suggested by the presence of numerous windows of volcanic rocks located at the periphery of the Cobalt Group sedimentary rocks.

“The INRS team considers this to be another high target priority area for hydrogen and further compliments the existing hydrogen portfolio,”

St-Bruno-de-Guigues

John Karagiannidis, CEO of QIMC, said :

The QIMC team and INRS want to also extend thanks to Mr. Richard Robert, the Saint-Bruno-de-Guigues Mayor, and the council members for their support and hospitality during our meeting on September 25, 2024,

“Their commitment to fostering a collaborative environment is invaluable as we keep moving forward our natural renewable hydrogen project and shared goals of reducing Quebec’s carbon emission and being a leader in the space.”

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

QIMC Announces Significant Natural Hydrogen Discovery Expansion 11kms to the Northwest and New Land Acquisition Bringing Total Hydrogen Area to over 300 Square Kilometres, source

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