Québec Innovative Materials Corp. is pleased to report initial results from Hole 3 (DDH-26-03) of its 2026 diamond drilling program at the West Advocate natural hydrogen project in Nova Scotia. Drilling has intersected multiple structurally controlled zones, including a significant fault breccia system, with elevated hydrogen concentrations detected in association with these intervals. These results extend the Company’s understanding of the structural framework hosting hydrogen mineralization and support an emerging interpretation of a laterally continuous system across the project area. Drilling is ongoing, with the principal structural zones remaining open at depth.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Hole 3 (DDH-26-03) commenced April 21, 2026, along the Reid Line / Eatonville Road corridor, approximately 2.5 kilometres from the same pad as Holes 1 and 2. Drilling continues toward the planned 900 metre total depth.
- Peak headspace hydrogen concentration of 3,916 ppmV recorded at 26 m (subject to the same limitations described for previous holes, including atmospheric and water dilution concentrations, press release March 10, 2026 on dilution factor)
- Six measurements exceeding 1,000 ppmV at shallow depths (subject to the same limitations described for previous holes, including atmospheric and water dilution concentrations, press release March 10, 2026 on dilution factor)
- A 21.5-metre matrix-supported fault breccia zone was intersected at 229.3-250.8 metres (core length), representing the dominant structural feature in Hole 3 to date, and is structurally analogous to the hydrogen-bearing fault corridors confirmed in Holes 1 and 2.
- A second distinct fault zone was intersected at 260.14-268.32 metres (~8 m core length).
- A quartz-carbonate stockwork / silicified sandstone zone was intersected at 214.0-217.8 metres.
- These intervals confirm the vertically stacked, multi-zone structural architecture observed across the program.
- Headspace gas measurements collected continuously during drilling indicate that hydrogen concentrations remain elevated within structurally controlled intervals at this new location, supporting the interpretation of a laterally continuous system. These measurements are subject to the same limitations as those reported for Hole 1 (DDH-26-01) and Hole 2 (DDH-26-02), including atmospheric and water dilution factors.
- Collectively, results from DDH-26-01, DDH-26-02, and DDH-26-03 are interpreted by the Company to be consistent with a structurally controlled natural hydrogen system within the West Advocate area. Ongoing work is focused on refining the scale, continuity, and controls of this system.
- All hydrogen concentrations reported are preliminary headspace measurements obtained from water returns during drilling and are subject to atmospheric dilution.
CEO QUOTE
“DDH-26-03, located approximately 2.5 kilometres from the initial discovery, is reinforcing the geological model we are developing at West Advocate,”
“We are intersecting comparable fault architectures, including breccia and gouge zones, and observing elevated hydrogen concentrations within structurally controlled intervals consistent with those identified in earlier drilling. Results from three holes, across two distinct locations, support an emerging interpretation of a laterally extensive structural system within the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone. The principal structural zones identified to date remain open at depth, with drilling ongoing to test their continuation.”
said John Karagiannidis, President & Chief Executive Officer of Québec Innovative Materials Corp.
BACKGROUND: HOLES 1 AND 2
Hole 1 (DDH-26-01), completed to 711 metres in March 2026, established the West Advocate discovery, intersecting multiple vertically separated hydrogen-bearing structural zones: a 40-metre fault corridor at 142-191 metres; a second zone at 313-330 metres; a 72-metre interval at 354-426 metres; and a persistent hydrogen-bearing system from approximately 505 metres to end of hole, where concentrations exceeded the upper detection limits of the Company’s GA5000 field instruments. Methane was consistently near zero across all sampled intervals.
Hole 2 (DDH-26-02), drilled from the same pad as Hole 1 and oriented northwest, was paused at approximately 500 metres due to seasonal ground conditions. It returned a peak headspace hydrogen concentration of 8,249 ppmV at 434 metres depth – approximately 2.75 times the peak recorded in Hole 1 – with hydrogen concentrations still elevated at end of hole. Two structurally distinct hydrogen-bearing intervals were identified at 125-160 metres and 425-500 metres. All gas geochemistry from Holes 1 and 2 has been independently reviewed by Prof. Marc Richer-Laflèche of the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Québec.
THREE-HOLE INTERPRETATION
Hole 3 (DDH-26-03), currently in progress, is located approximately 2.5 kilometres from the initial discovery hole. Headspace gas measurements collected during drilling indicate that hydrogen concentrations remain elevated within structurally controlled intervals at this new location, supporting the interpretation of a laterally continuous system. These observations are consistent with the Company’s R2G2™ (Reactivated Rift and Graben Geostructure) exploration model, which targets structurally controlled hydrogen migration along reactivated fault systems. These measurements are subject to the same limitations described for previous holes, including atmospheric and water dilution concentrations. (see press release March 10, 2026 on dilution factor)
Collectively, results from DDH-26-01, DDH-26-02, and DDH-26-03 are interpreted by the Company to be consistent with a structurally controlled natural hydrogen system within the West Advocate area. Ongoing work is focused on refining the scale, continuity, and controls of this system.
SCIENTIFIC COMMENTARY BY PROF MARC RICHER-LAFLÈCHE
The upper 300 m of borehole DDH-26-03 exhibits a median H₂ concentration of 361 ppmV, approximately twice the median value measured in DDH-26-01 (179 ppmV). This median is comparable to that of DDH-26-02 (375 ppmV), which, like DDH-26-03, is oriented toward the north. Taken together, these observations suggest a progressive enrichment in hydrogen concentrations toward the gravimetric and magnetic highs located north of the West Advocate sector. As in the headspace analyses from DDH-26-01 and DDH-26-02, the first 300 m of DDH-26-03 contain negligible CO₂ (below 0.1%) and CH₄ concentrations that are essentially below the detection limit of the GA5000 gas analyzer. This geochemical signature is characteristic of the West Advocate area and is consistent with the interpretation of a hydrogen-generating source unrelated to hydrocarbons.
Figure 1 illustrates the first two anomalous hydrogen-rich intervals identified between 0 and 300 m depth in DDH-26-03. The first interval corresponds to a zone of relatively low RQD values and significant core loss associated with a fault zone affecting siltstones. As shown in Figure 1, this hydrogen-rich interval is bounded by a thick package of low-permeability argillites which is crosscut by several minor faults. Despite the high degree of deformation, the presence of these clay-rich, low-permeability rocks explains the absence of hydrogen between 50 and 150 m depth. This observation reinforces the importance of permeability contrasts in controlling hydrogen migration within the West Advocate structural system.
Borehole DDH-26-03 was designed to evaluate the eastward continuity of the hydrogen-rich zone identified along Eatonville Road in the West Advocate area. Positioned 2.5 km east of DDH-26-01 and DDH-26-02, this hole provides a critical test of the hypothesis that a multi-kilometre natural hydrogen system extends across the region. The drill site was also selected to optimally intersect the projected up-dip extension of a deep magnetic body located within the Cobequid Highlands.
The confirmation, in DDH-26-03, of the same fault system responsible for hydrogen transfer to the subsurface supports the QIMC-INRS exploration model, which proposes that this structural-hydrogen system continues northeastward toward the Bennett Hill area, located approximately 12 km from DDH-26-03. This sector is scheduled for drilling in May-June 2026 (DDH-26-04 and DDH-26-05).
HOLE 3 (DDH-26-03): GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW
Principal Stratigraphic and Structural Intervals
3.0-49.7 m: Light green to grey weakly brecciated fine-grained siltstone. Multiple fault gouge (mud seam) zones throughout, from 5 cm to ~1 m thickness, with contorted quartz-carbonate veinlets, minor pyrite (<1%), and evidence of fault reactivation.
49.7-79.0 m: Dark grey to black finely laminated argillite. Multiple fault gouge zones; strongly brecciated fault zone at 75.43-77.00 m with broken quartz veining.
79.0-97.6 m: Light grey fine-grained sandstone (90%) interbedded with dark grey argillite (10%). Crosscutting quartz carbonate vein flooding at 90.0-92.0 m (5 mm-15 cm vein network).
97.6-149.55 m: Dark grey to black finely laminated argillite (95%). Seven-metre fault zone at 128.83-135.80 m with broken quartz fragments; fold structures at 109.70 m and 118.0-118.35 m, confirming polyphase deformation.
149.55-175.6 m: Alternating siltstone and dark argillite; brecciated fault zone at 149.70-150.05 m and multiple fault gouge intervals.
175.6-204.8 m: Light green grey siltstone (80%) / sandstone (20%). Contorted quartz carbonate vein stockwork at 196.7-198.0 m.
204.8-229.3 m: Light green fine-grained siltstone (90%). Quartz carbonate stockwork with silicified sandstone at 214.0-217.8 m (3.8 m, immediately above the primary fault breccia zone).
PRIMARY STRUCTURAL ZONE – FAULT BRECCIA | 229.3-250.8 m | Core length ~21.5 m
229.3-250.8 m: Dark grey to black matrix-supported fault breccia. Contains wedge-shaped slices of green grey argillite and siltstone; angular fragments 2 mm-4 cm of green siltstone and quartz. Sub-intervals include crushed quartz vein fault gouge (231.90-232.56 m), broken quartz carbonate vein (232.56-233.21 m), fault gouge with broken core (233.21-235.40 m), remnant argillite slice (235.40-237.32 m), strongly brecciated argillite and siltstone (237.32-241.00 m), and moderately foliated black fault breccia (241.00-250.80 m). Lower contact sharp at 70° to core axis.
SECONDARY FAULT ZONE | 260.14-268.32 m | Core length ~8 m
250.8-260.14 m: Transitional brecciated argillite/siltstone separating the two principal fault zones.
260.14-268.32 m: Fault gouge and crushed quartz vein fragments within strongly foliated argillite; remnant wedge slices of brecciated sandstone and argillite. Secondary crosscutting quartz veins (2-5 mm) at 262.0-262.6 m.
268.32-291.38 m: Light green grey fine grained weakly brecciated siltstone with poorly developed cleavage.
Headspace gas measurements indicate that this interval is associated with elevated hydrogen concentrations, consistent with structurally controlled hydrogen occurrences observed in previous boreholes.
SIGNIFICANCE: SCALE AND CONTINUITY
Structural Architecture Confirmed at a New Location
Holes 1 and 2 were drilled from the same surface pad along the Eatonville Road sector of the CCFZ. Hole 3, approximately 2.5 kilometres away along the Reid Line, is intersecting the same categories of fault architecture – breccia, gouge, and hydrothermal alteration – as those that hosted hydrogen in the previous two boreholes. This supports the interpretation that the structurally controlled system is not a local anomaly but is expressed across a broader corridor.
Multi-Zone Vertical Profile Continues to Develop
The geological log of Hole 3 to 378 metres reveals at minimum two principal structural zones (229.3-250.8 m and 260.14-268.32 m). With drilling continuing toward 900 metres, the Company will test for deeper structural zones analogous to those associated with the most elevated hydrogen readings in Holes 1 and 2.
Gas Geochemistry
The observations reported here are geological. Headspace gas geochemistry data are being collected continuously from Hole 3 using the same INRS-developed protocol applied in Holes 1 and 2. In Holes 1 and 2, the most elevated hydrogen readings were associated with the principal fault breccia and gouge-dominated intervals – the same structural units confirmed in Hole 3 with six measurements exceeding 1,000 ppmV and a high of 3,916 ppmV at 26 m (subject to the same limitations described for previous holes, including atmospheric and water dilution concentrations, press release March 10, 2026 on dilution factor)
ABOUT QUÉBEC INNOVATIVE MATERIALS CORP.
Québec Innovative Materials Corp. is a North American exploration and development company advancing a portfolio of natural hydrogen and critical mineral projects. The Company is advancing its district-scale hydrogen exploration model across Québec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Minnesota (USA), leveraging its proprietary R2G2™ framework developed in collaboration with INRS. QIMC is committed to sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and innovation, with the objective of supporting clean energy and decarbonization initiatives.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
QUÉBEC INNOVATIVE MATERIALS CORP.
John Karagiannidis
President & Chief Executive Officer
Email: info@qimaterials.com
Tel: +1 514-726-7058
Disclaimer
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding exploration plans, the interpretation of geological observations, anticipated gas geochemistry results, the Company’s R2G2™ exploration model, and planned drilling activities. Forward-looking statements are based on the assumptions and judgements of the Company’s management and involve known and unknown risks. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. No resource estimate has been prepared for the West Advocate project. There is no assurance that the exploration results described herein will translate into a discovery of commercial quantities of natural hydrogen. All reported widths are downhole core lengths; true widths have not yet been determined. Gas measurements reported for Holes 1, 2, and 3 were collected near the borehole collar and during core handling and are subject to atmospheric dilution; they are not representative of in-situ concentrations.
Although the Company believes that the forward-looking information contained herein is reasonable as of the date of this press release, such information is subject to change, and no assurance can be given that future results will be achieved. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities legislation. No hydraulic fracturing or reservoir stimulation was used in any borehole in this programme.
