Ontario Line 5 brings the combined Québec–Ontario program to approximately 63 kilometres and QIMC’s completed and planned seismic coverage across three provinces to approximately 126.5 kilometres.
Montréal, Québec – October 20, 2026 – Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (OTCQB: QIMCF) (FSE: 7FJ) (“QIMC” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the expansion of its vibroseismic program into Ontario with the addition of Line 5, a 26.8 km east–west transect across the Ontario portion of the Lac Témiscamingue Graben. Line 5 is being added to the Company’s 36 km Québec seismic program, bringing the integrated cross-border campaign to approximately 63 km. Seismic data for the Québec and Ontario lines will be acquired by Echo Seismic Ltd. (“Echo Seismic”), the contractor that completed the seismic acquisition for the Company’s Nova Scotia program, and processed by Earth Signal Processing Ltd. (“ESP”) of Calgary.
The Ontario addition follows completion of the Company’s expanded 63.7 km seismic acquisition in Nova Scotia. QIMC is applying the integrated geophysical and geochemical targeting approach used in Nova Scotia to its Ontario holdings, informed by regional geology and the Bouguer gravity and total magnetic field surveys recently completed with the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (“INRS”).
Line 5 was selected because its corridor contains the highest soil-gas hydrogen (H₂) concentrations recorded by QIMC in the Ontario portion of the graben to date, intersects large magnetic anomalies interpreted to be related to Nipissing mafic dykes, and maximizes coverage of areas capped by Ordovician and Silurian sedimentary rocks (limestones, dolomites and shales), the sealing lithologies required for the migrating hydrogen and helium. The line’s eastern end is located at the Québec border, tying the Ontario lines directly into the Company’s Québec program.
Program Highlights
- 26.8 km of new 2D vibroseismic coverage in Ontario across three contiguous segments – Line 5a (12.9 km), Line 5b (0.58 km) and Line 5c (13.3 km) – running east–west from the Québec border through Hilliard, Armstrong and Brethour townships toward the Nipissing dyke swarm
- Richest hydrogen section of the Ontario graben: the Line 5 corridor returned the highest soil-gas H₂ values recorded by QIMC in the Ontario portion of the Lac Témiscamingue Graben
- Direct link to basement hydrogen sources: Line 5 crosses large total-magnetic-field anomalies interpreted as Nipissing mafic dykes and sills, a potential source rock for serpentinization-driven hydrogen generation
- Maximum cap-rock coverage: the transect is positioned to maximize intersection of Ordovician and Silurian limestones, dolomites and shales that may act as seals for migrating hydrogen and helium
- Cross-border continuity: Line 5a ties directly into the Company’s 36 km Témiscamingue (Ville-Marie / St-Bruno-de-Guigues) program, giving a continuous seismic framework of approximately 63 km across the graben
- Proven model, new jurisdiction: the same INRS-developed integration of soil-gas geochemistry, gravity, magnetics and 2D seismic that defined the Apple River – Bennett Hill hot zones in Nova Scotia is now being applied to Ontario
- Completed and planned seismic coverage totals approximately 126.5 line-kilometres: 36 km in Québec, approximately 63.7 km in Nova Scotia and 26.8 km in Ontario, representing the largest combined seismic program in the Company’s history
John Karagiannidis, President and CEO of QIMC, commented: “Québec is where our hydrogen story began, and the Line 5 corridor contains the highest soil-gas hydrogen concentrations recorded in our Ontario surveys to date. What we learned in Nova Scotia is that the hot zones sit where three things line up: a basement source, a conduit, and a seal. The gravity and magnetic surveys we completed with INRS show all three along Line 5, with the Nipissing mafic dykes as the source, the Rivière-Blanche fault system as the conduit, and Ordovician and Silurian cover rocks as the seal. Seismic is the tool that converts that interpretation into a potential pilot production pathway.”
“Line 5 was chosen because it satisfies every criterion in our targeting model at once. It intersects large magnetic anomalies that we associate with the Nipissing mafic dykes, and it maximizes coverage of ground capped by Ordovician and Silurian limestones, dolomites and shales. Starting the line at the Québec border means we can trace the same reflectors from the Ville-Marie program straight into Ontario, and the seismic data will tell us the depth and geometry of the intrusions and the faults.”
“By starting Line 5 at the Québec border, we are building one continuous structural framework across the Témiscamingue Graben rather than two isolated datasets. With Nova Scotia now at approximately 63.7 kilometres and the Québec and Ontario lines combined at approximately 63 kilometres, QIMC is running the largest geophysical campaign in its history, with the same team and the same model that delivered our Nova Scotia results. Our objective is simple: move each district from anomaly to defined target to pilot production pathway.”
Why Line 5: Integration of the Recent Geophysical Surveys
Line 5 was positioned using four co-registered datasets compiled by INRS over the Ontario portion of the graben. Each dataset independently supports the transect:
- Regional geology – Line 5c crosses Archean volcanics, the Nipissing mafic dyke swarm and the Early Proterozoic Cobalt Group before entering Silurian cover; Lines 5b and 5a cross Silurian and Ordovician sedimentary rocks to the Québec border. This maximizes coverage of sealed, cover-rock terrain over a basement capable of generating H₂.
- Total magnetic field – Large, high-amplitude magnetic anomalies beneath Armstrong, Hilliard and Brethour, interpreted as Nipissing mafic dykes and sills. Mafic and ultramafic rocks are the source lithology in the radiolytic and serpentinization hydrogen models.
- Bouguer gravity – A pronounced gravity high centred on the Armstrong – Thornloe – Harley corridor, with a gradient coincident with the Rivière-Blanche fault, indicating dense mafic bodies at depth and a basement-penetrating structure that can act as a vertical migration pathway.
- Soil-gas H₂ – The Line 5 section carries the highest H₂ concentrations recorded in the Ontario graben region: the surface expression of active degassing and the primary targeting criterion.
The survey will image the geometry of the Nipissing intrusions, the depth and offset of the Rivière-Blanche fault, the thickness of the Paleozoic cover and any structural traps at the basement–cover contact – the same subsurface elements that defined the Company’s Nova Scotia hot zones.
Applying the Nova Scotia Model to Ontario
The Ontario program replicates the staged workflow that moved the Company’s Nova Scotia district from surface anomaly to pilot-production planning in under two years. In Nova Scotia, QIMC and INRS first mapped hydrogen degassing along the Cobequid – Chedabucto Fault Zone with soil-gas surveys, then used magnetics to identify dense, magnetic basement bodies and the structures connecting them to surface, and finally positioned 2D vibroseismic lines to image those structures at depth.
That sequence produced the Apple River – Bennett Hill hot zones, two drilling centres with hydrogen observations, and a seismic program expanded from 50 km to approximately 63.7 km, acquired by Echo Seismic and now being processed by ESP. QIMC has drilled five exploration holes in Nova Scotia and previously reported qualitative free-gas observations during drilling of DDH-26-05 at Bennett Hill.
In Ontario, the same three layers are in place: a soil-gas H₂ survey that identifies the Line 5 section as the richest in the graben, gravity and magnetic surveys that resolve the Nipissing mafic bodies and the Rivière-Blanche fault, and now a seismic transect designed to tie them together. Seismic data for the Ontario and Québec programs will be acquired by Echo Seismic with the same vibroseis methodology and processed by ESP to a common datum, allowing a single structural interpretation across the Témiscamingue Graben in both provinces.
The program is non-invasive. Vibroseis acquisition is conducted along existing roads and rights-of-way, requires no drilling or explosives, and is carried out in consultation with municipalities and First Nations in the survey area, including Timiskaming First Nation. The seismic program involves no hydraulic fracturing or reservoir stimulation.
Next Steps
- Mobilization of the Echo Seismic crew from Nova Scotia to the Company’s Québec properties, followed by acquisition along Ontario Line 5, using the same vibroseis parameters to ensure data continuity across the border
- Integration of the combined Témiscamingue seismic dataset with the existing soil-gas, gravity and magnetic survey data and data from the Company’s monitoring wells in Québec
- Processing by ESP alongside the Nova Scotia dataset
About Quebec Innovative Materials Corp.
Quebec 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, leveraging its proprietary R2G2™ framework.
QIMC is committed to responsible exploration, technical innovation and sustainable development, with the objective of supporting clean energy and decarbonization initiatives.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
QUEBEC INNOVATIVE MATERIALS CORP.
John Karagiannidis
President & Chief Executive Officer
Email: info@qimaterials.com
Tel: +1 514-726-7058
Website: www.qimaterials.com
The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements in this release include, without limitation, statements regarding the timing, scope and results of the Company’s seismic programs in Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia; the interpretation of geophysical and geochemical data; the application of the Company’s exploration model to its Ontario holdings; the identification of drill targets; and the advancement of any project toward the pilot production pathway. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions of management and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially, including permitting and land-access risk, weather and field conditions, availability of contractors, interpretation risk inherent in geophysical data, the early stage of natural hydrogen exploration generally, commodity prices, availability of financing, regulatory approvals, and the other risks described in the Company’s public filings on SEDAR+. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements except as required by law.