QIMC Announces Thermogenic Wet-Gas Signature in 86% of Soil-Gas Samples at New Salem-Apple River, Nova Scotia, Next to Its 30% Clean Hydrogen Discovery

Outcomes support an integrated traditional gas and helium expedition design within the very same translated local structural structure as QIMC’s Bennett Hill hydrogen discovery. Acquisition of roughly 50 line-kilometres of 2D seismic is presently under method.

Québec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (OTCQB: QIMCF) (FSE: 7FJ) (FSE: 7FJ)(” QIMC “or the” Company “) today reports the C1-C4 soil-gas arise from its 2026 New Salem-Apple River program in Nova Scotia and offers an integrated analysis of the location, following the helium and geophysical outcomes revealed on September 24 and September 29, 2026. The release provides the local gravity analysis determining a sedimentary sub-basin– a possible brand-new gas kitchen area– right away west of New Salem, and sets out how the New Salem-Apple River gas passage associates with the Company’s Apple River-Bennett Hill tidy natural hydrogen passage along the North Cobequid fault zone. The analysis and geological design were prepared by Professor Marc Richer-Laflèche, Ph.D., of the Institut nationwide de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Québec.

The New Salem-Apple River Gas System

• Source: the organic-rich lacustrine shales of the Horton Group– the horizon the oil and gas market has actually traditionally targeted in the Cumberland Basin– with Type II-III kerogen at thermogenic maturity (Nova Scotia federal government information); uranium-thorium-bearing basement, the magnetic invasive body underneath Zones B and C and the Devono-Carboniferous granite for helium.
• Kitchen area: a local gravity low instantly west of New Salem marks a sedimentary sub-basin where the Carboniferous area thickens. C1-C4 soil-gas worths increase as the gravity field falls towards the centre of this trough.
• Migration: 3 local faults (F-I, F-II, F-III) rooted in Precambrian basement grain, along which gas reaches the surface area today– thermogenic damp gas on F-I and F-II (Zones A and E), helium on F-III (Zones B and C) and F-II (Zone D).
• Prospect structures along faults F-I to F-III and the basin-basement ramp, to be imaged by the 2026 seismic program.
• The Windsor Group evaporites (salt and anhydrite) are the most reliable local seal; their existence underneath the fairway is to be checked by seismic and drilling.
• Footprint: a core fault-controlled fairway of 20-30 km two within an anomalous passage extending about 18 km from West Advocate to the eastern study lines, at the western end of the 43-kilometre Apple River-Kirkhill passage, on which the Company’s tidy natural hydrogen discoveries at Bennett Hill were drilled.

Why It Matters

Twelve months back, the south-western Cumberland Basin and its shift zone towards the Cobequid Highlands were frontier ground, with practically no drilling and a really low density of geoscientific information; earlier market expedition had actually focused on the main and eastern parts of the basin. It now has more than 1,000 independent soil-gas analyses for helium and C1-C4, Nova Scotia local gravity, recycled provincial aeromagnetics, brand-new QIMC high-resolution ground magnetics and a brand-new structural analysis– all assembling on one set of structures at shallow depth, in a county with existing gas transmission facilities and a province that has actually been a net importer of gas.

• An active hydrocarbon charge. The dominant soil-gas signature throughout the study is thermogenic, and many samples fall in the wet-gas field. This suggests that a hydrocarbon system remains in the stratigraphic column underneath New Salem-Apple River– the very first condition of any standard gas play, and the factor soil-gas studies are run ahead of seismic.
• A prospect source kitchen area. The greatest ethane abnormalities lie over a local gravity low translated as a thickening of the sedimentary basin, which might hide the organic-rich Horton Group lacustrine shale recognized by the Nova Scotia Department of Energy as the primary geological unpredictability for the basin’s traditional gas capacity.
• 3 gases, one structural structure. Hydrocarbons, helium and tidy natural hydrogen stand out in origin and timing however appear to share typical structures: thermogenic gas connected with the basin, helium above a deep magnetic body cut by fault F-III, and hydrogen dominant towards the Cobequid Highlands, where the Company’s Bennett Hill holes returned as much as 30% H ₂. The Nova Scotia properties no longer depend upon a single product or a single market.
• Traditional, no fracking, no tank stimulation. The New Salem-Apple River frontier play is a traditional gas system together with the Company’s Apple River-Bennett Hill tidy natural hydrogen passage. The Company does not utilize and does not plan to utilize hydraulic fracturing or any kind of tank stimulation in Nova Scotia.
• Independent science. All soil-gas analyses were carried out by GeoFrontiers Corporation (Wichita Falls, Texas), an independent geochemical lab with an analytical family tree in petroleum, gas and helium expedition dating to 1978. The geological and geophysical analysis was prepared by Professor Marc Richer-Laflèche, Ph.D., INRS.

“QIMC has actually approached its Nova Scotia tidy hydrogen discovery and now helium and wet/condensate gas methodically, with independent information, and with each phase gating the next,” stated John Karagiannidis, President and Chief Executive Officer“In twelve months, we have actually moved from a single 28-station traverse to a frontier have fun with an active thermogenic charge, a prospect gas cooking area and the faults along which gas reaches the surface area today– supported by more than 1 000 independent Helium and C1-C4 soil-gas analyses, local gravity, aeromagnetics and brand-new ground magnetics, and analyzed by among Canada’s leading scholastic geoscientists. The outcome is a standard, shallow, multi-gas use the very same 43-kilometre basement structure as our tidy natural hydrogen discoveries at Bennett Hill, in a jurisdiction with existing gas facilities and a structural supply deficit. We are advancing it with the discipline the possession is worthy of, and with 50 line-kilometres of 2D seismic created to image the structures below the abnormalities. Go back and take a look at what QIMC now keeps in Nova Scotia: 2 districts, one basement structure, 3 gases. In the east, 5 holes throughout 2 drill centres and approximately 30% tidy natural hydrogen at Bennett Hill. In the west, at New Salem-Apple River, the greatest helium concentrations in our program, a damp thermogenic gas signature throughout an 18-kilometre passage over a local gravity low, and numerous structural targets that the seismic is now evaluating. Together they form a 43-kilometre multi-gas passage.”

Multi-Gas System in the New Salem-Apple River Area

Following 2025 hydrogen expedition work recommending the possible existence of C1-C4 hydrocarbons in the surfaces of the Cumberland Basin and in the shift zone towards the Cobequid Highlands, a C1-C4 soil-gas study was performed in the New Salem and Apple River sectors. The study was created to validate the most likely existence of hydrocarbons in the south-western part of the basin and to examine whether an organic-rich, thermally fully grown source rock may be present at depth within the Carboniferous sedimentary series.

C1-C4 soil-gas geochemistry is commonly utilized in the market due to the fact that it permits direct detection of hydrocarbon microseepage from the subsurface. It is normally utilized throughout the prospect-generation phase, ahead of seismic studies. A soil-gas abnormality suggests the existence of a hydrocarbon charge– simply put, that a petroleum system is active someplace in the stratigraphic column.

Figure 1 assembles the soil-gas information from the 2025 and 2026 studies, evaluated by GeoFrontiersThese information serve initially to figure out the kind of hydrocarbons most likely accountable for the C1-C4 signatures determined in the soils (C1: methane; C2: ethane; C3: lp; C4: butane). As a very first approximation, a diagram adjusted from Bernard et al. (1978) and Haworth et al. (1985) was utilized. It cross-plots 2 timeless molecular ratios to differentiate samples with a biogenic signature from those with a thermogenic or combined signature: the Bernard ratio, C1/ (C2 + C3), and the dampness ratio, [(C2 + C3 + C4) / (C1 + C2 + C3 + C4)] × 100.

In today case, biogenic and combined signatures together represent around 2% of categorized samples. This low percentage follows the nature of the tasting websites, which lie mainly on glacial tills bad in raw material. Provided the a great deal of samples and their clustering, the information highly recommend that the dominant signature in this part of the Cumberland Basin is thermogenic. The dampness index is a semi-quantitative indication of the kind of fluid possibly present at depth (dry gas, damp gas or oil). Here, the information indicate a dominant wet-gas signature (86% of samples). Dry gas represent 8.7%, and a little number of samples (3.4%) fall within the condensate-to-oil variety.

Figure 1. Neighborhood diagram of the C1-C4 soil-gas analyses of the New Salem-Apple River location based upon the Bernard and dampness ratios. The dampness index does not consist of pentane, which is not examined in this kind of study. Analysis: Prof. M. Richer-Laflèche, INRS.

The diagram based upon the Pixler ratios( Pixler, 1969; e.g., Rasheed et al., 2015)( Figure 2 )reveals a pattern comparable to that of Figure 1. The very first -and third-quartile information for the C1/C2, C1/C3 and C1/C4 ratios fall, like the typical, within the wet-gas field, with a smaller sized percentage in the dry-gas or oil fields. This contrast of the 2 approaches reveals consistency in the analysis of the origin of the C1-C4 hydrocarbons found in the soils.

Figure 2. Neighborhood diagram of the C1-C4 soil-gas analyses of the New Salem-Apple River location based upon the Pixler ratios( C1/C2, C1/C3 and C1/C4).

The South-Western Sub-Basin: Gravity Locates the Kitchen

To record the significance of the strong C1-C4 hydrocarbon concentrations discovered in the soils of the New Salem-Apple River location, ethane (C2) was utilized since, unlike methane, it is a gas basically produced by thermogenic responses in rock. Figure 3 reveals that soils anomalous in C1-C4 hydrocarbons are not limited to rocks of the Cumberland Group: soils overlying rocks of the Rapid Brook Formation (Horton Group) also reveal anomalous ethane and other gases.

The Bouguer abnormality map is explanatory in this regard, as it exposes a spatial association in between a gravity low and the greatest ethane abnormalities (Figure 4). In a sedimentary basin setting, where an older, denser basement is juxtaposed versus less thick sedimentary rocks, gravity lows frequently show a thickening of the sedimentary series, which in turn boosts, to name a few things, the possibility of organic-rich source rocks existing. In the Cumberland sector, this basin thickening might hide at depth the organic-rich lacustrine shale system that is the missing component in existing designs assessing the hydrocarbon capacity of this part of the basin (e.g., Hayes et al., 2017).

Figure 3. Ethane abnormalities( ppmv) predicted on the Government of Nova Scotia’s streamlined geological map.

Figure 4. Ethane abnormalities( ppmv) forecasted on the Bouguer abnormality gravity map. Analysis: Prof. M. Richer-Laflèche, INRS.

Hydrogen, Helium and Wet/Condensate Gas in a Single Geological System

The south-western part of the Cumberland Basin and its shift zone towards the Cobequid Highlands form an intricate geological and structural setting in which hydrocarbons, hydrogen and helium might exist together. They most likely share typical structures, however their origins vary in time and area. Comprehending the geology and the development of the gases observed in the research study location for that reason needs a 4D method( 3D + time).

Natural hydrogen is believed to come from generally from the oxidation of ferrous iron (Fe TWO ⁺ )by groundwater. This response impacts ferromagnesian minerals (olivine, pyroxenes, amphiboles, biotite) and magnetite in the mafic rocks of the Cobequid Highlands, such as the gabbros and basalts related to the invasions and bimodal volcanic series (Pe-Piper and Piper, 2002). As water oxidizes Fe TWO ⁺ to Fe THREE ⁺, it is minimized and launches H ₂. Fluid blood circulation along faults and fractures promotes this response by constantly exposing fresh mineral surface areas. A 2nd system might likewise contribute: water radiolysis, the breakdown of water by radiation released from uranium, thorium and potassium in close-by granitoids (Sherwood Lollar et al., 2014; Klein et al., 2020). Hydrogen generation is current on the geological time scale and, according to some hypotheses, might run as an open system, constantly providing gas to the subsurface over extended periods (Zgonnik, 2020).

On the other hand, crustal helium is nearly totally radiogenic ⁴ He, produced by the decay of uranium and thorium focused in accessory minerals (zircon, monazite, apatite) of felsic invasive and metamorphic rocks, especially those of the basement (Ballentine and Burnard, 2002). A uranium- and thorium-rich source rock collects helium over numerous hundred million years; a structural, magmatic or metamorphic occasion can then launch it, after which it moves through the crust and might build up, significantly in hydrocarbon tanks within the basin (Danabalan et al., 2022; Cheng et al., 2023).

Wet gas and condensate depend upon the advancement of the sedimentary basin. The most likely source rock is the organic-rich lacustrine shale of the Horton Group (Lower Carboniferous) (Hayes et al., 2017), transferred in rift lakes and buried into the oil window, then into the wet-gas window. The Albert Formation in the Moncton Basin of New Brunswick is an acknowledged analogue (Mukhopadhyay, 1995; Nova Scotia Department of Energy, 2017). The system likewise needs tank rocks, structural traps and an impenetrable seal. The evaporites of the Windsor Group (Viséan), made up of salt and anhydrite, form the most reliable seal in the area and have low permeability to helium and hydrogen, 2 especially mobile gases. In the Cumberland Basin, salt movement has actually produced diapirs and minibasins (Waldron et al., 2013); these structures produce traps, however likewise salt welds and faults that might serve as leak paths.

In such a setting, gas blending can be anticipated, together with tanks including gas (with condensate), hydrogen and helium together. Southward, towards the Cobequid Highlands, the Carboniferous sedimentary cover thins and ultimately vanishes, and with it the petroleum system: source rock, tanks and evaporite seal. The system then ends up being mainly hydrogen-dominated. This is supported by countless soil-gas analyses and by water and mud analyses from the 5 QIMC boreholes drilled in 2026 in the West Advocate and Bennett Hill locations.

The System on the Seismic Map

The collection map (Figure 5) reveals the spatial relationships in between the C1-C4 hydrocarbon abnormalities (highlighted by ethane), helium and the primary faults of the research study location. This circulation exposes a decoupling in between the C1-C4 hydrocarbons and helium, with the latter tending to be focused above a deep magnetic mass analyzed as a plutonic body underlying the basin. This mass is converged by the F-III fault zone, which would discuss the distinct circulation of helium. By contrast, the greatest ethane abnormalities happen in between faults F-I and F-II, and more particularly within the zone of Bouguer abnormality attenuation representing a deepening of the basin, translated as a ramp favouring gas migration towards the surface area (Figure 4).

Figure 5 likewise shows the 2D seismic study lines that are currently being obtained. This design was prepared based upon the circulation of hydrogen, C1-C4 hydrocarbon and helium abnormalities, together with the analysis of the gravity and aeromagnetic information.

Figure 5. The New Salem-Apple River gas system on the 2D seismic program map. Diligent River Line 7 plots outside the map(east), as do the Reid Farm(West Advocate)Lines 3a and 3b (south). The map likewise reveals the places of boreholes DDH-26-04 and DDH-26-05, which converged really high concentrations of hydrogen (mud and water headspace). N.C.F. and S.C.F.: North and South Cobequid faults. Collection: Prof. M. Richer-Laflèche, INRS.

Geological and Historical Background of Hydrocarbon Exploration in the Cumberland Basin

The Cumberland Basin is a Carboniferous sub-basin of the Maritimes Basin. Given that the 1970s, it has actually been the topic of a number of oil and gas expedition projects, none of which ever reached business production. A preliminary stage, led by Chevron in the 1970s and 1980s, evaluated its traditional capacity through seismic studies and a handful of wells. In the 1990s and 2000s, attention moved to the coalbed methane (CBM) capacity of the coal-rich systems of the Cumberland Group. In 2014, the adoption of a provincial moratorium on hydraulic fracturing froze all non-traditional activity for more than a years, up until the legal resuming that started in 2025.

Expedition work to date has actually focused on the main and eastern parts of the basin, especially around the Springhill coalfield and the Amherst-Nappan-Pugwash passage. The south-western sector, where QIMC has actually been active given that 2025, has actually been mostly ignored. The earliest standard wells (1970s-1980s) lay further north and east, towards the Northumberland Strait coast and the Amherst location. The Springhill, River Hebert and Joggins location represented the majority of the coalbed methane expedition (Resources Enterprises in 1994, followed by Stealth Ventures and Contact Exploration from 2005 to 2009). This is likewise the part of the basin where coal was mined commercially, significantly at Springhill and Joggins, from the 19th century through the latter half of the 20th century.

By contrast, the south-western part of the basin, in the Apple River-New Salem location, had actually seen practically no drilling or in-depth surveying before QIMC’s arrival. This sector lies closer to the Cobequid Highlands and the Bay of Fundy. It is a frontier backyard where information are very limited, and the play idea for that reason relies generally on the projection of local information and designs instead of on well control. In this sector, the lack of drilling discusses, to name a few things, why the existence of organic-rich shales in the Horton Group (the source rock) can not be validated. According to NSDOE Report 2017-03 (Hayes et al., 2017), this absence of expedition, integrated with the lack of verification, makes up the primary geological unpredictability for the Cumberland Basin’s standard gas capacity

No Hydraulic Fracturing, No Reservoir Stimulation

The gases determined at New Salem-Apple River– helium, thermogenic hydrocarbons and, somewhere else on the passage, tidy natural hydrogen– are moving naturally through faults and along the basement user interface to the surface area today. The expedition design is for that reason standard. QIMC does not utilize hydraulic fracturing or any other kind of tank stimulation and has no intent of doing so in Nova Scotia. This is a natural-flow, low-footprint expedition design, constant with the Company’s method to tidy natural hydrogen at Apple River-Bennett Hill.

Referrals

Ballentine, C.J. and Burnard, P.G., 2002. Production, release and transportation of worthy gases in the continental crust. Evaluations in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 47, p. 481-538.

Bernard, B.B., Brooks, J.M. and Sackett, W.M., 1978. Light hydrocarbons in current Texas continental rack and slope sediments. Journal of Geophysical Research, 83(C8), p. 4053-4061.

Cheng, A., Sherwood Lollar, B., Gluyas, J.G. and Ballentine, C.J., 2023. Main N ₂-He gas field development in intracratonic sedimentary basins. Nature, 615( 7950 ), p. 94-99.

Danabalan, D., Gluyas, J.G., Macpherson, C.G., Abraham-James, T.H., Bluett, J.J., Barry, P.H. and Ballentine, C.J., 2022. The concepts of helium expedition. Petroleum Geoscience, 28( 2 ), petgeo2021-029.

DP ME 33, Version 2, 2006. Digital variation of Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Map ME 1990-12, Cumberland Basin Geology Map, Amherst, Springhill and Parrsboro, Cumberland County, NTS 21H/08, 21H/09 and 21H/16, scale 1:50 000, by R.J. Ryan, R.C. Boehner, A.J. Deal and J.H. Calder, 1990.

Gibling, M.R., Culshaw, N., Rygel, M.C. and Pascucci, V., 2008. The Maritimes Basin of Atlantic Canada: basin development and damage in the collisional zone of Pangea. In Sedimentary Basins of the World, vol. 5, Elsevier.

Haworth, J.H., Sellens, M. and Whittaker, A., 1985. Analysis of hydrocarbon programs utilizing light (C1-C5) hydrocarbon gases from mud-log information. AAPG Bulletin, 69( 8 ), p. 1305-1310.

Hayes, B.J.R., Dorey, K. and Longson, C., 2017. Evaluation of Oil and Gas Potential, Windsor and Cumberland Basins, Onshore Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Department of Energy, Open File Report 2017-03, 178 p.

Klein, F., Tarnas, J.D. and Bach, W., 2020. Abiotic sources of molecular hydrogen in the world. Components, 16( 1 ), p. 19-24.

MacHattie, T.G. and White, C.E., 2013-2014. Bedrock mapping of the eastern Cobequid Highlands. Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Reports of Activities.

Milkov, A.V. and Etiope, G., 2018. Modified hereditary diagrams for gas based upon a worldwide dataset of>> 20,000 samples. Organic Geochemistry, 125, p. 109-120.

Pe-Piper, G. and Piper, D.J.W., 2002. A summary of the geology of the Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia. Atlantic Geology, 38, p. 145-160.

Pixler, B.O., 1969. Development assessment by analysis of hydrocarbon ratios. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 21( 6 ), p. 665-670.

Prinzhofer, A., Tahara Cissé, C.S. and Diallo, A.B., 2018. Discovery of a big build-up of natural hydrogen in Bourakebougou (Mali). International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 43, p. 19315-19326.

Rasheed, M.A., Srinivasa Rao, P.L., Annapurna, B. and Hasan, S.Z., 2015. Ramification of soil gas technique for prospecting of hydrocarbon microseepage. International Journal of Petroleum and Petrochemical Engineering, 1( 1 ), p. 31-41.

Sherwood Lollar, B., Onstott, T.C., Lacrampe-Couloume, G. and Ballentine, C.J., 2014. The contribution of the Precambrian continental lithosphere to international H ₂ production. Nature, 516( 7531 ), p. 379-382.

Waldron, J.W.F., Rygel, M.C., Gibling, M.R. and Calder, J.H., 2013. Evaporite tectonics and the late Paleozoic stratigraphic advancement of the Cumberland basin, Appalachians of Atlantic Canada. GSA Bulletin, 125(5-6), p. 945-960.

Zgonnik, V., 2020. The event and geoscience of natural hydrogen: a thorough evaluation. Earth-Science Reviews, 203, 103140.

Certified Person

The clinical and technical details in this press release has actually been examined and authorized by Professor Marc Richer-Laflèche, Ph.D., P.Geo., of the Institut nationwide de la recherche scientifique (INRS), a Qualified Person as specified by National Instrument 43-101. Teacher Richer-Laflèche led the geological and geophysical analysis explained in this release.

The geological and geophysical information underlying this release were translated, and the incorporated New Salem-Apple River design prepared, by Professor Marc Richer-Laflèche, Ph.D., of the Institut nationwide de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Québec, who has actually recommended the Company on the Cumberland Basin considering that the beginning of the program.

About Québec Innovative Materials Corp.

Québec Innovative Materials Corp. is a North American expedition and advancement business advancing a portfolio of natural hydrogen and vital mineral tasks. The Company is advancing its district-scale hydrogen expedition design throughout Québec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Minnesota, leveraging its exclusive R2G2 ™ structure.

QIMC is devoted to accountable expedition, technical development and sustainable advancement, with the goal of supporting tidy energy and decarbonization efforts.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has actually not examined and does decline duty for the adequacy or precision of the material of this press release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release consists of positive declarations and positive details within the significance of suitable Canadian securities laws. Such declarations consist of, without constraint, the prepared scope, timing and goals of the Company’s broadened Nova Scotia seismic program; extra soil-gas tasting and analysis of C1-C4 hydrocarbon results; the awaited contribution of incorporated geological, geochemical and geophysical research studies to expedition targeting; possible future drilling and subsurface screening; and the Company’s technique to examine prospective standard gas build-ups without hydraulic fracturing or tank stimulation. Positive declarations are usually recognized by words such as “strategies,” “anticipates,” “means,” “prepares for,” “prospective,” “may,” “will” and comparable expressions, although not all positive declarations include these words.

The New Salem-Apple River gas system explained in this release is specified by surface area geochemistry and geophysics and has actually not been evaluated by drilling. Soil-gas geochemistry shows a hydrocarbon charge however does not find a tank or trap or verify a seal. Referrals to a source “cooking area”, to prospect structures and to a local seal are geological analyses of surface area and local geophysical information and do not show that hydrocarbons have actually been experienced in the subsurface or that any build-up exists. No resource or reserve price quote has actually been gotten ready for New Salem-Apple River and none is suggested. Arise from the Company’s drilling at Bennett Hill, 10 to 15 km east, are not always a sign of conditions at New Salem-Apple River. All declarations concerning future expedition, seismic and drilling activities are positive.

Soil-gas structure can be changed throughout migration and within the soil itself. Oxidation of ethane to ethylene might move the moisture and Bernard indices, and some samples might therefore be displaced from the wet-gas domain towards the dry-gas domain. Isotopic analyses will assist improve this category and clarify the procedures that might have modified the structure of the thermogenic gases.

Resource World Magazine Inc. has actually prepared this editorial for basic details functions just and must not be thought about a solicitation to purchase or offer securities in the business gone over herein. The details supplied has actually been stemmed from sources thought to be dependable however can not be ensured. This editorial does not consider the readers financial investment requirements, financial investment competence, monetary condition, or monetary objectives of specific receivers and other issues such as jurisdictional and/or legal limitations that might exist for specific individuals. Receivers need to depend on their own due diligence and seek their own expert suggestions before investing.