QIMC Confirms Multi-Season, Structurally Controlled Natural Hydrogen System at West Advocate, Nova Scotia

Québec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC; OTCQB: QIMCF; FSE: 7FJ) reported results from its most recent geological site work program at the West Advocate Project in Nova Scotia, confirming the persistence, continuity, and structural control of natural hydrogen anomalies across multiple seasons and survey campaigns.

During the fall and early winter of 2025, QIMC collected 452 soil-gas samples across the West Advocate area, building on results from its summer 2025 campaign. When combined, the multi-season datasets confirm the presence of three expanded, drill-ready hydrogen target zones along the West Advocate Structural Corridor, including the Eatonville Road area. Importantly, these anomalies remain spatially coherent despite differing seasonal and atmospheric conditions, materially reducing geological uncertainty and advancing the project toward prioritized drilling.

“These results represent a meaningful inflection point for the West Advocate project,” said John Karagiannidis, President & CEO of QIMC. “We are no longer dealing with isolated anomalies. We are systematically defining drill-ready hydrogen targets using repeatable, science-driven methods.”

To address known seasonal variability in soil-gas surveys, QIMC applied Z-score normalization independently to each dataset. This approach removes atmospheric bias and highlights hydrogen readings that consistently deviate from local background levels. When integrated, the normalized data delineate three highly anomalous hydrogen sectors that persist across seasons, supporting interpretation of a robust, structurally controlled geological hydrogen system.

The work was conducted in collaboration with the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) under the scientific leadership of Prof. Marc Richer-LaFlèche, providing independent academic validation.

Full press release is attached:

Montreal, Quebec–(Newsfile Corp. – January 27, 2026) – Québec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (OTCQB: QIMCF) (FSE: 7FJ) (“QIMC” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that results from its most recent geological site work program conducted during the fall and early winter of 2025 reinforce the strength, continuity, and geological significance of hydrogen anomalies initially identified during the Company’s summer 2025 campaign. In total, 452 soil-gas samples were collected across the West Advocate project area. Multi-season results demonstrate the consistent persistence of hydrogen anomalies across three expanded, drill-ready target zones along the West Advocate Structural Corridor in Nova Scotia, including in the vicinity of Eatonville Road. Data collected under differing seasonal and atmospheric conditions confirm that these anomalies are spatially coherent and structurally controlled, materially de-risking target definition and advancing the project toward prioritized drilling.

John Karagiannidis, President and Chief Executive Officer of QIMC, commented:

“These results represent a meaningful inflection point for the West Advocate project. The confirmation of consistent hydrogen anomalies across three expanded target zones, validated through multi-season data, significantly strengthens our confidence in the scale and integrity of the underlying system. We are no longer dealing with isolated anomalies, we are systematically defining drill-ready hydrogen targets using repeatable, science-driven methods. This work materially de-risks the project and positions West Advocate as a cornerstone asset within QIMC’s natural hydrogen portfolio.”

Building on this multi-season validation, QIMC’s latest program focused on increasing sampling density across previously identified priority areas to refine and consolidate drill-ready target definition. Despite well-recognized seasonal and atmospheric influences on soil-gas measurements, the Company’s integrated analytical approach confirms that hydrogen anomalies persist across survey periods and remain aligned with mapped structural controls. This outcome provides a robust, de-risked framework for prioritizing target zones in the Advocate area.

Together, the confirmation of multi-season persistence and the consolidation of three expanded drill-ready target zones meaningfully reduces geological risk and positions West Advocate as a scalable, repeatable natural hydrogen development platform that can be systematically replicated across QIMC’s more than 3773 claims in Nova Scotia and its broader land holdings in Minnesota and the Quebec-Ontario region rather than a single target exploration play.

What Is a Natural Hydrogen “Target Zone”?

Each natural hydrogen target zone defined at West Advocate represents a structurally coherent area defined by the convergence of multiple independent geological and geochemical indicators, including:

• Persistent hydrogen (H₂) anomalies observed across multiple seasons
• Coincident radon-thoron responses indicating deep-sourced gas migration pathways
• Structural alignment with mapped faults and fracture corridors

These target zones form the core building blocks of QIMC’s exploration and development strategy, enabling the Company to systematically advance multiple drill-ready opportunities within a single hydrogen corridor, rather than relying on a single, binary exploration outcome.

Why Z-Score Normalization Is Used

Seasonal variability and atmospheric conditions such as temperature and barometric pressure are well-known challenges in soil-gas exploration and can obscure true geological signals if absolute gas concentrations are considered in isolation. To address this, QIMC and INRS applied Z-score normalization independently to each soil-gas dataset.

In simple terms, Z-score normalization measures how strongly each hydrogen reading deviates from its local background, rather than relying solely on absolute concentration values. This approach removes seasonal and atmospheric bias and allows direct, apples-to-apples comparison across survey periods.

When normalized datasets are integrated, hydrogen anomalies that persist across seasons are interpreted as robust, structurally controlled geological features, rather than transient environmental effects. This significantly de-risks target definition and supports the identification of drill-ready hydrogen target zones, as detailed in the technical interpretation below.

The work was carried out by QIMC in collaboration with the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) under the scientific leadership of Prof. Marc Richer-LaFlèche, providing academic scientific oversight and methodological rigor.

Prof. Marc Richer-LaFlèche commented:

“The second soil-gas survey conducted during the fall and early winter of 2025 confirms that hydrogen anomalies initially identified during the summer program persist despite differing seasonal and atmospheric conditions. After normalizing the datasets to account for temperature and pressure effects, the results clearly delineate three highly anomalous hydrogen sectors at West Advocate. The persistence and spatial coherence of these anomalies strongly support a structurally controlled geological hydrogen system.”

Integrated Technical Interpretation (Figures 1-3)

According to QIMC’s scientific analysis completed in collaboration with INRS, soil-gas data collected during the July (summer) and October (fall) 2025 geological sampling campaigns were assessed independently to account for seasonal differences in atmospheric and environmental conditions known to influence soil-gas concentrations.

Summer sampling was conducted under warmer conditions, with median temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity values of 26°C, 1021.6 hPa, and 57.3%, respectively. Fall sampling was completed under cooler conditions, with median values of 14.2°C, 1025.4 hPa, and 53.2%, respectively. Variations in temperature and atmospheric pressure are recognized drivers of barometric pumping, a process that can suppress measured soil-gas concentrations during colder periods and higher pressure regimes. Previous work by Avendaño et al. (2021) identifies the Canadian Atlantic Coastal Region and the Gulf of St. Lawrence as areas with elevated barometric-pumping efficiency potential.

As illustrated in Figure 1, direct comparison of raw hydrogen concentrations between the two sampling periods highlights an expected seasonal offset. Median hydrogen concentrations measured during the summer survey were 265 ppm(v), compared to 135 ppm(v) during the fall survey. To address this seasonal bias, hydrogen background thresholds were estimated independently for each dataset. The upper background limit for hydrogen was determined to be <318 ppm(v) for summer samples and <160 ppm(v) for fall samples, as shown in Figure 2.

Québec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (OTCQB: QIMCF) (FSE: 7FJ) is a mining exploration and development company dedicated to unlocking the potential of North America’s abundant natural resources. With properties in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Minnesota (USA), QIMC specializes in the exploration of white (natural) hydrogen and high-grade silica deposits.

QIMC is committed to sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and innovation, with the objective of supporting clean energy solutions for the AI-driven and carbon-neutral economy.

For More Information, Please Contact:

QUEBEC INNOVATIVE MATERIALS CORP.
John Karagiannidis
President & Chief Executive Officer
Email: info@qimaterials.com
Tel: +1 514-726-7058

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