Drilling by Q2 Metals (TSXV: QTWO; US-OTC: QUEXF) at its Cisco project in north-central Quebec has returned several high-grade results – including the strongest interval encountered yet on the property – ahead of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) due later this year. Shares rose.
Highlight hole CS25-073 cut 40 metres grading 2.89% lithium oxide (Li2O) from 422 metres depth, including 170 metres at 1.99% Li2O, 108.7 metres grading 1.52% Li2O and 78.5 metres at 1.47% Li2O, Q2 reported Tuesday. Cisco is about 900 km north of Montreal.
“The latest assays support a potential extension of the deposit boundary to the west, while hole 73 (in the central portion of the deposit) demonstrates the potential forming of a high grade area,” Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets analyst Katie Lachapelle said in a note on Tuesday.
The release of the final drill results for 2025 now help the company move into a “new chapter” in Cisco’s development, Q2 Vice-President of Exploration Neil McCallum said in a release.
“These assay results once again showcase the robust mineralization at Cisco and give serious emphasis to its expansion potential.”
Prospective region
Located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, Cisco sits along the area’s southern corridor with other battery metal projects including the Whabouchi site now majority-controlled by Rio Tinto (ASX, LSE: RIO), as well as Rio’s James Bay project and Critical Elements Lithium’s (TSXV: CRE; US-OTC: CRECF) Rose.
Q2 last year formed an exploration target for Cisco and estimated the project’s main mineralized zone has a conceptual scale of 215 million to 329 million tonnes grading 1% to 1.38% Li2O, based on about 16,167 metres across 40 holes.
Q2 shares gained 6% to $2.18 apiece on Tuesday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $411.2 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of 39¢ to $2.70.
Multiple high grades
Other noteworthy results at Cisco came from hole CS25-064, which cut 166.7 metres grading 1.47% Li2O from 338.5 metres depth. This included 28.7 metres at 1.81% Li2O.
Hole CS25-072 returned 121.6 metres at 1.45% Li2O from 42.4 metres depth, including 109.5 metres grading 1.67% Li2O and 82.1 metres at 1.71% Li2O.
Q2’s four-rig drill program is mainly focused on infilling Cisco’s main mineralized zone to convert expected inferred resources to indicated before the PEA is released. The assessment will also include Cisco’s initial resource that will be based on 31,961 metres of drill data, Q2 said.
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