Quebec Precious Metals Corporation: Finding the next gold mine in James Bay, Quebec
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ince its creation 2018, Quebec Precious Metals Corporation (QPM) has been conducting exploration programs to find the next gold mine in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory of Quebec, with the support of its largest shareholder Newmont Corporation (16 per cent), Quebec institutions (13 per cent), management and board of directors (five per cent), and other shareholders. QPM’s team continues to make significant progress to advance its 100 per cent owned flagship Sakami project to the mineral resource estimation stage. The company’s goal is to identify a multi-million ounces mineral resource. Of critical importance is the implementation by QPM of a rigorous
protocol to ensure the protection of all stakeholders in the territory and in accordance with the regulatory guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s protocol has been communicated to and reviewed by the Cree Nation government. QPM recognizes the excellent cooperation on the part of the Cree authorities to help with exploration programs during this challenging period. Gold occurences have been identified over a 13 kilometre strike length on the company’s Sakami flagship project. These occurences are located along the same geological contact than Newmont’s Eleonore gold mine. During the spring and summer of 2020, QPM announced several drilling intersections confirming the
Figure 1 - La Pointe composites, September 2020.
22 Revue minière du Québec
discovery of the La Pointe Extension, about two kilometres from the known La Pointe deposit on the Sakami project (Figure 1). This discovery is the result of previous surface work, including soil geochemistry, induced polarization surveys, and surface sampling. Windfall Geotek Inc. validated a number of high-priority targets. The recent drilling and the surface work developed targets for the ongoing 25,000-metre drill program announced early this year. In addition, QPM is carrying out surface exploration work on its 100 per cent-owned Elmer East project located along trend from the recent Patwon prospect gold discovery made by Azimut Exploration Inc. This exploration work follows a magnetic heliborne survey performed earlier this year and the evaluation of all available data at the regional scale with the participation of GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. (a technology and investment company that uses machine learning to identify exploration targets). Follow-up prospecting, geological mapping, and rock sampling were performed and results are expected shortly. While focusing on James Bay exploration, the company is engaged in the process of selling its interests in non-core projects located outside the region. Agreements are in place with three partners for them to acquire a 100 per cent interest in graphite, lithium, and nickel projects outside of James Bay. Earlier this year, QPM divested of the Chemin Troïlus project. In return, QPM received cash and shares to help with its exploration funding. With a rising gold price and increased exploration activities and success in James Bay, QPM is well underway to finding the next mine in the region while operating in a safe, environmentally responsible manner, and in close collaboration with the local Cree communities. This will create value for shareholders and all stakeholders. u
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