Idaho Champion – a discovery-focused exploration company that is committed to advancing its highly prospective mineral properties located in Idaho and Quebec, Canada – has announced that it has entered into a binding memorandum of understanding (the “Agreement”) with Quebec Precious Metals Corporation (“QPM”) to acquire a 100% interest in two prospective lithium pegmatite projects (the “Projects”) in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory of Quebec.
The Projects (covering approximately 162 km2) include historic findings of pegmatite and sit to the north of the Patriot Battery Metals’ (“Patriot”) Corvette project, and is also located in close proximity to infrastructure in a developing potential lithium pegmatite district that has shown high prospectivity for lithium mineral resources. The Projects are at an early stage of exploration, and the Company cautions that the qualified persons who have reviewed and approved this news release have not verified scientific or technical information produced by third parties, and proximity to projects containing lithium resources offers no assurance that the rock types or lithium resources reported by Patriot and others extend onto the Projects and such proximity is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization reported by third parties with projects in the district.
Together with its existing Cobalt assets located in Idaho, this pending acquisition pivots Idaho Champion’s strategy to focus on making a meaningful impact in the North American battery metals sector.
“Battery makers worldwide face significant challenges in order to meet the extraordinary demand and technological advances ahead of the 2035 EV mandates. Combined with the geopolitical climate, we are presented with an excellent opportunity to aggressively uncover materials important to meet these demands,” stated Jonathan Buick, President and CEO. “The Blanche and Charles projects place the Company right in the mix within a fast-growing lithium pegmatite district. The projects were originally explored for precious and base metals, but more recently, evidence of pegmatites has led to a re-assessment of the lithium discovery potential that warrants more work. Additionally, we would like to welcome QPM as cornerstone shareholders with approximately 7.4% of our outstanding shares post-transaction. We look forward to exploring these assets together.”
QPM’s Chief Executive Officer, Normand Champigny commented: “The Projects are clearly underexplored for lithium. In light of the recent discoveries in the area, we welcome the opportunity to become a significant shareholder of Idaho Champion while working with them to become successful explorers in the James Bay region. This transaction is consistent with our strategy to monetize non-core assets.“