Ms. Alicia Milne reports

Q2 METALS METALLURGY CONFIRMS CISCO LITHIUM PROJECT SUITABILITY FOR DMS PROCESSING

Q2 Metals Corp. has released successful results of the first phase of metallurgical testwork on drill core samples collected from the 2024 drill program at the Cisco lithium project, located within the greater Nemaska traditional territory of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec, Canada.

Highlights

• Three composite samples were provided to SGS Canada Inc. for heavy liquid separation (HLS) testing to assess the suitability of large-scale dense media separation (DMS) processing.
• Composite 18 achieved a 74.1-per-cent recovery to produce a 5.69 per cent Li2O (lithium oxide) concentrate with low iron of 0.42 per cent Fe2O3 (iron oxide).
• Composite 21 achieved a 69.6-per-cent recovery to produce a 5.08 per cent Li2O concentrate with low iron of 0.55 per cent Fe2O3.
• Composite 23 achieved a 71.6-per-cent recovery to produce a 5.60 per cent Li2O concentrate with low iron of 0.46 per cent Fe2O3.
• The next phase of metallurgy work will include additional HLS testwork on other areas of the main mineralized zone at the Cisco project.

The objective of the preliminary test program was to achieve a spodumene concentrate at approximately 70-per-cent recovery with heavy liquid separation (HLS) testwork to confirm the potential suitability of a dense media separation (DMS) process. The results of this testwork confirms that strong recoveries can be achieved with a DMS circuit and, as expected, the low iron content of the head samples continues through to the concentrate.

"We're extremely encouraged with the results of this first round of metallurgical testing that confirms that DMS driven processing can be implemented at Cisco. Magnetic or flotation treatments were not utilized in this round due to the success of the HLS tests. The strong recovery combined with low iron content are the highlights so far," stated Neil McCallum, Q2 Metals vice-president of exploration. "The next phase of metallurgy testwork will be designed to expand upon these positive results and to maximize the concentrate grade and recovery rates at increased scale."

The metallurgical test program for the Cisco project was completed by SGS Canada Inc. at its laboratory in Quebec City, Que., Canada, and is focused on industry standard and cost-effective processing techniques applicable to spodumene pegmatite.

Sample description

Each of the three composite samples consisted of approximately 45 kilograms of material derived from quarter-split drill core material (Table 1). The composite samples were selected from approximately 43 metres of continuous mineralization from drill holes CS24-018, 21 and 23. The material from each composite was blended prior to performing the testwork.

Testwork description

A five-kilogram subset of the blended composite material was further crushed to negative 9.5 millimetres (mm) and negative 6.3 mm to test the applicability of DMS. The negative 6.3 mm was found to be an optimal crush size, and the results of which are summarized below.

A series of sink/float HLS tests were performed on each sample. No magnetic separation was performed on the samples.

At a crush size of negative 6.3 mm, the lithium recovery ranged between 70 per cent and 74 per cent with a concentrate grade between 5.08 per cent and 5.96 per cent Li2O:

• Composite 18 achieved a 74.1-per-cent recovery with a specific gravity (SG) cut point of 2.80 to produce a 5.69 per cent Li2O concentrate with low iron of 0.42 per cent Fe2O3.
• Composite 21 achieved a 69.6-per-cent recovery with a cut point of 2.80 SG to produce a 5.08 per cent Li2O concentrate with low iron of 0.55 per cent Fe2O3.
• Composite 23 achieved a 71.6-per-cent recovery with a cut point of 2.80 SG to produce a 5.60 per cent Li2O concentrate with a low iron of 0.46 per cent Fe2O3.

Next steps

Further work by SGS will test both the necessity of magnetic separation to treat any wall rock that may or may not be included in the processing stream as well as assess the potential for a flotation circuit to the processing scenario to maximize recovery of the fine material and the rejected middlings of the material of the primary DMS circuit.

Additional HLS testwork will be completed on other areas of the main mineralized zone at the Cisco project to confirm the recoveries in other regions.

Qualified person

Neil McCallum, BSc, PGeol, a registered permit holder with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release. Mr. McCallum is a director and the vice-president of exploration for Q2.

About Q2 Metals Corp.

Q2 Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the Cisco lithium project located within the greater Nemaska traditional territory of the Eeyou Istchee, James Bay, Quebec, Canada.

The Cisco project comprises 801 claims, totalling 41,253 hectares, with the main mineralized zone just 6.5 kilometres from the Billy Diamond Highway, which transects the project. The town of Matagami, rail head of the Canadian National Railway, is approximately 150 km to the south.

The Cisco project has district-scale potential with an initial exploration target estimating a range of potential lithium mineralization and grade of 215 million to 329 million tonnes at a grade ranging from 1.0 to 1.38 per cent Li2O, based only on the first 40 holes drilled.

Drill testing continues with mineralization open at depth and along strike with potential for significant expansion at the Cisco mineralized zone. The 2025 summer program is continuing, with rolling assay results anticipated in the coming weeks and months as the company works toward an initial resource estimate.

About SGS

SGS is the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 99,500 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,500 labs and business facilities combining the precision and accuracy that define Swiss companies to help organizations achieve the highest standards of quality, compliance and sustainability.

Sampling, analytical methods and QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) protocols

All drilling is conducted using a diamond drill rig with NQ sized core and all drill core samples are shipped to SGS Canada's preparation facility in Val d'Or, Que., for standard sample preparation (code PRP92) which includes drying at 105 degrees Celsius, crushing to 90 per cent passing two millimetres, riffle split 500 g and pulverize 85 per cent passing 75 micron. The pulps are then shipped by air to SGS Canada's laboratory in Burnaby, B.C., where the samples are homogenized and subsequently analyzed for multielement (including Li and Ta) using sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES/MS finish (code GE_ICM91A50). The reported Li grade will be multiplied by the standard conversion factor of 2.153 which results in an equivalent Li2O grade. Drill core was saw cut with half core sent for geochemical analysis and half core remaining in the box for reference. The same side of the core was sampled to maintain representativeness.

A quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocol following industry best practices has been incorporated into the sampling program. Measures include the systematic insertion of quartz blanks and certified reference materials (CRMs) into sample batches at a rate of approximately 5 per cent each. Additionally, analysis of pulp-split and reject-split duplicates was completed to assess analytical precision. The QP has verified the QA/QC results of the analytical work.

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