en.Wedoany.com Reported - Canada's Q2 Metals is carrying out approximately 20,000 meters of summer drilling at the Cisco lithium project, focusing on infill holes to upgrade existing resource categories while testing high-grade shallow zones on the periphery of the main ore body and other spodumene pegmatite targets. The project currently has four diamond drill rigs on site, and the company plans to increase the number of rigs to six.
The Cisco project currently has NI 43-101 inferred mineral resources of 295 million tonnes at an average lithium oxide grade of 1.36%. The resource model includes both open-pit and underground components and covers only a portion of the approximately 41,300-hectare project area, with mineralization still open in multiple directions. This data represents inferred resources and has not yet been converted into indicated, measured resources, or ore reserves.
Prior to the summer drilling program, Q2 Metals completed 19 holes totaling approximately 10,500 meters of drilling during the winter of 2026. Final assay results released in July include a 137.6-meter interval grading 1.47% lithium oxide, including 40.6 meters at 3.25%; another hole returned a 185.7-meter interval grading 1.54%, with over 100 meters of mineralization located outside the existing conceptual open-pit boundary.
Previous drilling also returned a 170.2-meter interval grading 1.99% lithium oxide, including 40.1 meters at 2.89%. Q2 Metals will use this round of infill drilling to test continuity within the main ore body and provide data for the subsequent upgrade of a portion of inferred resources to indicated resources.
A preliminary economic assessment for the Cisco project is currently being prepared, which will use the April 2026 resource estimate and incorporate metallurgical testing and infrastructure studies. The second phase of metallurgical testing will evaluate recovery variations across different pegmatite types, the impact of wall-rock dilution on iron content and recovery, and compare heavy media separation and flotation processes.
Environmental baseline surveys for the project are concurrently covering water bodies, wetlands, vegetation, wildlife, and fish habitat. Q2 Metals plans to complete the preliminary economic assessment in the fall of 2026, after which it will determine the schedule for advancing engineering studies, resource upgrades, and permitting work.
