Inomin Mines Inc. reports it has applied for H₂ rights at the Company’s Beaver-Lynx critical minerals project in south-central, British Columbia. The H₂ application covers high priority targets based on recent drilling and geophysical modeling. Fortescue Ltd. has recently staked a vast area of mineral claims adjacent and along strike to Beaver-Lynx. In total, Fortescue has staked approximately 3,576 square kilometers of mineral claims over a strike length of 170 km, one of the largest acquisitions of mineral claims in British Columbia by an Australian company.

Inomin’s Beaver-Lynx property is situated in the Cache Creek Terrane, formed as a subduction zone during the Triassic-Jurassic’s Pangea breakup. Magnesium and nickel mineralization encountered at Beaver-Lynx is hosted in serpentinized ultramafic rocks, a natural geologic setting for naturally occurring H₂, also known as geologic or white H₂. Additionally, the property is in a region of significant hydrothermal activity, situated between two major mineral deposits – Gibraltar and Mount Polley copper porphyry mines.

Exploration drilling at Beaver-Lynx has shown the property hosts large volumes of magnesium and nickel mineralization. During Inomin’s 2023 exploration program at the Beaver South zone, drilling intersected a 10-meter-wide cavity that could signify a natural trap for H₂ production.

The company has designed a drilling plan for the Beaver South zone targeting an initial resource of 100 – 150 MMt at an anticipated grade of 23% magnesium and 0.18% nickel. The objective of the next drilling at Beaver South is to work towards defining a maiden mineral resource, as well as test for H₂ potential. The South Zone is one of multiple zones identified at Beaver-Lynx hosting significant magnesium and nickel mineralization.

Inomin is interested in working with a partner to further advance Beaver-Lynx’s large mineral system and evaluate the project’s potential for natural H₂.

John Gomez, President of Inomin said, “Our most recent drilling program and follow-up work at Beaver-Lynx has given us indications of the property’s H₂ potential. In addition to our main intention of discovering and delineating large resources of magnesium and nickel, we look forward to testing Beaver-Lynx for H₂ given the property’s natural geologic setting for the gas. White H₂ offers the potential for a large, low-carbon, clean energy solution to create a more sustainable environment.”

White H₂ is a naturally-occurring gas found in a wide range of regions worldwide, situated at or near convergent plate boundaries. The most common way H₂ is created naturally is through the serpentinization process, where water reacts with ultramafic rocks converting iron-rich olivines into magnetite and quartz and releasing H₂ gas as a byproduct (3Fe2SiO4 + 2H2O -> 2Fe3O4 + 3SiO2 + 2H2). Compared to other types of H₂ (categorized by colors), white H₂ is extracted directly from underground sources where it forms naturally. The H₂ only needs to be purified before it can be used. This avoids high CO₂ processes associated with H₂’s traditional synthesis from natural gas. As such, white H₂ offers the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly source of H₂.

“White H₂ offers a much cheaper alternative resource. Without the need for inefficient energy conversion or manufacturing processes, white H₂ produced at scale from reservoirs sited close to end-user markets could be delivered well below $1/kg. The co-existence of helium may also offer a valuable commercial lever for white H₂ exploitation.”

White H₂ has excellent potential as a clean energy source given the ability to produce energy with minimal environmental impact. When H₂ is used in fuel cells, it produces only water and heat as byproducts, making it a zero-emission fuel. Like technological advances driving adoption of electric vehicles, H₂ could develop as an attractive alternative to fossil fuels in the near future. Last week, BMW announced plans to sell its first H₂ cars in 2028, in partnership with Toyota. An emerging sector, by 2050 white H₂ production is forecast to increase by 17-fold and replace some blue and green H₂ development projects.