Inomin Applies for Hydrogen Rights Expanding Beaver-Lynx Project Potential
- Natural Occurring Hydrogen Considered the Gold Standard Offering the Most Cost-effective and Environmentally Friendly Form of H2
- White Hydrogen Expected to Increasingly Disrupt Blue and Green Projects
Vancouver, British Columbia-- Inomin Mines Inc. (TSX.V: MINE) (“Inomin” or the “Company”) reports it has applied for hydrogen (H2) rights at the Company’s Beaver-Lynx critical minerals project in south-central, British Columbia. The hydrogen application covers high priority targets based on recent drilling and geophysical modeling. Fortescue Ltd. (ASX: FMG) 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 kilometres 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.
Beaver-Lynx Mineralization and Exploration
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 hydrogen, also known as “geologic” or “white” hydrogen. 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-metre-wide cavity that could signify a natural trap for hydrogen production.
The Company has designed a drilling plan for the Beaver South zone targeting an initial resource of 100 – 150 million tonnes at an anticipated grade of 23% magnesium and 0.18% nickel. The objective of next drilling at Beaver South is to work towards defining a maiden mineral resource, as well as test for hydrogen 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 hydrogen.
John Gomez, President of Inomin comments, “Our most recent drilling program and followup work at Beaver-Lynx has given us indications of the property’s hydrogen 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 hydrogen given the property’s natural geologic setting for the gas. White hydrogen offers the potential for a large, low-carbon, clean energy solution to create a more sustainable environment.”
Natural Hydrogen Sources, Production, and Cost Advantage
White hydrogen is a naturally-occurring gas found in a wide range of regions worldwide, situated at or near convergent plate boundaries. The most common way hydrogen is created naturally is through the serpentinization process, where water reacts with ultramafic rocks converting iron-rich olivines into magnetite and quartz and releasing hydrogen gas as a by-product (3Fe2SiO4 + 2H2O -> 2Fe3O4 + 3SiO2 + 2H2). Compared to other types of hydrogen (categorized by colors), white hydrogen is extracted directly from underground sources where it forms naturally. The hydrogen only needs to be purified before it can be used. This avoids high CO2 processes associated with hydrogen’s traditional synthesis from natural gas. As such, white hydrogen offers the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly source of hydrogen.
“White hydrogen offers a much cheaper alternative resource. Without the need for inefficient energy conversion or manufacturing processes, white hydrogen produced at scale from reservoirs sited close to end-user markets could be delivered well below US$1/kg. The co-existence of helium may also offer a valuable commercial lever for white hydrogen exploitation.” (World Economic Forum article, August 29, 2024).
Natural Hydrogen as an Alternative, High-Growth, Clean Energy
White hydrogen has excellent potential as a clean energy source given the ability to produce energy with minimal environmental impact. When hydrogen is used in fuel cells, it produces only water and heat as by-products, making it a zero-emission fuel. Like technological advances driving adoption of electric vehicles, hydrogen could develop as an attractive alternative to fossil fuels in the near future. Last week, BMW announced plans to sell its first hydrogen cars in 2028, in partnership with Toyota. An emerging sector, by 2050 white hydrogen production is forecast to increase by 17-fold and replace some blue and green hydrogen development projects.
About Beaver-Lynx
The Beaver-Lynx property is located in south-central British Columbia, 50 kilometres from the city of Williams Lake and adjacent to Taseko Mines’ (TSX: TKO) Gibraltar mine project, one of the largest open-pit copper mines in Canada. Beaver-Lynx is easily accessible by road with hydro-electric power nearby. The Company owns a 100% interest in the project with no royalties. Given positive initial drilling, metallurgical, and carbon capture test results – as well as district-scale size – the Beaver-Lynx project has the potential to be a source of high-grade, green magnesium and other critical minerals for the automotive, defense, and high technology sectors.
About Inomin Mines
Inomin Mines is focused on the identification, acquisition, and exploration of mineral properties with strong potential to host significant resources, especially critical minerals, as well as gold and silver projects. Inomin trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MINE.
Source: Fuel Cells Works