Q2 Metals (TSX-V:QTWO) is embarking on its next phase of growth with the start of its Canadian summer exploration program at the Cisco Lithium Project in Québec.
The 2026 field program, the largest to date at the project, comprises up to 20,000m of drilling. It will prioritise infill drilling of the main Cisco deposit area to convert the existing inferred resource to the indicated category.
Expansion and regional exploration-scale drilling are also planned around the resource area and on additional untested high-priority targets.
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) has been initiated, using information from the inferred resource estimate. The PEA is expected to be published to market during the Canadian fall this year.
Advanced metallurgical testwork is also underway, in parallel with environmental baseline studies. The metallurgical testwork results are expected over the coming months.
CEO Alicia Milne says 2026 has already been a transformational year for Q2 Metals — and one that will see the company achieve two key benchmarks in its continuing evolution.
“We are launching our most ambitious exploration program to date, accompanied by advanced metallurgy, environmental baseline studies and road permitting, and with an inaugural PEA expected this fall,” Milne says.
“The Cisco Project is increasingly being recognised as a premier lithium asset, distinguished by its exceptional scale and grade, strategic location, favourable jurisdiction and outstanding access to transportation and infrastructure.”
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Vice President of Exploration Neil McCallum shares that the Cisco deposit remains open in all directions and several known spodumene pegmatite outcrops in and around the deposit have yet to be drill tested.
The Cisco Project comprises a large mineral claim package covering 41,253 hectares within a greenstone belt that extends 30km in strike length.
Cisco’s current inferred resource totals 270 million tonnes (Mt) @ 1.36% lithium oxide and an additional underground-constrained resource of 24Mt @ 1.34% lithium oxide.
Together, these support a combined resource of 295Mt @ 1.36% lithium oxide, making Cisco the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the western hemisphere and currently fourth largest in the world.
Q2 Metals is a Canadian mineral explorer advancing the Cisco Lithium Project located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Québec, Canada.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Q2 Metals
