Quebec accounts for about 20% of Canada’s mining production and has some of the most diverse mineral resources in North America. Here’s a look at four companies with interesting projects to watch.
Auriginal Mining
Auriginal Mining (TSXV: AUME) is targeting a resource update in October for its main Roger gold-copper project, about 500 km north of Montreal.
Roger hosts of 10.9 million indicated tonnes grading 0.85 gram gold per tonne for 297,000 oz. contained gold and of 6.57 million inferred tonnes grading 0.75 gram gold for 159,000 oz. contained gold, according to a resource from 2018. The deposit remains open along strike to the east and west as well as at depth.
The company has completed a first-stage 7,350-metre drill program. Highlights include hole AUR-26-03, which cut 4 metres grading 1.64 grams gold, 11.7 grams silver, 0.29% copper and 0.11% zinc from 669.3 metres depth. Hole AUR-26-05 cut 12 metres of 1.65 grams gold from 222 metres depth.
A second stage of drilling (6,250 metres in 12 holes) is underway and is focused on bringing the southwest extension of the porphyry system into the inferred resource category. The drill program is planned to intersect the Roger porphyry zone above the stage one drilling at the 375-metre and 150-metre vertical levels.
Drilling to date has extended the known porphyry-style mineralization at the 10-sq.-km project by about 700 metres southwest and 400 metres northeast of historic drilling limits and by more than 100 metres at depth.
In addition to Roger, Auriginal Mining has a large portfolio of copper and gold assets in Quebec, which include Anik, a 67-sq.-km gold project in a 75-25 joint venture with Iamgold (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG), and the Mitchi and Wabash copper projects.
Anik sits 55 km south of Chibougamau and is surrounded by Iamgold’s Nelligan property.
Mitchi’s Sherlock Zone hosts measured and indicated resources of 2.9 million tonnes grading 0.4% copper and 4 grams silver for 26.36 million lb. contained copper and 385,900 oz. silver. Inferred resources add 85,000 tonnes averaging 0.35% copper and 3.8 grams silver for 653,400 lb. copper and 10,200 oz. silver. The 250-sq.-km property lies about 100 km north of the town of Mont-Laurier.
Wabash, 65 km north of Mitchi, is an 89-sq.-km copper-silver project. Since 2020, mineralized zones have been identified over 7 km, with highlights of 16.8 metres grading 1.01% copper and 19.3 grams silver in drillhole WAB-21-21 and 5.35 metres averaging 1.19% copper and 28.4 grams silver in WAB-22-22.
The company is 40% owned by the Ore Group of companies.
Auriginal Mining has a market cap of about C$21 million.
Azimut Exploration
Azimut Exploration (TSXV: AZM; US-OTC: AZMTF) is one of Quebec’s most prolific prospect generators with discoveries across the James Bay region.
Backed by Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM) with an 11% stake and Centerra Gold (TSX: CG; NYSE: CGAU) with 12.7%, Azimut closed a C$7 million financing in August to advance its two priority projects, the Elmer gold-copper project and the Wabamisk lithium-gold-antimony project.
The company completed a 10,000-metre drill program in June at the Elmer project’s Patwon deposit and assays are pending. Patwon holds 4.9 million indicated tonnes grading 1.93 grams gold for 311,200 oz. contained gold and another 8.2 million inferred tonnes grading 1.94 grams gold for 513,900 oz. contained gold, according to the initial resource from 2024. The 347-sq.-km project is about 285 km north of the town of Matagami.
At the 355-sq.-km Wabamisk project, Azimut is delineating a mineralized system at what is emerging as a 30-km-long district-scale gold exploration play with the discovery of the Fortin Zone (gold-antimony) in 2024 and the Rosa Zone (gold) in 2025.
A highlight from the Rosa zone in May included 6 metres of 4.84 grams gold from 23 metres depth in drillhole WR26-43.
At Fortin, drill results earlier this year included 30.5 metres grading 0.41% antimony (Sb) and 0.13 gram gold from 212.35 metres in drillhole WS26-104 and 1 metre of 2.24% Sb and 0.13 gram gold from 230 metres downhole. WS26-6-101 cut 12.5 metres of 0.87% Sb and 0.13 gram gold from 62 metres, including 4 metres of 1.98% Sb and 0.14 gram gold from 65 metres.
At Fortin South, WS25-54 intersected 2.5 metres grading 6.24 grams gold from 72 metres and WS25-67 cut 3.4 metres of 2.10 grams gold from 67 metres.
A field program is underway to assess Wabamisk through mechanical stripping, prospecting, soil sampling and ground geophysics (induced polarization). The sampling program will help design a drill program for this fall.
The adjacent 108.5-sq.-km Wabamisk East property contains at least 138 spodumene-bearing outcrops. Results from five holes drilled last year included 36.3 metres grading 1.87% lithium oxide (Li20) from 41 metres depth in drillhole WL25-01; 7.4 metres averaging 1.18% Li20 from 11.7 metres in WL25-02; and 6.45 metres of 1.25% Li20 from 44 metres in WL25-03.
The Wabamisk project sits about 70 km south of Agnico Eagle’s Eleonore gold mine, 13 km east of Fury Gold Mines’ (TSX, NYSE-A: FURY) Clearwater property and 42 km northeast of Rio Tinto’s (ASX, LSE, NYSE: RIO) Whabouchi lithium deposit.
Azimut is also participating in partner-funded exploration programs for nickel, copper, platinum and palladium at the Kukamas and Northern Nickel Corridor projects.
KGHM International has earned a 50% stake in the 338-sq.-km nickel-copper-PGE-gold Kukamas property and has elected to earn an additional 20%. A 5,000-metre drill program began in July, mainly focused on the Perseus Zone, which was discovered in late 2024.
Kukamas sits about 80 km northwest of Radisson, the nearest town.
At the Northern Nickel Corridor project, SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec, has the right to earn up to a 60% interest by spending C$11 million and making total cash payments of C$350,000. Tests are underway for a 6,591-line-km high-resolution heliborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey.
Azimut Exploration has a market cap of about C$67 million.
Bullion Gold Discoveries
Bullion Gold Discoveries (TSXV: BGD) has generated some of the highest-grade drill results in Quebec this year at its Bousquet project. The project sits along the Cadillac-Larder Lake Fault Zone in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, about 30 km west of Rouyn-Noranda.
Drilling at Bousquet’s Paquin prospect has returned a 19.4-metre intercept grading 17.29 grams gold from 172.5 metres depth in drillhole BO-26-03, including 7.5 metres of 41.8 grams gold starting from 182 metres and 2 metres of 109.51 grams gold from 182.70 metres downhole.
The 24-sq.-km project is under option to Australia’s Olympio Metals (ASX: OLY), which has earned a 51% stake and can earn up to 80%. If Olympio completes the earn-in agreement for a total of C$1.25 million in cash and shares and C$2 million in exploration expenditures, Bullion will retain a 20% free-carried interest until initial production.
Bousquet lies within 15 km of Agnico Eagle’s La Ronde gold mine and Iamgold’s (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG) Westwood gold mine.
In addition to Bousquet, Bullion owns three other projects: Terragold, Langlade and Bodo.
Bullion acquired the 21-sq.-km Terragold project in January and completed 3,909 metres (32 holes) of validation diamond drilling in August. The main gold showing at Terragold, about 12 km southeast of Senneterre, Abitibi, has been known since the 1960s. The project has seen limited exploration since 1984.
The company completed an 11-hole (1,771-metre) drill program at the copper-zinc-gold-silver Langlade property in April. The early-stage project is about 100 km east of Senneterre and the company believes historic drill results show the potential for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization.
Bullion is also targeting gold, silver, copper and zinc mineralization at its 245-sq.-km Bodo project, 200 km north of Chibougamau and about 100 km south of Benz Mining’s (TSXV: BZ; ASX: BNZ) Eastmain mine in Eeyou Istchee James Bay. Historically, very little work has been done in this area.
Bullion Gold Discoveries has a market cap of about C$10 million.
Cartier Resources
Cartier Resources (TSXV: ECR; US-OTC: ECRFF) launched the largest-ever drill program at its 140-sq.-km Cadillac project last August, with about 25% of the 100,000-metre drill program dedicated to exploring targets generated by DORA, VRIFY’s AI-assisted Mineral Discovery Platform, along with other litho-structural targets.
The fully funded 600-hole drill program is expected to run for 18 months through to the second quarter of 2027. Drilling will focus on expanding known gold zones to depths of about 300 metres and testing new shallow surface targets.
The project sits along a 15-km stretch of the Cadillac Fault, about 40 km east of Val-d’Or. It hosts measured and indicated resources of 9.95 million tonnes grading 2.4 grams gold for 767,800 oz. contained gold and about 35.2 million inferred tonnes grading 2.14 grams gold for 2.42 million contained oz., according to an updated resource from 2025.
The project’s main sector, which consists of the Chimo, East Chimo and West Nordeau deposits, hosts 87% of the total resources within a three-km mineralized trend and remains open at depth and along strike.
Highlights of the drill program include drillhole CA25-524, which returned 7.7 metres grading 5.9 grams gold starting from 228 metres; and drillhole CA25-530, which cut 9 metres of 11 grams gold from 280 metres depth. Drillhole CA25-536 returned a very high-grade 2-metre interval of 111.5 grams gold from 226 metres downhole. The holes were drilled at the Contact Zone.
In the Portal Zone, drillhole CA26-314 intersected 8 metres averaging 7.1 grams gold from 127 metres.
In March, the company reported finding a new porphyritic intrusion-related gold system in Pontiac Sediments at the Hope target with 25.5 metres of 1.2 grams gold from 165 metres in drillhole CA26-330.
Results from recent metallurgical test work demonstrated gold extraction for the Main Sector reached 96% after less than 48 hours of cyanide leaching.
The company launched initial environmental baseline studies at Cadillac last September.
Agnico Eagle holds a 27% stake in the junior.
Cartier Resources has a market cap of about C$136 million.
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