Key Highlights

  • QEM completed the Acquisition of Freshwater Metals Pty Ltd, holder of the Big It tungsten and Vaught-Peck columbite projects in Idaho, on 19 August 2026.
  • The company said in March 2026 that its 2024 Julia Creek scoping study should no longer be relied upon after metallurgical test results.
  • QEM announced a A$2.645 million Placement on 15 April 2026, and its June 2026 Quarterly Report put cash at about A$4.2 million.

QEM Limited (ASX:QEM) has broadened its focus from a single Queensland vanadium and oil shale project to include two exploration-stage critical minerals projects in Idaho. The move follows a downgrade of its flagship's scoping study and has been funded through new Capital and a small share-based acquisition.

The Julia Creek project

QEM is based in Brisbane, and its flagship is the 100 per cent owned Julia Creek Vanadium and Energy Project in north-west Queensland, covering about 250 square kilometres of the Toolebuc Formation. Its February 2026 cleansing notice quotes a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 2,870 million tonnes at 0.31 per cent vanadium pentoxide. Of that, 461 million tonnes (0.28 per cent) is Indicated and 2,406 million tonnes (0.31 per cent) is Inferred. The project also carries a contingent in-situ oil resource of 94 million barrels of oil equivalent at the 2C level. Most of the mineral resource sits in the Inferred category, the least certain, and a contingent resource is not a reserve.

The half-year report to December 2025, dated 13 March 2026, says metallurgical test results led the company to determine that its 2024 scoping study should no longer be relied upon. QEM is slowing development spending and continuing environmental baseline work, and on 31 March 2026 it announced the completion of a strategic review.

Financial position

For the half-year to 31 December 2025, QEM reported a loss after tax of A$1.50 million and operating cash outflow of A$1.75 million. Cash was A$1.08 million, down from A$2.84 million at June 2025. The directors disclosed a material uncertainty about going concern, and exploration commitments totalled A$14.6 million, with A$1.86 million due within 12 months.

The company has since raised capital. A February 2026 placement issued 59.1 million shares at A$0.024, raising about A$1.42 million before costs. On 15 April 2026 it announced a A$2.645 million placement of 58,777,778 shares at A$0.045, a 13.5 per cent discount to the last close, with 29,388,889 attaching unlisted options. The company's June 2026 quarterly report put cash at about A$4.2 million at 30 June 2026. Both placements diluted existing holders, and further raisings are possible given the commitments.

The Idaho acquisition

In April 2026 QEM agreed to acquire Freshwater Metals Pty Ltd, which holds the Big It tungsten project and the Vaught-Peck columbite project. Big It is a historic tungsten producer with about 350 metres of underground workings, while Vaught-Peck is prospective for fluorspar, niobium, tantalum and rare earths. Due Diligence was extended twice before the company said on 3 August 2026 that it would proceed. Completion was announced on 19 August 2026, with consideration of 6,666,667 shares at A$0.045 (A$300,000) plus 666,667 introduction-fee shares, escrowed in three tranches over nine months.

QEM has outlined three stages for Idaho: data verification and mapping, a possible first-pass drill programme and, if successful, resource definition. No resource exists on the Idaho ground, and the company notes that nearby third-party projects do not confirm mineralisation on its own tenements. It also says an antimony plant proposed about 11 kilometres away could be relevant, although it has held no talks and no agreement is assured.

Key Insights

The main risks are financing, the uncertain Economics of Julia Creek following the scoping study caveat, and the early stage of the Idaho projects. Mapping and data verification at Big It and Vaught-Peck, and any decision on a first-pass drill programme, are the next steps in the company's stated plan.