SOQUEM, Azimut Exploration

SOQUEM and Azimut Exploration operate a long-standing 50/50 mineral exploration joint venture in Quebec, Canada, pairing the provincially owned explorer SOQUEM (a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec) with Montreal-based, TSX-Venture-listed Azimut Exploration (AZM). The alliance targets critical minerals including rare earth elements, lithium, gold and base metals across the Eeyou Istchee James Bay and Labrador Trough regions. Its flagship is the Galinee Property, located about 50 kilometres north-northwest of the Renard diamond mine, where the partners have defined extensive lithium targets and drilled high-grade intervals such as 1.62% Li2O over 158 metres. The JV has also advanced rare-earth-bearing copper-gold targets, including the Malaco Mountain zone in the Labrador Trough. Azimut acts as project operator, applying its proprietary AI-driven targeting methodology, while SOQUEM provides funding and technical support. In 2024 the partners moved to restructure their Galinee joint-venture arrangement.

Azimut reports that its 2019 Nunavik strategic alliance with SOQUEM was terminated on October 1, 2024.