Inside NiobiumX’s Shipshaw Property: What Is Known and What Remains Unproven

ByBNW Staff

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TL;DR

  • NiobiumX Mining Inc. (CSE: NIOX; OTC: NIOXF) explores for niobium and rare earths at its Shipshaw Property in Quebec’s Saguenay region.
  • The property’s technical report, effective February 17, 2026, covers 9 of the company’s 48 claims and leans toward rare earths.
  • The Shipshaw Property has no mineral resource or reserve estimate, and the company has not found a deposit.

NiobiumX Mining Inc. (CSE: NIOX; OTC: NIOXF) is an early-stage explorer, and its main asset is the NiobiumX Shipshaw Property in the Saguenay region of Quebec. The company is exploring there for niobium and rare earth elements. It has not found a deposit. The Shipshaw Property has no mineral resource or reserve estimate.

This guide separates what public documents show from what the company hopes exploration will test. It draws on the property’s technical report, a Géologie Québec bulletin and the company’s releases.

Where the NiobiumX Shipshaw Property is

Shipshaw lies on the north side of the Saguenay River, about five kilometres west of the Chicoutimi-Nord sector of the City of Saguenay. Route 172 gives year-round road access, according to the company and the technical report.

The company puts the package at 48 mineral claims and about 2,686 hectares: a nine-claim core block of about 514 hectares plus 39 additional claims of about 2,172 hectares. It says it acquired the property under an asset purchase agreement that closed on February 19, 2026.

The property’s NI 43-101 technical report places the Niobec mine about 5 km north of the property. NiobiumX does not own Niobec, which Niobec’s owner, Magris, operates, and the company says it holds no interest in it. Proximity says nothing about what the Shipshaw Property contains.

What the NI 43-101 technical report covers

Canada’s NI 43-101 rule requires a company’s scientific and technical disclosure about a mineral project to be based on information prepared by or under the supervision of a qualified person, and sets the terms a company must meet before it can disclose a mineral resource or reserve. The Technical (N.I. 43-101) Report on the Shipshaw Property was prepared by BB Consulting for Arctic Fox Lithium Corp., the company’s former name. Its effective date is February 17, 2026.

It covers 9 of the 48 claims, about 514 hectares. Its introduction calls the ground the “Shipshaw REE property”. The author visited the property on October 10, 2025 and took no samples.

The report does describe niobium as well as rare earths. Section 7.4 says “Concentrations of mineralization of REE and Niobium Oxide are mostly recognized in cabonatites [sic] and syenite,” and sections 9.1 and 9.2 list historical drill results for both. None of those results has been verified. Section 11 says “No mineral data verification has been conducted on the Shipshaw property.” Section 13 says “No estimates of mineral resources or mineral reserves have been made for the Shipshaw property.”

A previous operator, DIOS Exploration, did that historical work in 2010 and 2011. The company says its qualified person has not verified those results and that they should not be relied upon.

Its conclusion leans to rare earths. It says the magnetics and geologic model “confirm the potential of the property for Niobium but more specifically for REE”. It adds that drilling to date is insufficient to determine the dimensions or orientation of the mineralization, and that “This low mag target merits further work.”

Two phases are recommended. Phase 1 combines locating the historical drill core, re-testing about half of the main mineralized zones for rare earths, new geological sections and magnetic modelling, including an unconstrained inversion. The report estimates Phase 1, including a survey and the interpretation and modelling, at $50,000 to $100,000, without stating the currency. Phase 2 would drill targets chosen from the Phase 1 results.

The Shipshaw carbonatite and Géologie Québec’s 2024 bulletin

A carbonatite is an igneous rock made mostly of carbonate minerals. The USGS defines it as containing more than 50% carbonate minerals by volume. Carbonatites matter to explorers because most of the world’s identified niobium resources occur as pyrochlore, a niobium mineral, in carbonatite deposits, according to the USGS 2026 niobium summary.

According to the technical report, the property is characterized by a swarm of lamprophyre dykes associated with the Saint-Honoré alkaline complex, which hosts the Niobec mine. Carbonatite dykes also occur along the Saguenay River graben, and historical drilling intersected several of them. Mineralization at Niobec is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Shipshaw Property.

Géologie Québec’s bulletin BM 2024-02 lists the Shipshaw carbonatite among five intrusions in the Waswanipi-Saguenay zone, each marked by a negative magnetic anomaly, that it chose to characterize. The same bulletin notes that carbonatite makes up only 6% of the rock types seen across the Shipshaw drill holes.

Selection for study is a government research decision. It is not a finding of economic mineralization. A carbonatite is a type of exploration target, not proof of a deposit.

The company’s staged plan for Saguenay niobium exploration

On October 16, 2026 NiobiumX set out a four-stage plan. First, compile the historical data into one database. Second, fly high-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys over all 48 claims. Third, rank targets; the company says it will use machine-learning methods and 3D magnetic inversion, and these methods do not by themselves show that mineralization exists. Fourth, drill the highest-ranked targets.

Those plans differ in emphasis from the report’s. Its first phase combines re-testing old core for rare earths with survey work and modelling, while the company’s plan puts new airborne surveys of all 48 claims first and centres on niobium targets. All of it depends on financing, permits and results.

Anyone assessing the NiobiumX Shipshaw Property should read the technical report itself and the company’s SEDAR+ filings before relying on any summary, including this one. Releases are on the company’s website, and management is listed on its NiobiumX directors and officers page.

What is known and what remains unproven

What is known

  • The company puts its holding at 48 claims of about 2,686 hectares near Saguenay, Quebec (company).
  • A technical report effective February 17, 2026 covers 9 of those claims (technical report).
  • Lamprophyre dykes occur on the property, and historical drilling intersected carbonatite dykes (technical report).
  • Géologie Québec chose the Shipshaw carbonatite as one of five intrusions to characterize (Géologie Québec).

What remains unproven

  • Whether the property contains niobium or rare earths in economic amounts. No mineral resource or reserve exists.
  • Whether the historical results can be verified. None has been verified so far.
  • The size and orientation of any mineralization, which the report says drilling has not defined.
  • Whether new surveys will produce drill targets, and whether drilling will confirm them.
  • Whether the company can pay for the work. NiobiumX has no revenue and funds exploration by issuing shares.

Key facts

  • Shipshaw Property: 48 claims, about 2,686 hectares, Saguenay region of Quebec (company).
  • Technical report: effective February 17, 2026, covering 9 claims of about 514 hectares; conclusions lean to rare earths (technical report).
  • The report states that no data verification, no metallurgical testing and no resource estimate have been done (technical report).
  • Recommended Phase 1 budget: $50,000 to $100,000, currency not stated (technical report).
  • The Shipshaw Property has no mineral resource or reserve estimate (technical report; company).
  • NiobiumX does not own Niobec; Magris operates it (Magris Performance Materials).

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

This article was commissioned by Altura Media Co. Inc. as part of its paid marketing campaign for NiobiumX Mining Inc. NiobiumX Mining Inc. Compensation creates a conflict of interest. This is paid promotional content, not independent investment research or individualized investment advice. Altura’s campaign compensation does not replace the contributor-specific disclosures above. Read the full NiobiumX Mining Inc. campaign disclosure.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Information regarding NiobiumX’s Shipshaw property may be subject to change and should be independently verified through reliable sources. Any unconfirmed claims should not be treated as established facts or investment advice.