Vanadium and oil shale play QEM made a steady ASX debut Friday morning — trading around its 20c issue price, before closing down 7.5 per cent.

The stock (ASX:QEM) started the session 5 per cent up at 21c before returning level with its IPO price.

But by the end of its first day on the local bourse, QEM had retreated to 18.5c.

It wasn’t an overly busy trading day for the newcomer, with just under 900,000 shares worth $178,798 changing hands in 31 trades.

QEM closed its $5 million IPO over-subscribed in September.

Director David Fitch told Stockhead previously that QEM’s IPO was 50 per cent over-subscribed — with around $7.6 million worth of applications received.

QEM was founded in 2014 to develop a vanadium and oil shale project in the Julia Creek area of North Western Queensland.

Most of the funds ($2.8 million) will be used to develop the Julia Creek project.

“We’re obviously investigating the technologies that can be used to potentially get those hydrocarbons out and be commercial,” Mr Fitch said.

“If we can get both the oil and the vanadium out well then it makes for a pretty good production play.”

Mr Fitch said QEM wants to get the Julia Creek project into production as quickly as possible.