Surge Copper's Berg PFS shows C$4.6B after-tax NPV at 8% discount and 24% IRR on a 28-year open-pit mine producing copper, molybdenum and silver in central B.C.
Alpha Score of 46 reflects weak overall profile with moderate momentum, poor value, weak quality, moderate sentiment.
Surge Copper released the pre-feasibility study for its Berg copper-molybdenum-silver project in central British Columbia on Monday, reporting an after-tax net present value of C$4.6 billion at an 8% discount rate and a 24% internal rate of return.
The study, completed by Ausenco Engineering Canada and Moose Mountain Technical Services, outlines a 28-year open-pit operation processing 120,000 tonnes per day. Life-of-mine production averages 43.2 million tonnes annually, with peak mill feed of 48 million tonnes during softer supergene ore processing. Total material movement peaks at 200 million tonnes per year.
Proven and probable reserves stand at 1.21 billion tonnes grading 0.22% copper, 0.026% molybdenum, 4.1 g/t silver and 0.02 g/t gold. The strip ratio is 2.0:1 over the mine life, including 304 million tonnes of capitalized waste pre-stripping and 39 million tonnes of capitalized ore pre-stripping.
Another 202 million tonnes of inferred resources grading 0.15% copper remain inside the reserve pit design and are currently treated as waste. Those tonnes could become economic with further drilling and study, the company said.
The Berg deposit sits within Wet'suwet'en territory. Surge has been working with the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs and Houses, plus the Witset First Nation, Wet'suwet'en First Nation, Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band, Skin Tyee First Nation and Cheslatta Carrier Nation. The Office of the Wet'suwet'en said it looks forward to continuing work with Surge on a Wet'suwet'en assessment process for the project.
British Columbia Premier David Eby and Mining Minister Jagrup Brar both issued statements of support. Brar noted the BC Critical Minerals Office is already working with Surge to accelerate regulatory preparation.
The mine plan runs on six phased pushbacks designed to prioritize higher-grade material early. Pre-production mining takes three full years. The operation uses an owner-operated fleet of electric and diesel rotary drills, cable shovels, hydraulic shovels and ultra-class haul trucks. Ore moves from the pit crusher 5.6 kilometres by downhill overland conveyor to the process plant, which sits 400 metres below the pit. A separate 1.7-kilometre conveyor leg handles potentially acid-generating waste rock to the tailings facility.
Power comes from the BC Hydro grid via a new 230 kV transmission line connecting at the Telkwa substation near Houston. The company chose a stand-alone grid connection that does not rely on third-party infrastructure. Site access uses existing forest service roads plus 17 kilometres of new road.
The tailings and waste management facility is designed as a co-disposal site for slurry tailings and potentially acid-generating waste rock. The selected area has expansion capacity beyond the current mine plan.
C1 cash costs, net of by-product credits, average US$1.08 per pound of payable copper over the mine life. C3 cash costs, which add sustaining capital, average US$1.45 per pound. The study uses a long-term copper price of US$4.00 per pound, molybdenum at US$20.00 per pound and silver at US$25.00 per ounce.
Surge will host a webcast and conference call on June 15 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results.
The company's Alpha Score sits at 47 out of 100, a Mixed rating in the Industrials sector.
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