Name of the Project
Berg gold project.

Location
Tahtsa Ranges of British Columbia, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Surge Copper.

African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) entered into a subscription agreement for a private placement financing with Surge Copper in April 2024. ARM will subscribe for 39 608 708 common Surge shares for C$3.8-million through its wholly owned subsidiary ARM Copper. ARM will own 15% of Surge’s shares on completion of the placement, subject to TSX Venture Exchange and South African Reserve Bank approval.

Project Description
The project has an estimated 30-year life-of-mine. Mine planning is based on large-scale conventional drill, blast, load and haul openpit mining methods suited to the project location and local site requirements.

The process design is based on processing mineralised material from the Berg deposits through copper and molybdenum flotation to produce saleable copper and molybdenum concentrates.

Mine facilities include:

• mining administration offices, a mine fleet, truck shop and mine workshop, as well as wash bays;
• common facilities, including an entrance/exit gatehouse, a security/medical office, an overall site administration building, potable water and fire water distribution systems, compressed air facilities and power distribution facilities, as well as diesel reception and communication areas;
• a near-pit mineralised material and waste crushing facility with associated electrical infrastructure;
• process facilities housed in the process plant, including grinding and classification, flotation, regrinding, concentrate handling, reagent mixing and distribution, as well as an assay laboratory, process plant workshop and warehouse; and
• an on-site camp, tailings and waste management facility, as well as a nonacid-generating rock storage facility.

The processing plant is designed for a throughput of 90 000 t/d at 92% availability. The crushing circuit is designed with an availability of 75%. Average production is estimated at 125.9-million pounds of copper, 13.3-million pounds of molybdenum, three-million ounces of silver and 12 000 oz of gold.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
On an after-tax basis, the net present value, discounted at 8%, is estimated at C$2.1-billion and the internal rate of return at 20%, with a payback period of 3.9 years.

Capital Expenditure
About C$2-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Surge Copper Corp has successfully completed a $3.9-million strategic investment and has launched a metallurgical test programme for its Berg project, marking a crucial step towards the prefeasibility study. 

The test, conducted by ALS Metallurgy Kamloops, will refine flowsheet design parameters over a six-month period using samples from recent drill cores. With this funding and testwork under way, project development is expected to advance.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
ALS Metallurgy Kamloops (metallurgical test programme).

Contact Details for Project Information
Surge Copper, tel +1 604 718 5454 or email info@surgecopper.com.