NNLP PEA Highlights:
- After-tax NPV8%: US$9.21 Billion, IRR of 22.8% at US$24,000/t LCE price
- Operating cost (“OPEX”): US$5,097/t LCE
- Near-surface, high-grade mineralization provide Surge NNLP advantage
- PEA mine and processing plan produces 3.6 Mt battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”) over the 42-year life of mine (“LOM”)
- Average Annual Production of 86,300 tonnes LCE
- Peak Production of 109,100 tonnes LCE in Year 6
- Lithium Plant will be built in two phases
- Phase 1 (“P1”) Capital Cost (“CAPEX”): US$2.97 Billion, Phase 2 (“P2”) CAPEX: US$2.35 Billion, total of US$5.30 Billion
- Sustaining Capital: US$1.51 Billion
- After-tax payback: 4.7 years
- Average LOM annual after-tax cash flow: US$1.06 Billion
June 9, 2025: West Vancouver, BC; Surge Battery Metals Inc. (the “Company” or “Surge”) (TSXV: NILI, OTC: NILIF, FRA: DJ5C) is pleased to report the results of its 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment Study (“PEA”) for the Nevada North Lithium Project (“NNLP”) located in Elko County north-northeast of Wells, Nevada.
The PEA, completed jointly by lead consultants M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. (“M3”) and Independent Mining Consultants (“IMC”), confirms robust economics for a low-cost, large-scale and long-life conventional open pit and dry-stack tailings operation producing battery-grade lithium carbonate through on-site treatment of the mined material processed through a sulfuric acid leaching circuit. The PEA scenario envisions 2 phases over the initial 42-year mine life. Phase 1 includes 2.58 million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”) processing throughput doubling to 5.15 Mtpa in Phase 2, which comes online in Year 4 of production. A combination of the shallowest and highest lithium grades is prioritized for processing, resulting in a variable battery-grade lithium carbonate production that peaks in Year 6 at 109,100 tonnes LCE, and averages 86,300 tonnes/year LCE for a total of 3.63 million tonnes LCE over the LOM at a lithium recovery of 82.8%.
The PEA is derived using the inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) effective as of October 9, 2024 and completed by Dr. Bruce Davis (the “MRE”). The effective date of the PEA is May 19, 2025, and a NI-43101 compliant technical report (the “Technical Report”) will be filed under the corporations SEDAR+ profile within 45 days of this news release.
The preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The figures shown above represent the NNLP’s potential economics with certain LCE selling price assumptions. The NNLP’s sensitivity to LCE selling prices is detailed below in Table 2. To model 100% ownership of the subsurface mineral rights on privately held land, Surge has assumed a 2% gross revenue royalty in its economic model on all revenues from the private land.
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