Surge Battery Metals planning drill program to advance Nevada North Bankable Feasibility Study, Nevada

Surge Battery Metals Inc. [TSXV: NILI; OTCQX: NILIF; FSE: DJ5] reported that Nevada North Lithium, LLC (NNL), the joint venture formed by Surge and Evolution Mining Limited [OTC Pink: CAHPF], has finalized its 2026 drilling program at the Nevada North Lithium Project, Nevada. NNL has made the necessary submission to the Bureau of Land Management under its 2025 Exploration Plan of Operations Permit. A request for proposals has been issued to drilling contractors, and mobilization is targeted for September 2026 with execution expected this fall and continuing into the 2027 drill season.

In addition to continuing to define and upgrade the Project’s mineral resource, the 2026 drill program will provide necessary information and data for the next stage of development, the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS). The drill program is designed to deliver condemnation drilling, pit definition, mine plan optimization, water supply and hydrogeological data, and geotechnical data. Representative bulk tonnage material for metallurgical test work and flow sheet optimization will also be collected ahead of a planned pilot program to precede the BFS.

NNL has received an additional CA$3,200,000 advance from Evolution pursuant to the terms of NNL’s amended and restated operating agreement. Under the agreement, Surge and Evolution formed NNL to advance the NNLP with Surge initially holding a 77% interest and Evolution holding a 23% interest. Evolution committed to fund up to CA$10,000,000 toward the Project’s preliminary feasibility study in exchange for an additional 9.5% ownership interest in NNL. With funding now complete Surge holds 67.5% of NNL, with Evolution holding 32.5%.

Greg Reimer, President, CEO and Director of Surge, commented, “The PFS is on schedule and on budget to be delivered in Q4 of 2026. The recent federal government announcements and the strategic investment by Mike Hess and Brian Paes-Braga allow us to accelerate the BFS timeline. Having defined a resource that now stands as one of the largest and highest grade lithium clay deposits in the United States, and with our Preliminary Economic Assessment confirming compelling Project economics, our focus in 2026 & 2027 shifts to the engineering, metallurgical, and infrastructure work required to advance NNLP toward a construction decision.”

Surge Battery Metals Inc., a Canadian-based mineral exploration company, is at the forefront of securing the supply of domestic lithium through its active engagement in the Nevada North Lithium Project.

The project focuses on development of high-grade lithium energy metals in Nevada, USA, a crucial element for powering battery electric storage and electric vehicles.

Evolution Mining is a leading, globally relevant gold miner. Evolution operates six mines, comprising five wholly owned mines; Cowal in New South Wales, Ernest Henry and Mt Rawdon in Queensland, Mungari in Western Australia, and Red Lake in Ontario, Canada, and an 80% share in Northparkes in New South Wales.

Nevada North Lithium, LLC, jointly owned by Surge Battery Metals Inc (67.5%) and Evolution Mining Limited (32.5%), owns the Nevada North Lithium Project southeast of Jackpot, Nevada about 73 km north-northeast of Wells, Elko County.

The first four rounds of drilling at the project identified a strongly mineralized zone of lithium bearing clays occupying a strike length of more than 4,700 metres and a known width of greater than 2,000 metres. The project’s updated Mineral Resource Estimate, filed June 30, 2026, reports a pit-constrained Measured & Indicated Resource containing an estimated 10.51 Mt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) grading 3,007 ppm Li at a 1,250-ppm cutoff.

As disclosed in the company’s Preliminary Economic Assessment dated May 19, 2025 (PEA), which is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Resources considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, the Nevada North Lithium Project reported an after-tax NPV8% US $9.17 Billion and after-tax IRR of 22.8% at $24,000/t LCE and an OPEX of US $5,243/t LCE.