Ootsa Project

The Ootsa Project is a 100%-owned, advanced resource-stage copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project located in central British Columbia within Surge Copper's district-scale mineral tenure package. The project is situated south of Tahtsa Reach and hosts the Seel and Ox deposits, along with multiple exploration targets across the broader property.

Ootsa represents a substantial mineral resource inventory supported by extensive drilling, metallurgical testwork, geophysical surveys, and geological interpretation. Since publication of the current mineral resource estimate in 2022, additional exploration drilling has also identified new zones of mineralization near Seel, highlighting the potential for future resource growth and continued discovery within the project area.

The project forms an important part of Surge's broader Berg-Ootsa district strategy, providing additional scale, technical maturity, and future optionality within a well-established porphyry copper district in central British Columbia.

• Hosts the Seel and Ox porphyry deposits
• Current NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate completed in 2022
• 439 million tonnes in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 0.18% Cu, 0.12 g/t Au, 0.017% Mo, and 2.1 g/t Ag containing 1.7 billion pounds of copper, 1.6 million ounces of gold, 167 million pounds of molybdenum, and 30 million ounces of silver
• 138 million tonnes in the Inferred category grading 0.15% Cu, 0.10 g/t Au, 0.015% Mo, and 2.0 g/t Ag
• Extensive exploration history including 179,758 metres of core drilling in 458 holes from 2004 to 2022
• Advanced metallurgical testwork completed at the Seel deposit
• Post-resource drilling has identified additional copper-gold and breccia-style mineralization near Seel
• Located near the idled Huckleberry Mine and Mill, within an established regional mining and infrastructure setting

The Ootsa Project is located within a highly prospective porphyry copper belt in central British Columbia. The project area includes the Seel and Ox deposits, both of which host porphyry-style copper-gold-molybdenum-silver mineralization, as well as a broader pipeline of exploration targets.

Surge has completed extensive technical work at Ootsa, including drilling, resource estimation, metallurgical testwork, airborne and ground-based geophysics, soil and rock sampling, and target generation. This work has established Ootsa as a meaningful resource-stage project with a large mineral endowment and multiple opportunities for future technical advancement.

The current technical foundation for Ootsa is the 2022 mineral resource estimate for the Seel and Ox deposits. Subsequent drilling completed after the resource cutoff has identified additional mineralized zones near Seel, including copper-gold porphyry-style mineralization northeast of East Seel and breccia-style mineralization at Seel Breccia East. These results are not included in the current mineral resource estimate but support the potential for future resource expansion and continued exploration success.

Ootsa is located within the same broader mineral district as the Berg Copper Project and the past-producing Huckleberry Mine. The project’s proximity to Huckleberry provides important regional context and highlights the established mining history and infrastructure setting of the district. No commercial agreement is currently in place with respect to Huckleberry, and Surge’s current technical basis for Ootsa is the 2022 mineral resource estimate and subsequent exploration results.

The Ootsa Property is an advanced stage exploration project containing the East Seel, West Seel and Ox porphyry deposits located adjacent to the open pit Huckleberry Copper Mine, owned by Imperial Metals. 

June 2022 Resource Estimate at Ootsa

Notes:

1. Economic viability can only be assessed through the completion of engineering studies defining reserves including PFS and FS. Resource classification adheres to CIM Definition Standards; it cannot be assumed that all or any part of Inferred Mineral Resources will be upgraded to Indicated or Measured as a result of continued exploration.
2. A C$8.27 per tonne NSR cut-off value was used as the base case for reporting mineral resources that have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The NSR cut-off was derived from US$ metal prices of US$3.85/lb Cu, US$12.40/lb Mo, US$1,750/oz Au, and US$22.00/oz Ag, and a USDCAD exchange rate of 0.77. Process recoveries used were 90% Cu, 70% Au, 70% Mo, and 65% Ag with respective smelter payables of 96%, 90%, 98.5%, and 96%. Refining charges in US$ were US$0.05/lb Cu, US$5/oz Au, and US$0.50/oz Ag. A generated pit shell using Whittle (3DS Geovia) was used to report resources. The generation of the pit shell considered 45-degree slope angles, C$ operating costs of C$2.34/t for mining and C$8.11/t for processing, G&A, and ore mining premium with a 2% ore dilution rate.
3. Grades were estimated using ordinary kriging using capped assays composited to two-metre intervals, with estimation block sizes of 12x12x12 for both Seel and Ox.
4. Copper equivalent assumes metal prices of US$3.85/lb Cu, US$12.40/lb Mo, US$1,750/oz Au, and US$22.00/oz Ag and uses the formula CuEq (%) = Cu (%) + 3.2208 x Mo (%) + 0.6630 x Au (g/t) + 0.0083 x Ag (g/t).
5. The total waste tonnes within the Seel constraining pit are 1,443.4 Mt implying a strip ratio of 2.8 : 1, and the total waste tonnes within the Ox constraining pit are 65.6 Mt implying a strip ratio of 1.1 : 1.
6. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
7. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource Estimate is James N. Gray, P.Geo, of Advantage Geoservices Ltd.
8. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate.
9. The effective date of the mineral resource estimate is February 18, 2022.

Upcoming Plans at Ootsa

Next steps at Ootsa involve ongoing advanced metallurgical testwork, long lead-time environmental baseline monitoring programs, internal engineering trade-off studies focused on district-wide infrastructure options, and ongoing exploration. One drill is actively turning at the West Ox target on the Ootsa Property, and one additional drill is expected to arrive in late June, before remobilizing to test targets in the northern portion of the district (see Press Release dated June 1, 2022).

The first phase being based out of the Ootsa exploration camp. During this phase, two high priority targets called West Ox and Midway, which are located adjacent to the Seel and Ox deposits, will be drill tested. Simultaneously, multiple field teams will be screening and prospecting several other porphyry-style targets in both the Ootsa and Berg areas to prepare for drilling later in the season. High grade breccia-style targets up to 500 metres east of the Seel Breccia zone are also being evaluated for possible drill testing.

The current technical basis for the Ootsa Project is the 2022 mineral resource estimate for the Seel and Ox deposits, supplemented by subsequent exploration results that are not included in the current mineral resource estimate. The 2016 preliminary economic assessment is historical in nature, has been superseded by subsequent technical work, and should not be relied upon as a current economic analysis.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There can be no assurance that all or any part of the mineral resources will be converted into mineral reserves.

For additional technical information, readers should refer to Surge Copper's current technical reports, public disclosure documents, and news releases available on SEDAR+ and the Company's website.

Qualified Persons Statement

The Qualified Persons for the MRE are James N. Gray, P.Geo, of Advantage Geoservices Ltd. and Jacques R. Stacey, MSc., P.Geo, of Northern Mountain Geosciences, both independent of the Company and Qualified Persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101. James Gray is responsible for the mineral resource estimate and Jacques Stacey has worked extensively on the project, has visited the site, and has reviewed the drill hole database, assay certificates, and quality control procedures. Both Qualified Persons have reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. The Qualified Persons are not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues that could materially affect the mineral resource estimate.

Dr. Shane Ebert P.Geo., is the Qualified Person for the Ootsa and Berg projects as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical disclosure contained herein. The survey data and data quality have been prepared, processed, and validated by experienced professionals at Geotech Ltd.