Vancouver, British Columbia, Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Surge Copper Corp. (TSXV: SURG) (OTCQB: SRGXF) (Frankfurt: G6D2) ("Surge" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a mid-season update on the comprehensive 2026 field program underway at the Company's 100%-owned Berg Copper Project ("Berg" or the "Project"), located in central British Columbia.
The 2026 field program is progressing substantially as planned, with technical and environmental work continuing across the Project area in support of feasibility-level engineering, environmental assessment and permitting preparation, and long-term project planning.
2026 Field Program Update
Since commencing the program in July, the Company has continued to advance a broad range of field activities including geotechnical drilling and investigations, groundwater and hydrogeological programs, acid rock drainage and geochemical characterization, geophysical surveys, LiDAR data collection, and environmental baseline studies.
Work is being completed across the proposed open pit and planned Project infrastructure areas and is intended to provide additional data for future pit design, infrastructure siting, rock and tailings management, groundwater and water management planning, closure planning and other aspects of feasibility-level Project design.
Environmental baseline programs are also continuing across a range of disciplines, including surface water and groundwater, hydrometeorology, wildlife and wildlife habitat, vegetation and ecosystems, and fish and fish habitat.
The Company expects the majority of the planned 2026 field activities to continue through the remainder of the summer and fall field season.
Environmental Assessment and First Nations Engagement
In parallel with the field program, Surge continues to advance preparations for the environmental assessment process, including ongoing technical and regulatory planning and preparation of an Initial Project Description ("IPD"). The Company currently expects to submit the IPD in early September 2026.
Surge has also recently concluded a successful series of site visits at Berg with leadership representatives from several First Nations. The visits provided an opportunity to view the Project area and ongoing field activities first-hand, discuss aspects of the current Project development concept and environmental programs, and continue direct dialogue regarding the advancement of the Project.
To support the Company's expanding engagement activities, Surge has appointed Aman Parhar as Community Engagement and Indigenous Relations Manager. Ms. Parhar is a social performance and communications professional with experience in Indigenous relations and community engagement in the resource sector. She joins Surge from Rio Tinto, where she supported engagement and consultation with First Nations leadership and local communities in connection with operating and major project activities.
Her appointment adds dedicated internal capacity to support ongoing engagement as the Berg Copper Project advances through environmental assessment preparation and further technical development.
Leif Nilssson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased with the progress being made across the 2026 field season. The technical and environmental programs are proceeding substantially as planned and are generating important information for the next stage of feasibility-level engineering and environmental assessment work. We were also very pleased to recently host a series of site visits with First Nations leadership, which created a valuable opportunity to discuss the Project and the work underway directly in the field. In parallel, our team continues to advance preparation of the Initial Project Description, which we currently expect to submit in early September..
Grant of Long-Term Equity-Based Incentive Awards
The Company also announces the grant of long-term equity-based incentive awards under its Share Compensation Plan. The Company has awarded an aggregate of 259,693 restricted share units ("RSUs") to executives and employees of the Company based on the 5-day volume weighted average price on the TSX Venture Exchange. The RSUs will vest in equal annual installments over three-years from the grant date.
Qualified Persons
Dr. Shane Ebert P.Geo., is the Qualified Person for the Berg Copper Project and the Ootsa Project as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Dr. Ebert is an Officer and a Director of Surge and is not independent of the Company.
About Surge Copper Corp.
Surge Copper Corp. is a Canadian resource company advancing one of British Columbia's emerging copper districts. The Company's 100%-owned Berg Copper Project hosts a large-scale copper-molybdenum-silver deposit in central British Columbia supported by a Pre-Feasibility Study and Mineral Reserve estimate that establish a defined development pathway for a long-life copper project with significant molybdenum, silver, and gold by-product production.
In addition to the Berg deposit, Surge controls a large, contiguous mineral claim package that includes multiple advanced porphyry deposits, including the Ox and Seel deposits adjacent to the past-producing Huckleberry Mine. Collectively, the Company's assets position Surge as a potential long-term contributor to Canada's critical minerals strategy through the responsible development of copper, molybdenum, and associated metals.
Surge is committed to advancing its projects through early engagement with First Nations and local communities, with a focus on transparent communication, relationship building, and respectful, constructive dialogue.
For more information, visit www.surgecopper.com
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Leif Nilsson"
Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please contact:
Riley Trimble, Corporate Communications & Development
Telephone: +1 604 639 3852
Email: info@surgecopper.com
X: @SurgeCopper
LinkedIn: Surge Copper Corp
https://www.surgecopper.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This News Release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "will", "may", "should", "expects", "plans", or "anticipates" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding the Company's plans for advancement of the Berg Copper Project, the scope, timing, objectives and anticipated completion of the Company's 2026 field program, the expected use of data collected from the 2026 field program to support feasibility-level engineering, environmental assessment preparation and long-term project planning, the preparation and anticipated submission of an Initial Project Description for the Berg Copper Project in early September 2026, and the Company's plans for continued engagement with First Nations and advancement of environmental assessment activities. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks may include, among others, actual results of the Company's exploration activities being different than those expected by management, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals, the ability to obtain adequate financing to conduct its planned exploration programs, inability to procure labour, equipment, and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, equipment breakdown, and bad weather. While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect the Company's current judgment regarding the direction of its business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions, or other future performance suggestions herein. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not intend to update any forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.
