Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Surge Copper Corp. (TSXV: SURG) (OTCQB: SRGXF) (Frankfurt: G6D2) (“Surge” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its 2026 drilling program and major summer field activities at the Company’s 100%-owned Berg Copper Project (“Berg” or the “Project”), located in central British Columbia. The Company is also reporting assay results from its 2026 historical drill core resampling program, which forms part of an ongoing initiative to improve the completeness and quality of the Berg mineral resource database.
The 2026 field program was designed to support the continued advancement of Berg following completion of the Project’s Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) in June 2026. The program focused on collecting additional geotechnical, hydrogeological, geochemical and environmental baseline data to support feasibility-level engineering, environmental assessment, permitting and long-term project planning.
Highlights
- Completed 6,334.5 metres of drilling across 31 holes supporting geotechnical and geochemical investigations, and exploration activities.
- Advanced technical investigations and ongoing environmental baseline studies supporting feasibility-level engineering, environmental assessment, and project development planning.
- Resampled 23 historical drill holes using modern analytical methods and quality assurance and quality control (“QA/QC”) procedures, including the addition of precious metal assays that were not systematically collected during earlier exploration programs.
- Completed two exploration drill holes at the Sylvia target, with assay results and technical interpretation to be reported separately.
- Assay results from the remaining 2026 drilling programs are being compiled and validated, with additional technical results expected to be reported as they become available.
Leif Nilsson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The completion of our 2026 field program represents another important step in advancing Berg toward feasibility-level engineering and through the environmental assessment process. Following the completion of the PFS earlier this year, our focus has shifted toward systematically collecting the technical information required to refine the project design, improve our understanding of environmental conditions, and reduce uncertainty as the Project advances. The historical core resampling program is another part of this process. By applying modern analytical methods and adding precious metal data to older drill holes, we are continuing to improve the quality and completeness of the resource database that will support future technical studies.”
2026 Field Program Summary
The Company completed 31 drill holes totalling 6,334.5 metres during the 2026 field season. The drilling program comprised the following activities:
| Table 1. Summary of 2026 drilling activities. | |||
| Program | Location | Holes | Metres |
| Geotechnical drilling (diamond)1 | pit and infrastructure areas | 10 | 3,104.0 |
| ARD characterization drilling | pit area | 5 | 1,693.0 |
| Near-surface geotechnical drilling (sonic) | infrastructure area | 14 | 657.4 |
| Sylvia exploration drilling | Sylvia exploration target | 2 | 880.1 |
| Total | 31 | 6,334.5 | |
| 1.Certain geotechnical holes were also used for geochemical and ARD characterization. | |||
Geotechnical investigations included diamond drilling to characterize bedrock conditions inform engineering design for proposed mine infrastructure, as well as near-surface sonic drilling to characterize overburden and shallow subsurface conditions. Hydrogeological investigations, including groundwater testing and monitoring installations, were also conducted to support ongoing groundwater characterization and water management planning.
Geochemical drilling and sampling focused on improving the characterization of rock materials, including their potential for acid generation and metal leaching. These investigations will inform future material management strategies, environmental assessment studies and project design considerations.
In parallel with drilling, the Company advanced environmental baseline studies across the Project area, including investigations related to surface water, groundwater, aquatic environments, wildlife, vegetation and other environmental conditions. These programs include ongoing and seasonally scheduled monitoring activities and are contributing to the technical information required for the Project’s environmental assessment and future environmental management planning.
The Company also completed two exploration drill holes at the Sylvia target as part of its ongoing evaluation of mineralization potential in the broader Berg-Ootsa district.
Additional results from the geotechnical, geochemical, and exploration drilling programs will be reported in subsequent news releases as the respective datasets are finalized and interpreted.
Figure 1. Map of Project area showing 2026 drill hole locations by program category. Click here to view image
Figure 2. Map of Berg deposit area showing 2026 drill hole locations by program category. Click here to view image
Historical Drill Core Resampling Program
During 2026, Surge completed the resampling and re-assaying of 23 historical drill holes at the Berg deposit, continuing a multi-year initiative to improve the completeness and quality of the geological and analytical database supporting mineral resource estimation.
Much of the earliest drilling at Berg was completed before gold and silver were routinely included in analytical programs. Since 2022, the Company has undertaken several systematic resampling campaigns to address these historical gaps, applying modern analytical methods and quality assurance and quality control (“QA/QC”) procedures to available historical core and stored samples. These efforts have substantially improved precious metal coverage across the deposit, with approximately 87% of assay intervals containing both gold and silver analyses following completion of the 2026 program.
The 2026 program included 11 holes that were resampled in full, 10 holes that were partially resampled, and two additional holes with uncertain historical collar locations. The Company will assess the suitability of these data for inclusion in future mineral resource estimation and classification work, taking into consideration assay quality, sample coverage, and drill hole location confidence.
Highlighted results from the historical resampling program are summarized in Table 2 below.
| Table 2: Summary of assay results from 2026 historic core resampling program | ||||||||
| Drill Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m)1 | Cu % | Mo % | Ag g/t | Au g/t | Cu Eq. %2 |
| BRG007 | 4.27 | 78.94 | 74.68 | 0.23 | 0.013 | 1.67 | 0.02 | 0.30 |
| BRG009 | 103.63 | 232.26 | 128.63 | 0.46 | 0.036 | 3.93 | 0.06 | 0.65 |
| BRG012 | 23.77 | 174.65 | 150.88 | 0.26 | 0.027 | 3.06 | 0.04 | 0.40 |
| BRG014 | 120.70 | 231.65 | 110.95 | 0.34 | 0.035 | 5.56 | 0.42 | 0.74 |
| BRG027 | 59.44 | 178.92 | 119.48 | 0.26 | 0.055 | 3.87 | 0.03 | 0.51 |
| BRG043 | 100.28 | 167.64 | 67.36 | 0.24 | 0.081 | 2.91 | 0.04 | 0.58 |
| BRG069 | 81.08 | 181.36 | 100.28 | 0.23 | 0.021 | 2.40 | 0.02 | 0.34 |
| BRG070 | 24.38 | 169.77 | 145.39 | 0.18 | 0.025 | 1.71 | 0.02 | 0.30 |
| BRG071 | 136.25 | 279.20 | 142.95 | 0.34 | 0.038 | 4.93 | 0.03 | 0.53 |
| BRG072 | 36.58 | 150.27 | 113.69 | 0.32 | 0.014 | 3.11 | 0.03 | 0.41 |
| BRG073 | 94.49 | 192.02 | 97.54 | 0.40 | 0.012 | 6.53 | 0.06 | 0.53 |
| BRG080 | 27.43 | 60.05 | 32.61 | 0.17 | 0.015 | 5.34 | 0.02 | 0.28 |
| 1. Width refers to drill hole intercepts; true widths have not been determined. High grades have not been capped in the averages. 2. CuEq (copper equivalent) is provided for illustrative purposes only to express the combined abundance of copper, molybdenum, silver, and gold, with secondary metals calculated net of assumed metallurgical recoveries using deposit average recovery assumptions from the PFS of 88% for molybdenum, 56% for silver, and 52% for gold. The calculation uses metal prices of US$4.75/lb copper, US$20.00/lb molybdenum, US$45.00/oz silver, and US$3,500/oz gold resulting in the formula: CuEq [%] = Cu [%] + 3.70 x Mo [%] + 0.0077 x Ag [g/t] + 0.5588 x Au [g/t]. | ||||||||
The Company intends to continue its historical core resampling initiative as part of its ongoing efforts to maintain and improve the quality of the Berg geological and analytical database.
Next Steps
With the 2026 drilling program and major summer field activities completed, the Company is focused on processing, validating and interpreting the substantial technical datasets collected during the field season. Environmental baseline monitoring and other technical investigations will continue throughout the year to support the Project’s environmental assessment and ongoing development planning.
Additional results from the 2026 geotechnical, geochemical, and exploration drilling programs will be reported as the relevant datasets and interpretations are finalized.
Quality Control
All drill core is logged, photographed, and cut in half with a diamond saw. Half of the core is bagged and sent to Actlabs in Kamloops, British Columbia for analysis (which is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited), while the other half is archived and stored on site for verification and reference purposes. Gold is assayed using a 30g fire assay method and 33 additional elements are analyzed by Induced Coupled Plasma (ICP) utilizing a 4-acid digestion. Duplicate samples, blanks, and certified standards are included with every sample batch and then checked to ensure proper quality assurance and quality control.
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-gold deposit in central British Columbia supported by a Pre-Feasibility Study and Mineral Reserve estimate that define a 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 and collaboration 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
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 anticipated use and interpretation of technical data collected during the 2026 field program, the potential incorporation of historical assay data into future mineral resource estimates, the timing and disclosure of additional technical results, ongoing environmental baseline monitoring and other technical investigations, future engineering studies, environmental assessment activities, and the continued advancement of the Berg Copper Project. 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.
