Surge Copper Corp. announced assay results from drill hole BRG23-243, the first hole of the Company?s 2023 drilling program testing the deeper portions of the large Berg copper-molybdenum deposit in west-central British Columbia. Hole BRG23-243 was a 100-metre step-out testing the southeast side of the Berg deposit within an area of low drill density and was drilled toward the northwest at a dip of -74 degrees to a total depth of 778 metres.

The depth of the hole was targeted to intersect the contact with the Berg Stock which is one of the primary geological controls on mineralization within the deposit. The hole encountered variably developed secondary chalcocite blanket from 22 to about 206 metres depth, then encountered a large interval of veined and mineralized volcanic wall rock to 758 metres depth and ended within mineralized Berg Stock. Copper grades are higher within the near-surface secondary chalcocite blanket, whereas molybdenum grades increase with depth and are higher adjacent to and within the Berg Stock.

The hole has successfully demonstrated continuity of mineralization from near surface through its entire length and will extend higher grades through the central and deeper parts of the system. The hole returned 756 metres grading 0.36% copper equivalent (0.26% copper, 0.026% molybdenum, 3.6 g/t silver, and 0.02 g/t gold) from 22 metres depth, with the hole ending in mineralization. The supergene sulfide zone returned higher grades including 90 metres of 0.46% copper equivalent (0.42% copper, 0.004% molybdenum, 2.8 g/t silver, and 0.03 g/t gold) from 66 metres depth.

This is the second longest mineralized intercept from the Berg Deposit to date, exceeded only by hole BRG08-194 which was drilled to a total depth of 866 metres. Hole BRG08-194 was drilled in 2008 in the northeast part of the deposit 800 metres north of hole BRG23-243, and returned an intercept of 772.5 metres grading 0.47% copper equivalent (0.30% copper, 0.051% molybdenum, and 4.7 g/t silver (with no assays for gold)) from 21.5 metres depth. The 2023 Berg drill program operated from late July to early September 2023, and 3 diamond core holes (BRG23-243, 244, and 245) totalling 2077 metres of drilling were completed.

The program was designed to learn more about the deep characteristics of the deposit while also providing fresh material for metalurgical testwork and converting Inferred resources to Measured and Indicated in areas of low drill density. Holes BRG23-244 and 245 also tested the Berg deposit at deeper levels in areas with limited previous deep information and are expected to contribute to the understanding of the deeper part of the system and potentially extend mineralization to depth. Assay results from these holes will be released once they are received, verified, and interpreted. 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.