Surge Battery Metals Inc. and Evolution Mining Limited have executed a definitive Access and Mitigation Agreement through their joint venture, Nevada North Lithium, LLC, securing long-term surface and water rights for the Nevada North Lithium Project in Elko County, Nevada.

The agreement grants the joint venture non-exclusive surface access across approximately 880 acres of private land owned by the Salmon River Cattlemens Association, Incorporated. This access covers a single continuous term spanning exploration, permitting, construction, production, closure, and reclamation.

Under the terms of the arrangement, the Salmon River Cattlemens Association has withdrawn its protests against the joint venture's water appropriation applications before the Nevada Division of Water Resources. In exchange, Nevada North Lithium has committed to a monitoring, mitigation, and management framework to protect cattle operations and stockwater availability. The framework requires an independent pre-mining baseline study of water and forage conditions, a joint coordination committee, monitoring protocols with defined triggers, an obligation to replace or restore materially impaired water supplies, and the posting of a performance bond.

The execution builds on a non-binding letter of intent reported by Surge Battery Metals on September 2, 2025, successfully advancing the framework to a binding agreement.

The Nevada North project is held through Nevada North Lithium, LLC, which is owned 67.5% by Surge Battery Metals and 32.5% by Evolution Mining, and serves as the flagship asset for Surge.

The development plan for the Nevada North project contemplates an open-pit lithium operation with an estimated mine life of approximately 42 years. The joint venture is advancing the asset toward a prefeasibility study targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, supported by the 2026 drill program submitted to the Bureau of Land Management in August 2026.

“Long-term surface access and a clear path through water permitting are foundational to any project, and this agreement delivers both. I would like to thank the SRCA Board of Directors for all their time and effort in coming to this agreement. We have committed to measure conditions before we develop the Project, to monitor them together, and to fix what we affect. That is the standard we intend to hold ourselves to for the life of this Project.”

— Greg Reimer, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Read the full announcement: Surge Announces Agreement for Long-Term Land Access and Withdrawal of Water Application Protest at Nevada North