Mining Press Roundup: Surge Copper's Berg Project Delivers C$4.6B Value in British Columbia

Surge Copper's prefeasibility study for its Berg project in central British Columbia more than doubles the net present value to C$4.6 billion while also doubling initial costs over a previous study, with the post-tax NPV well above the C$2.1 billion NPV of the preliminary economic assessment from 2023 . The announcement marks a major milestone for one of Canada's largest undeveloped copper projects and comes as copper miners trade higher according to market data, with the COPX copper miners ETF up 0.2% to $89.98 on Monday afternoon.

Surge Copper: Berg Prefeasibility More Than Doubles Project Value

The PFS gave the project an after-tax net present value (at 8% discount) of C$4.6 billion, with an internal rate of return of 24%, though costs rose twice as high to C$4.7 billion . The study, prepared under NI 43-101 standards by Ausenco Engineering Canada and Moose Mountain Technical Services, describes a large-scale conventional open-pit mine with a 12,000-tonne-per-day concentrator plant that over a projected 28-year mine life is expected to deliver total production of 8.6 billion pounds of copper equivalent, including 4.9 billion pounds of copper, 602 million pounds of molybdenum, and 89 million pounds of silver .

Surge CEO Leif Nilsson said in a release that "completion of the Berg PFS marks an important milestone for Surge and materially advances one of Canada's most significant undeveloped copper projects" . BC Premier David Eby stated "we're encouraged by projects like Surge's Berg copper project to help British Columbia responsibly develop the critical minerals the world needs" . The Berg Project aligns with both national critical minerals objectives and the recently announced Western Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and if developed as envisioned, Berg's projected output of critical minerals, including copper and molybdenum, would rank among the largest in Canada .

Resouro Strategic Metals: $715M NPV for Brazilian Rare Earths and Titanium Project

Resouro Strategic Metals has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment for a starter operation at its flagship Tiros rare earths and titanium project in Brazil that confirms the potential for a billion-dollar operation, with the PEA delivering post-tax NPV8 of $714.9m and post-tax IRR of 44.2% . One of the world's largest JORC combined rare earths and titanium deposits, Tiros, located in Minas Gerais, hosts 1.4 billion tonnes in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories, with measured and indicated resources increasing by almost 37% to 1.4 billion tonnes at 12% titanium dioxide and 4,000 parts per million total rare earth oxides .

CEO Christopher Eager said in a news release that "the project's robust economics are based on high levels of total rare earth oxides and titanium oxide grades," and that "we believe that starting with a small high-grade operation will minimize the social and environmental impacts, reduce the time to production and significantly de-risk the project" . The proposed operation contemplates yearly processing throughput of 500,000 t/y over an initial mine life of 20 years, with the PEA indicating an after-tax net present value of $714.9-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 44.2% .

Ucore Rare Metals: Strategic Partnership with Sumitomo on Louisiana Refinery

Ucore Rare Metals has partnered with Japan's Sumitomo Corp. in the development of a diversified rare earth supply chain across North America and allied markets, with the companies collaborating on sourcing rare earth feedstock for Ucore's Louisiana strategic metals complex and downstream offtake development for separated rare earth products . This would combine Ucore's developing RapidSX technology platform at its Louisiana rare earth refinery with Sumitomo's global sourcing, logistics and market access capabilities as the parties work to support more diversified rare earth supply chains .

As part of the framework, Sumitomo will serve as Ucore's distribution partner for designated separated rare earth products sold to selected customer segments in Japan and other mutually agreed industrial applications, with focus placed on selected middle and heavy rare earth elements critical to high-performance magnets and advanced materials applications primarily in Japan . Ucore is currently executing an US$18.4 million Phase 2 award from the US Department of Defense to finance its commercial-scale RapidSX separation system at the Louisiana facility . The partnership comes as rare earth supply chain security remains a strategic priority for Western governments seeking alternatives to Chinese processing dominance.

Lumina Metals: Poland Bets on Copper Boom with Warsaw Debut

Poland could more than double its copper production through planned mines by Canada's Lumina Metals, bolstering the country's ambitions to become a leading supplier of a metal critical to electrification and industrial growth, with Lumina shares surging 19% on their Warsaw Stock Exchange debut Tuesday to 35.5 zlotys (C$13.53) after the company raised C$406.2 million in an April initial public offering in Toronto to advance the Nowa Sól copper project in southwestern Poland .

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the Warsaw exchange that Lumina's projects are great opportunities for Poland to significantly increase copper and silver production capacity, with the developments supporting a broader government strategy to create a Polish "Copper Valley" that would extend the country's role beyond mining into refining, manufacturing and other value-added industries, as officials view copper as a strategic resource underpinning sectors including electric vehicles, power infrastructure and electronics . CEO Jordan Pandoff said the proceeds will fund roughly five years of development work at its flagship Nowa Sól project in southwestern Poland, which contains an estimated nine million tonnes of copper and nearly 900 million ounces of silver .

Kazatomprom: Uranium Demand from AI and Nuclear Revival

Kazatomprom, which supplies approximately 43% of global primary uranium production, is tracking 2026 output at approximately 62 million pounds, 23 million pounds below earlier projections, reducing available supply as Western sanctions redirect utilities away from Russian uranium imports . Uranium demand is becoming increasingly visible, driven by energy security, electrification, and the need for reliable baseload power amid rising electricity demand, and while there can be lags between policy announcements and actual fuel procurement, the broader trajectory is clear: nuclear power is being treated as a strategic pillar of energy systems .

AI hyperscalers including Meta, which has contracted up to 7.8 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, and Microsoft, which has secured more than 800 megawatts of reactor power, are entering uranium-linked nuclear procurement alongside utilities, adding a new source of long-term fuel demand outside traditional reactor replacement cycles . According to market data, the URA uranium ETF traded at $48.10 on Monday, up 0.1% as uranium equities continue to benefit from structural supply-demand dynamics. Long-term uranium contract prices reached $90 per pound in Q1 2026, the highest level since 2008, while spot uranium traded at $86.25 per pound .

Montage Gold: Koné Resources Jump 58% in Ivory Coast

A resource update for Montage Gold's main Koné project in Côte d'Ivoire has expanded total contained gold by almost 58% and grades by 24% over the initial resource from 2024, with the update giving Koné 244 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.8 gram gold per tonne for 6.2 million oz.

Shares surged to an all-time high following the announcement. Construction of the Koné project remains on-budget and ahead of schedule with first gold pour targeted in late Q4-2026 .

CEO Martino De Ciccio told The Northern Miner that Montage is spending about $18 million on exploration at Koné this year, up from about $13 million last year, with next year's exploration budget expected to be similar, as crews this year have drilled 87,595 metres of a planned 120,000 metre drill program at Koné . Gold traded at $4,315 per ounce on Monday according to market data, up 0.5% as the metal continues to find support despite recent pullbacks from record highs.

AbraSilver: District-Scale Copper-Gold Potential at La Coipita

AbraSilver Resource has drilled its best hole yet at La Coipita in Argentina, honing a Teck Resources-funded copper growth story beside its main Diablillos silver-gold project, with hole DDH-LC26-010 cutting 747.5 metres grading 0.69% copper, 0.06 gram gold per tonne and 142 parts per million molybdenum from 396 metres downhole, including 108 metres at 1.06% copper from the same depth .

The drill program is fully funded and operated by a subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited under the terms of the earn-in and joint venture agreement, with the 2026 program comprising 5,248 metres of diamond drilling across seven holes designed to test the limits and vertical continuity of known mineralization at the Yaretas target and evaluate new targets generated by the first-ever magnetotelluric geophysical survey completed across the property . Since commencing the earn-in program in 2024, Teck has completed a total of 11,270 m of diamond drilling across 19 holes at La Coipita, representing approximately US$23 million in expenditures to date .

What It Means

Monday's announcements reveal capital flowing decisively into critical minerals and base metals projects with clear paths to production. Surge Copper's Berg prefeasibility study demonstrates that large-scale copper projects in stable jurisdictions can deliver compelling economics even with higher capital costs, while British Columbia's provincial support signals government recognition of copper's strategic importance. The Ucore-Sumitomo partnership and Resouro's Tiros PEA underscore the race to build Western rare earth supply chains outside Chinese control, with both projects advancing toward commercial-scale processing.

Poland's embrace of Lumina Metals reflects Europe's broader push for domestic critical mineral supply, particularly copper for electrification infrastructure. Meanwhile, Kazatomprom's production constraints and surging AI-driven electricity demand are reshaping uranium markets, with long-term contract prices at 18-year highs creating a favorable backdrop for developers. The combination of supply discipline from major producers, government backing for strategic projects, and end-user demand from technology sectors is creating what appears to be a sustained upcycle for critical minerals—particularly copper, rare earths, and uranium.

This roundup covers press releases published on June 16, 2026. Company announcements are sourced from mining industry wire services. For corrections or updates, contact contact@stakeandpaper.com.