Investor Insight

With a clear vision for value creation in the energy transition and precious metals sectors, Surface Metals has strategically assembled one of North America’s most compelling project portfolios. Anchored by a high-potential gold asset and a robust lithium pipeline, the company is focused on discovery-driven growth, resource development, and unlocking long-term shareholder value through exploration, partnerships and potential M&A.

Overview

Surface Metals (CSE:SUR,OTCQB:SURMF) is a diversified exploration and development company with a portfolio spanning precious metals and lithium, targeting the growing global need for electrification metals and gold as a financial hedge.

The company’s flagship Cimarron gold project in Nevada is an underexplored, high-grade oxide gold system with historic drilling by majors including Newmont and Echo Bay. Simultaneously, Surface Metals, through its subsidiary ACME Lithium US, is developing lithium projects across Nevada and Manitoba, Canada. These include the Clayton Valley lithium brine asset (with a defined resource), the claystone-hosted Fish Lake Valley project, and the pegmatite-rich Shatford and Cat-Euclid claims in partnership with Snow Lake Resources.

Surface Metals’ projects are located in prolific mining jurisdictions in Nevada and Manitoba

With a foundational 43-101 resource, compelling exploration upside, and strategic positioning next to producing and near-producing lithium assets, Surface Metals is building value from the ground up.

Company Highlights

• Dual Focus Portfolio: Combines precious metals and energy transition minerals, including a 90 percent stake in the Cimarron gold project and multiple lithium assets in Nevada and Manitoba.
• Gold Asset with Legacy Database: Cimarron contains over 190 historical drill holes with high-grade intercepts and a non-compliant historic resource of 50,000+ oz gold, open in multiple directions.
• NI 43-101 Lithium Resource: The Clayton Valley project hosts an inferred lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) resource of 302,900 tonnes, backed by geophysics, drilling and pumping test data.
• Strategic Lithium Locations: Lithium claims are adjacent to Albemarle’s Silver Peak mine and Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge development in Nevada, and contiguous to the Tanco mine in Manitoba.
• Experienced Leadership: Led by resource sector veterans with a track record of successful exits, technical development and public company management.
• Energy Transition Strategy: Well-positioned to benefit from macro tailwinds in lithium demand and US domestic critical minerals supply chain policies.

Key Projects

Cimarron Gold Project

The Cimarron gold project is a high-grade epithermal gold exploration project located at the north end of the San Antonio Mountains in the historic San Antonio (Cimarron) mining district, approximately 18 miles north of Tonopah, Nevada. Surface Metals holds a 90 percent interest in the project through its US subsidiary, Surface Metals US Inc. The project comprises 31 lode claims and is characterized by shallow, structurally controlled, low-sulfidation oxide gold mineralization.

Cimarron lies at the intersection of two regionally significant gold trends: the northwest-trending Walker Lane Belt and a north-northeast trend hosting Round Mountain (Kinross), Bullfrog, Goldfield, Manhattan and Gold Hill deposits. Notably, Round Mountain—located just 28 miles north—has produced more than 15 million ounces of gold. The project benefits from excellent infrastructure, including nearby power, road access and historic drill pads.

Aerial view of the project property

From 1980 to 2004, significant historical exploration was conducted by major operators such as Newmont, Echo Bay, Romarco and Budge. More than 190 drill holes define three main mineralized zones: West, Central and East. Echo Bay’s internal reports (1987) estimated a non-NI 43-101 compliant resource of over 50,000 oz of gold hosted in approximately 1.5 million tons (Mt), with roughly 80 percent of the ounces located in the West Zone. Historic high-grade intercepts include:

• 4.46 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 11 m
• 4.49 g/t gold over 23 m
• 3.94 g/t gold over 46 m

Mineralization remains open in multiple directions, and surface sampling has returned anomalous gold values across a wide area, indicating strong potential for both lateral and vertical extensions. The mineralized system features strong structural controls and is interpreted to be part of a shallow, boiling zone epithermal system.

Surface Metals is currently finalizing its 2025/2026 exploration interpretation and strategy to potentially expand the known mineralized envelope and produce an NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate.

Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project

The Clayton Valley Project, held through Surface’s subsidiary ACME Lithium US, is located in Esmeralda County, home to the only operating lithium brine mine in the United States: Albemarle’s Silver Peak mine. ACME’s 100 percent interest covers 122 placer claims totaling 2,440 acres in one of the world’s most prolific lithium-producing basins.

The project hosts a defined NI 43-101 inferred resource of 302,900 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), based on extensive geophysical surveys (gravity and HSAMT), Phase 1 and Phase 2 drilling, and a 10-day pump test. The brines are hosted in interbedded silts, clays, sand and gravel, with lithium concentrations in brine ranging from 38 to 130 mg/L. Borehole DH-1 confirmed brine presence from 85 meters to 370 meters, with increased concentrations in basal gravels and lacustrine tuff layers.

Phase 2 drilling (DH-1A and TW-1) reached a depth of 1,940 ft, intersecting the Lower Gravel Unit (LGU), interpreted as the main brine aquifer. Pack testing and zone-isolated sampling from the LGU showed lithium values up to 71 mg/L. Permeability tests demonstrated favorable aquifer transmissivity. The presence of bicarbonate-rich groundwater indicates typical Clayton Valley geochemistry, conducive to direct lithium extraction (DLE) processing. Surface is currently evaluating DLE partnerships and pilot testing, with SLB (formerly Schlumberger) having already demonstrated a working DLE unit in the region.

Fish Lake Valley Lithium Claystone Project

The Fish Lake Valley (FLV) project is a 100 percent owned sedimentary lithium claystone asset covering 207 claims across 4,002 acres in Esmeralda County. The project is strategically adjacent to Ioneer’s fully permitted and DOE-funded Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project, with expected commencement of construction in 2025 and offtake agreements with Ford, Panasonic and Toyota.

FLV hosts lithium values up to 1,418 parts per million (ppm) in surface samples, with boron anomalies as high as 1,964 ppm—both strong indicators of favorable sedimentary lithium potential. Two major field sampling programs (2022 and 2023) confirmed the widespread presence of lithium-bearing illite-smectite clays. Phase 2 sampling utilized Asterra’s satellite analytics to identify new mineralized zones.

Geophysical surveys, including gravity and HSAMT, confirm the presence of a deep down-dropped basin with clay-rich horizons extending to over 1.3 km depth. Interpreted illite-smectite units, comparable to Rhyolite Ridge’s host rocks, are present throughout the basin. The project is fully permitted for drilling, with multiple high-priority drill targets identified for validation and resource definition. Surface is actively seeking a JV or strategic partner to fund and advance this asset.

Shatford, Birse and Cat-Euclid Lake Lithium Projects

Surface Metals, in partnership with Snow Lake Resources (Nasdaq:LITM), holds a 49 percent interest in a 17,000-acre pegmatite exploration portfolio in southeastern Manitoba, contiguous with the Tanco mine, Canada’s only operating LCT (lithium-cesium-tantalum) pegmatite mine, owned by Sinomine.

The Shatford Lake project comprises 21 claims (8,883 acres), Birse Lake adds another 10 claims (5,196 acres), and the Cat-Euclid block includes six claims (2,930 acres). The claims straddle the Greer-Shatford Shear Zone, a major 15-km structural corridor hosting known pegmatites, favorable host rocks and historic lithium occurrences.

Snow Lake’s 2024 field campaign discovered a 25 m to 30 m wide tantalite-bearing pegmatite on the Cat-Euclid block and identified multiple new pegmatite swarms under heavy overburden. Drilling at Shatford Lake (2023) included eight holes totaling 3,280 meters, intersecting pegmatites in six holes. 3D modeling of airborne magnetic data correlated structural dilation zones with pegmatite emplacement, prime targets for lithium mineralization. Multiple new drill targets have been identified for follow-up in 2025. The joint venture provides a low-cost pathway to potential lithium discoveries near a fully integrated lithium processing facility.

Management Team

Stephen Hanson – President, CEO and Director

With over 28 years of global experience in finance and corporate development, Stephen Hanson has held executive roles across mining, energy and resource sectors. He has successfully executed M&A deals and created exit strategies for multiple public and private companies. Hanson’s focus at Surface Metals is on unlocking value through resource expansion and strategic partnerships.

Zara Kanji – CFO and Corporate Secretary

A CPA with deep experience in financial reporting for junior mining companies, Zara Kanji oversees compliance, budgeting, and financial strategy. She brings more than two decades of expertise in audit, taxation and advisory for public entities in Canada.

Vivian Katsuris – Director

A capital markets specialist with over 28 years of experience, Vivian Katsuris has served in executive and board roles for numerous TSXV and CSE-listed companies. Her expertise spans brokerage, corporate governance and strategic advisory.

Yannis Tsitos – Director

Formerly with BHP Billiton for 19 years, Yannis Tsitos has decades of exploration and M&A experience across multiple continents. He is currently the president of Goldsource Mines and sits on several public company boards.

William Feyerabend – Qualified Person (US Projects)

A certified professional geologist and NI 43-101 Qualified Person, William Feyerabend has authored multiple technical reports on lithium assets and has decades of exploration experience in the US, Mexico and South America.

Dane Bridge – Technical Advisor

With over 45 years in global mineral exploration and mine evaluation, Dane Bridge provides strategic technical oversight across Surface’s exploration assets.

Matt Banta – Technical Advisor

A specialist in hydrology and lithium brine systems, Matt Banta brings over 20 years of field and analytical experience with a focus on lithium extraction and water resource modeling.

Almonty’s Sangdong tungsten mine

Located in South Korea, Almonty’s Sangdong tungsten mine is among the largest-known tungsten deposits outside of China and is expected to be a cornerstone of the company’s growth. The site, which was mothballed for decades after once being the world’s largest producer, is now central to US-allied efforts to secure critical supply chains.

The company holds a 15-year offtake agreement with a US defense contractor for over 90 percent of its Phase I production. The mine is expected to begin soft commissioning in 2025, with commercial output scaling thereafter.

Almonty also operates the Panasqueira mine in Portugal, another non-Chinese source of high-grade tungsten, providing additional geographic diversification at a time of heightened geopolitical risk.

Investors back ‘mineral nationalism’ strategy

Almonty’s successful offering illustrates investor appetite for plays tied to resource nationalism and US defense modernization. According to a recent report by GBC Research, the company could supply up to 43 percent of non-Chinese tungsten demand by 2027. The firm is projecting net income of US$212 million by that year, supported by long-term contracts and rising prices for critical materials.

Tungsten is essential in a variety of applications, including missile casings, turbine blades, armor plating and semiconductors — markets that are seeing rapid budget growth, particularly in the US

The listing comes at a time of rising scrutiny over US reliance on China for materials key to both civilian technology and military systems. According to the most recent US Geological Survey, the US was 100 percent import reliant for 12 of the 50 designated critical minerals in 2024, with tungsten high on the list.

Another 28 had import reliance above 50 percent.

Efforts to address this gap have accelerated under the current administration and continued into the Trump administration’s second term, including supply chain reviews, trade realignments and procurement restrictions.

Almonty continues to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker “AII,” as well as on the Australian Securities Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The company said proceeds of the offering will be used primarily for the development of Sangdong, along with general working capital needs and corporate purposes.

Watch a recap of key Rule Symposium takeaways.

Tailwinds turning to headwinds

In addition to strategically allocating to gold, geopolitical uncertainty was as a key theme at the Rule Symposium.

During his presentation “Back to the Old Drawing Board: First Principles and the Lost Art of Investing Through Crisis,” author and publisher Grant Williams made the case that longstanding tailwinds — globalization, demographic expansion and low interest rates — have reversed, giving way to persistent uncertainty.

Grant Williams (@ttmygh) is the first keynote speaker in a jam-packed day at the #RuleSymposium.

Offering advice on #investing during times of crisis, Williams told the full room that the “world has been on a debt binge for the last four decades.” pic.twitter.com/wWBtOu598W

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) July 8, 2025

Williams provides an overview of shifting market dynamics.

He traced the last four decades of wealth creation to a rare alignment of forces that pushed asset prices, particularly US equities, sharply higher. However, since 2020, a new macro regime has emerged, defined by tighter monetary policy, rising geopolitical risk and fading confidence in the US dollar.

Like many speakers at the Rule Symposium, Williams also underscored the massive gold purchases central banks are making. During Q1 of this year, central banks added 244 metric tons of gold to their official reserves, a 24 percent increase above the five year quarterly average, according to World Gold Council data.

For Williams, this shift signals growing concern within the financial system — a trend investors shouldn’t overlook.

“When central banks are exchanging their reserves for gold in record amounts, if they feel the sudden urgent need to own more gold, you better believe that we should feel that too,” he noted.

The expert went on to illustrate how major economic and societal cycles are converging, suggesting more volatility ahead. A live poll of the audience taken during his session revealed growing unease among attendees, with many already adjusting their portfolios and long-term goals. In response, Williams called for a return to key principles: scarcity, durability, resilience, trust, patience and a clear-eyed acceptance of uncertainty.

These, he said, should now anchor any sound investment approach. He urged Rule Symposium attendees to shift their mindset from chasing returns to preserving capital by reducing overexposure to US equities, diversifying by geography and asset class and focusing on businesses with real staying power.

The investment playbook of the past no longer fits the world we’re entering, he stressed.

Navigating what Williams calls an “age of headwinds” will require humility, discipline and a willingness to rethink what truly creates and protects wealth.

Hard assets set to shine

Economist, author and former Wall Street executive Dr. Nomi Prins laid out a case for what she calls the “real asset uprising,” a global shift in value and power driven by hard assets like gold, silver, copper, uranium and rare earths.

Drawing on her experience in high-level banking and her current work in the mining sector, Prins argued that rising geopolitical friction, shifting trade dynamics and financial system strain are fueling a renewed focus on tangible resources. She pointed to surging institutional interest in commodities, noting that Wall Street deal flow tied to real assets is up 24 percent year-on-year, while hiring in commodity finance roles has increased by 15 percent.

Gold, once dismissed on trading desks, is now seen as a strategic monetary tool.

According to Prins, the yellow metal will not replace the US dollar as the reserve currency, but it will play a central role in bilateral trade and power negotiations. Gold’s jurisdiction — where it is stored and mined — is now more important than ever, she explained, as nations seek to shield assets from sanctions and instability.

Silver, copper, uranium and rare earths are all finding support through similar structural tailwinds, Prins pointed out.

Silver demand is rising due to its industrial applications, and limited aboveground supply is driving long-term contracts.

For its part, copper has become so strategically important that the US is conducting a Section 232 national security investigation into its supply chain, a move historically reserved for defense resources. Major buyers like China and India are stockpiling copper in anticipation of supply constraints.

Uranium is also surging back into focus, driven by bipartisan support for nuclear energy. Legislation and executive orders are fast tracking uranium permitting and enrichment, with utility demand expected to outstrip supply.

Rare earths = real assets

Prins highlighted rare earths as a critical new front in the ongoing global shift in value and power.

‘Rare earths are intrinsic to the nation,’ she said, pointing to their essential role in defense, electronics and energy technologies. With 85 percent of processing controlled by China, the US has launched Section 232 investigations to assess domestic vulnerabilities — reports on copper and rare earths are expected this fall.

Prins described her decision to join the board of a rare earths company as a natural extension of her belief in physical assets: “It’s not just about the asset — it’s about controlling the asset, the processing and the movement.”

That theme underpins the investment case: security of supply, efficient processing and strategic jurisdiction are key to value creation. She also noted a dramatic capital rotation, saying that US$330 billion has exited bonds over the past year, while US$230 billion has flowed into commodities.

“Wall Street is following the real asset story,” Prins emphasized.

.@porterstansb of Porter’s Daily Journal joins @RealRickRule for a #RuleSymposium fireside chat about the investment landscape.

“There are a good two or three years left in the #resource boom,” said Stansberry, who is working on a book about Warren Buffet’s #investing mistakes. pic.twitter.com/K9FdihfJO3

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) July 8, 2025

Rule sits down with Porter Stansberry to discuss his investment strategy.

Prins then said real upside now lies not just in owning resources, but in having processing capability.

New technologies, like advanced rare earths separation methods, are increasing economic viability and attracting private capital. “Where private money and public power combine, that’s where the investment opportunity is,” she said.

With key policy announcements and trade shifts looming in the fall, she warned investors this is a “very critical time” in the real asset uprising. For Prins, the message is clear: investors, policymakers and mining leaders must position accordingly, because, in today’s world, “whoever controls the ground controls the game.’

Court upholds TMC disclosures on deep-dea mining risks

Lockheed is not alone in navigating the legal uncertainties surrounding seabed mining.

The Metals Company (TMC) (NASDAQ:TMC), a deep-sea mining startup, recently survived a shareholder lawsuit alleging it had misled investors about the environmental impacts and financial backing of its operations.

US District Judge Eric Komitee dismissed the claims, ruling that the company’s comparisons to conventional mining methods were not misleading, even if deep-sea mining still carries environmental risks.

“It is eminently possible that (1) deep-sea mining causes meaningful environmental harm, and yet (2) such harm is significantly less than the harm caused by existing methods,” the judge wrote.

TMC had disclosed in filings that deep-sea mining could result in damage and that the regulatory path remained uncertain. Its legal win may encourage others — like Lockheed — to proceed more openly with their seabed plans, albeit cautiously.

Deep-sea mining industry cautiously awakens

The growing pursuit of potentially extracting resources from the world’s oceans comes at a critical juncture for the seabed-mining industry. For decades, a de facto moratorium on mining in international waters has been in place due to regulatory uncertainty and environmental concerns.

The ISA has issued more than 30 exploratory permits, but has yet to finalize commercial extraction rules. That delay has prompted frustration from some parties, while drawing calls from others for a pause or outright ban.

Currently, the ISA is holding key assemblies in Jamaica to hash out the long-awaited mining code to regulate commercial activity on the ocean floor with provisions for environmental safeguards, royalties, and tax obligations.

But a growing number of countries — 37 at last count — have pushed for a precautionary pause, citing risks to deep-sea ecosystems that remain largely uncharted. Scientists warn that mining these habitats could cause irreversible damage.

In 2023, Lockheed appeared to step back from the sector by selling two UK-sponsored exploration licenses in the Pacific, a move interpreted by analysts as signaling reduced confidence in deep-sea mining.

However, its retained US licenses suggest it never fully exited the space.

The Trump administration’s executive order marks the most assertive US step yet to undermine the ISA’s multilateral approach, raising fears among diplomats that the agency may lose legitimacy.

China, which has also invested heavily in seabed mining, responded sharply to the move.

“The US authorization violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said earlier this year.