READ THIS and UNDERSTAND! https://bpd-space.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/scp/230905-scp-nili-initiation.pdf
So what? Nevada North shares qualities with the next Lithium mine in North America
While early days for Surge’s discovery, we highlight a few key observations that underpin our conviction. Looking firstly at grade: we note the average grade at Nevada North is +69% higher than Thacker Pass’s resource grade, and 9% higher than its reserves, with the best hole (hole 8) >1.7x better grade x thickness than the best hole reported in Thacker’s MRE. Grade distribution: Better still, we show a comparison of the DFS pit and Surge drilling in cross section (Figure 6), highlighting the extent of Nevada North’s high-grade upper layer averaging ~3,831ppm and soils up to 5,041ppm at surface—a serious advantage in our view, if only just this one area. Size potential: while Thacker resource (19Mt LCE) primarily spans ~4,000 x 7,000m area, this feeds a reserve of smaller 3.7Mt reserve spanning ~3,600m x ~2,000m to underpin ~5bn NPV in the DFS (Figure 6)—this is where it gets interesting. Our Nevada North base case estimate spans 3,000m x 1,500m and is wide open. Hence, we think booking SCPe 4-6Mt LCE at Nevada North initially would be a significant start in our view. Mineralogy / clay Types: Surge’s tests reveal typical lithium-bearing clays (55-80% smectite, with montmorillonite/illite as the remainder) akin to peers, while sulfuric acid consumption tests ranged 328-574kg/t, comparable to Thacker's 490kg/t. From our Nevada North visit, magnesium content is low at 2-4% (below 5% is ideal), and coarse calcite crystals hint at efficient purification. Permitting: Nevada's permitting can be protracted. While some basins faced water and environmental opposition challenges, LAC moved quickly through resource > engineering to Final ROD in <36M. Surge has embarked on Plan of Operations discussions with the BLM and initiated environmental evaluations with no critical issues identified. Bottom line: Surge's initial findings are promising, suggesting its discovery might be at the industry forefront. However, further drilling and studies are essential, with strategies set to demonstrate this over the coming 12-15M.