Critical Mineral Find Boosts This Junior Miner’s Stock Price

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Monday, July 28, 2025

As we've noted before, the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China—particularly around access to critical metals—have made domestic exploration and extraction of these resources increasingly important. This shift presents a major opportunity for miners of all sizes, especially those operating in the U.S. Today, a junior mining company reported strong rubidium and cesium concentrations from previously drilled assay results, prompting a noticeable uptick in its share price.

Surge Battery Metals Inc. (TSX-Venture: NILI) (OTCQX: NILIF) announced this morning that the company has identified notable concentrations of rubidium and cesium within its Nevada North Lithium Project (NNLP), based on assay results from eight previously drilled holes. These findings reveal that rubidium grades range from 200 ppm to 630 ppm, averaging 303 ppm, while cesium grades fall between 100 ppm and 300 ppm, with an average of 124 ppm. Both elements show a strong correlation with lithium mineralization, suggesting their widespread presence within the project's primary lithium zones. This discovery could potentially establish a substantial domestic source of these critical minerals in the U.S.

The analysis was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the mineralogy and geochemistry associated with Surge’s lithium resource. Encouraged by the consistent Rb and Cs values, the company now plans to re-assay an additional 20 drill holes from its 2022 and 2023 programs. Once results are in, Surge intends to assess the viability of including rubidium and cesium in a formal resource estimate, potentially expanding the project's economic value beyond lithium.

Rubidium and Cesium are considered critical high-value minerals with applications in specialized electronics, telecommunications, and medical technologies. They are typically produced as by-products from a small number of lithium and pollucite mines globally.

Mr. Greg Reimer, Chief Executive Officer and Director, commented, "The confirmation of significant rubidium and cesium mineralization is an exciting development that adds a new dimension to our Nevada North Lithium Project. While lithium remains our primary focus, the potential for valuable by-products like rubidium and cesium could have a meaningful impact on the project's future economics. As the Preliminary Economic Assessment outlined a Life of Mine plan for processing over 200 million tonnes of material, the presence of these elements could represent a significant US domestic supply of these critical minerals."

Shares of NILI are currently up 5.45% at $0.29 while U.S. listed shares (NILIF) were last trading up 6.23% at $0.2117 in afternoon trading.

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