BC fast-tracks three projects

British Columbia has selected two copper and a rare earths project for its Critical Minerals Office to co-ordinate environmental assessments and permitting.

Northisle Copper and Gold’s (TSXV: NCX) North Island, Surge Copper’s (TSXV: SURG) Berg and Defense Metals’ (TSXV: DEFN) Wicheeda are the projects being pushed, the B.C. Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals said Feb. 20.  

Launched in early 2024 as part of the province’s critical minerals strategy, the office is designed to accelerate certain mining projects by helping coordinate First Nations and community engagement, and identify regulatory requirements early and align approvals. 

“Coordination with this office, alongside our ongoing work to build consensus through meaningful First Nations and stakeholder engagement, provides a pathway to efficient and expeditious project development,” Northisle’s CEO Sam Lee said in a release.

Shares move

Shares in Northisle have gained 25% this year to $3.25 apiece on Tuesday for a $964-million market capitalization. Surge Copper has added 31% for 64¢ and a market value of $218 million. Defense Metals, the only rare earth developer on the list, has fallen 13% this year to 24¢ on Tuesday for a market capitalization of $94.3 million.

Northisle is in the early stages of the environmental assessment process for its North Island project located in Port Hardy. This time last year, it released a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the project, outlining a two-stage mine operation underpinned by three copper-gold deposits that together hold 6.3 billion lb. of copper-equivalent in indicated resources.

Under its base-case scenario, the PEA estimated an after-tax NPV of C$2 billion at a 7% discount rate, an after-tax IRR of 29% and a 1.9-year payback period.

Surge’s Berg copper-molybdenum project, located within the Tahtsa Ranges, is approaching the prefeasibility stage. Its PEA from 2023 outlined a potential 30-year mine with average annual production of 191 million lb. of copper equivalent. Like North Island, its NPV is around $2 billion (at an 8% discount), with an IRR of 20% and a 3.9-year payback.

Rare earths

The Wicheeda project being developed by Defense Metals is more advanced, having already completed a prefeasibility study. The deposit, located about 80 km northeast of Prince George, hosts total reserves of 25.5 million tonnes with an average grade of 2.4% total rare earth oxides.

This, according to its PFS report, would support a 15-year life of mine with an average annual output of 31,900 tonnes of total rare earth oxide in concentrate. Its after-tax NPV was pegged at $1 billion, with an IRR of 19%.

In addition to the three projects, the BC Critical Minerals Office had already pledged to work with the Baptiste nickel project near Fort St. James developed by FPX Nickel (TSXV: FPX). Public comment period for that project started earlier this month.

“The Critical Minerals Office provides key services to help take promising projects and move them forward faster, ensuring that B.C. continues to rapidly grow the sector,” Jagrup Brar, minister of mining and critical minerals, said in the release.