Surface Metals

What Surface Metals does

Surface Metals Inc. (CSE: SUR; OTCQB: SURMF; FSE: V6X) is a Canadian-domiciled, publicly listed junior mining exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a US operating footprint managed through its Carson City, Nevada-based subsidiaries (Surface Metals US Inc., ACME Lithium US Inc., and ACME Lithium Canada Inc.). The company, founded in 2021 as ACME Lithium Inc. and rebranded to Surface Metals in April 2025, is pre-revenue and focused exclusively on the exploration and development of gold and lithium mineral assets in Nevada.

The company's project portfolio comprises three core Nevada assets: the Cimarron Gold Project (90% interest, 69 claims, ~1,079 acres in Nye County within the Walker Lane Belt), the Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project (path to 100% interest via the amended GeoXplor option, 119 claims, ~2,230 acres in Esmeralda County, hosting an NI 43-101 inferred resource of approximately 302,900 tonnes LCE adjacent to Albemarle's Silver Peak Mine), and the Fish Lake Valley Sedimentary Claystone Lithium Project (82 claims, ~1,694 acres adjacent to Ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge). Exploration work product relies on HSAMT geophysics, gravity and magnetic surveys, 3D geological modeling of digitized historical drilling data (notably 234 historical holes totaling 18,066 metres at Cimarron), a DMRE drilling methodology for deep brine aquifers, and SAR-based satellite target identification through the ASTERRA technology partnership. The company previously held Manitoba lithium pegmatite claims but divested its remaining interest to Snow Lake Energy in December 2025.

Surface Metals finances its activities entirely through periodic non-brokered private placement equity rounds and selective asset divestitures; it does not sell commercial products, has no disclosed pricing model, and has no operating customers. Value delivery is contingent on future resource definition, advancement to preliminary economic assessment (a pathway now secured at Clayton Valley through the June 2026 amendment), and ultimate development, joint venture, or sale of mineral assets. The company is led by CEO, President and Director Steve Hanson, supported by outsourced investor relations (Barwicki) and digital marketing (Danayi Capital), and pursues its capital-markets and partnership objectives through active participation in industry conferences (Fastmarkets, 121 Mining Investment, Emerging Growth, PDAC, Red Cloud).

Name

Surface Metals

Legal name

Surface Metals Inc.

Website

https://surfacemetals.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Surface Metals Inc. is a publicly listed, pre-revenue junior mining exploration company (CSE: SUR) advancing gold and lithium projects in Nevada, including the Cimarron Gold Project and the Clayton Valley and Fish Lake Valley lithium assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mining Exploration

NAICS

Other Metal Ore Mining (212290)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000), Gold And Silver Ores (1040)

akta.pro primary industry

Exploration & Resource Development (Critical Minerals) (IMAKAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA)

Keywords

• Lithium exploration
• Gold exploration
• Mineral resource development
• Lithium brine projects
• Critical minerals mining

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Mineral Exploration (Pre-Revenue): As a junior mining exploration company, Surface Metals is pre-revenue with no current commercial production. The company finances operations through periodic non-brokered private placement equity financings. Revenue realization is contingent on successful exploration, resource definition, and future development or sale of mineral assets.
2. Option/Earn-in Payments: Through earn-in and option agreements, Surface Metals earns interests in mineral properties by making cash payments, issuing shares, and incurring exploration expenditures. Once a property is developed, the company may receive royalty payments (e.g., 1% NSR from Fish Lake Valley) or receive payments upon earn-in milestones from partners such as Snow Lake Energy (Manitoba) and Eagle Battery Metals (Fish Lake Valley).
3. Asset Divestitures: Surface Metals generates capital by selling interests in non-core mineral assets. The company sold its remaining 49% interest in Manitoba lithium claims to Snow Lake Energy for $650,000 CAD, ending its joint interest agreement.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Surface Metals Inc. is a publicly listed junior mining exploration company advancing a portfolio of gold and lithium projects in Nevada, USA. The company holds a 90% interest in the Cimarron Gold Project (Nye County) and is developing two lithium projects in Esmeralda County, Nevada: the Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project (with an inferred resource of approximately 302,900 tonnes LCE) and the Fish Lake Valley Sedimentary Claystone Lithium Project. The company is pre-revenue and funds operations through equity financings, option/earn-in agreements with partners, and asset divestitures.

Product overview

Surface Metals is a North American mineral exploration company offering a diversified portfolio of mineral exploration projects. The company's project portfolio spans gold and lithium commodities across Nevada, USA and Manitoba, Canada. The portfolio consists of: the Cimarron Gold Project (90% interest in Nye County, Nevada for gold exploration), the Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project (100% interest in Nevada's Esmeralda County with an inferred LCE resource), and the Fish Lake Valley Sedimentary Claystone Lithium Project (Nevada). Through subsidiaries, Surface Metals also holds Manitoba lithium projects at Shatford/Birse Lake and Cat-Euclid Lake. The projects range from early-stage exploration to resource delineation, with the Clayton Valley project having completed a NI 43-101 technical report estimating an inferred resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cimarron Gold Project A gold exploration project in the historic San Antonio (Cimarron) Mining District, Nye County, Nevada, located approximately eighteen miles north of Tonopah. Surface Metals holds a 90% interest through its subsidiary Surface Metals US Inc. The project comprises 69 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,079 acres and contains a historical drill-indicated gold resource (not NI 43-101 compliant) with mineralized zones open along strike and at depth. The 2026 maiden drill program targets high-priority gold zones identified through 3D modeling of 234 historical drill holes.
• Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project A lithium brine project in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada, located directly adjacent to Albemarle's Silver Peak Mine (the only producing lithium brine operation in North America). The project includes 119 claims totaling approximately 2,230 acres and hosts an inferred lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) resource of approximately 302,900 metric tons per the NI 43-101 technical report filed in March 2024. Surface Metals is operator of the property and is positioned to earn 100% interest upon completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) or additional US$3 million in expenditures by October 1, 2028.
• Fish Lake Valley Sedimentary Claystone Lithium Project

Quantifiable outcome

• Inferred resource of approximately 302,900 tonnes LCE at Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GeoXplor Corp.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Surface Metals entered an amended option agreement with GeoXplor Corp. for lithium brine claims at Clayton Valley, Nevada. Surface Metals has satisfied all cash payments, share issuances, and expenditure commitments (approximately US$4.12 million), and will earn its 100% interest upon delivery of a NI 43-101 compliant PEA or incurring an additional US$3.0 million in expenditures by October 1, 2028. Surface Metals is formalized as operator of the property. Upon earn-in, GeoXplor receives US$500,000 in additional consideration. Advance royalty provisions are tied to the project's IRR.
• Danayi Capital Corp.minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 February 2026Surface Metals engaged Danayi Capital Corp., a Vancouver-based full-service marketing firm specializing in mining and metals sector, to provide digital marketing services for a 6-month term effective February 16, 2026. Surface Metals paid $150,000 USD under the agreement, with no securities compensation. Danayi is owned by Mehran Bagherzadeh and is arm's length to the company.
• Snow Lake Energy (Snow Lake Resources Ltd. dba Snow Lake Energy)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 22 December 2025Surface Metals sold its remaining 49% interest in mineral claims in southeastern Manitoba to Snow Lake Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: LITM, dba Snow Lake Energy) for $650,000 CAD. This concluded the joint interest agreement where Snow Lake had the opportunity to earn up to 90% interest in the claims. Prior to the sale, Snow Lake was the earn-in partner for the Manitoba lithium project.
• Barwicki Investor RelationsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 December 2025Surface Metals engaged Barwicki Investor Relations to lead a strategic investor relations and shareholder communication program. The company simultaneously terminated its agreement with IDR Marketing Inc. This engagement supports capital-raising efforts and investor awareness for the junior mining exploration company.
• Eagle Battery Metals Corp.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 14 June 2024ACME Lithium (now Surface Metals) entered an amended option agreement with Eagle Battery Metals Corp. for the Fish Lake Valley lithium claystone project in Nevada. Eagle Battery Metals could exercise the option by paying USD$1,495,000, issuing shares worth USD$3,300,000, and incurring USD$500,000 in exploration expenditures over 12 months. ACME retains a 1% NSR royalty. Eagle Battery Metals later terminated its option in December 2024 due to market conditions.
• ASTERRAcoreTechnology or Integration · 26 January 2023Surface Metals (as ACME Lithium) entered a teaming agreement with ASTERRA, an Israel-based satellite technology company, to utilize their Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite-based technology, patented algorithms, and AI to identify lithium-specific exploration targets. This technology discovered the highest surface lithium value to date at Fish Lake Valley (1418 ppm) and approximately doubled the likely lithium occurrence locations over traditional geochemistry methods.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Snow Lake Resources Ltd. (Snow Lake Energy): Snow Lake Energy was previously an earn-in partner on Surface Metals' Manitoba lithium claims before purchasing the remaining 49% interest in December 2025. They are now a former partner/peer operator on lithium pegmatite projects in Manitoba.

Broad incumbents

• Albemarle Corporation: Albemarle operates the Silver Peak lithium brine mine in Clayton Valley, directly adjacent to Surface Metals' Clayton Valley project. As the only producing lithium operation in North America and a major global lithium producer, Albemarle is a broad incumbent that defines the district's economic benchmark.

Direct peers

• American Lithium Corp. American Lithium holds the TLHC lithium claystone project in Nevada and the Falchani project in Peru. As a development-stage lithium peer with similar project scale and exploration focus, it competes for similar capital and strategic attention.
• Nevada Sunrise Metals Corp. Nevada Sunrise Metals holds multiple lithium exploration projects in Nevada including the Gemini Lithium Project and Clayton West. As a fellow Nevada-focused junior lithium explorer, they share similar geological targets, regulatory jurisdiction, and investor base.
• Standard Lithium Ltd. Standard Lithium is a development-stage lithium company focused on DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) technology from brine resources. Surface Metals is evaluating DLE for its Clayton Valley brine, making them technology and end-market peers in the emerging DLE space.
• Lithium Americas Corp. Lithium Americas is developing the Thacker Pass lithium project in northern Nevada, making it a direct US lithium peer to Surface Metals. Both target lithium resources in Nevada with similar end-market exposure to US EV battery and critical minerals supply chains.
• Cypress Development Corp. Cypress is developing lithium claystone resources at its Clayton Valley, Nevada project. Surface Metals also holds claims in the same Clayton Valley basin, targeting similar lithium mineralization with overlapping geology, infrastructure, and end markets.
• Noram Lithium Corp. Noram's Zeus Project is located in Clayton Valley, Nevada, making it a direct geological peer of Surface Metals' Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project. Both target lithium resources in the same basin with similar development timelines and regulatory environments.
• Century Lithium Corp. Century Lithium is advancing the Clayton Valley Lithium Project in Nevada, a direct neighbor to Surface Metals' Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project. Both companies are pre-revenue lithium developers targeting resources in the same district with similar offtake end-markets.
• Ioneer Ltd. Ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project sits directly adjacent to Surface Metals' Fish Lake Valley project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Both target sedimentary lithium claystone resources in the same geological basin, making them the most direct geological and market peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Surface Metals