Graham Harris

Chairman | Surge Battery Metals (TSXV: NILI) | Nevada lithium claystone developer

"Chairman of Surge Battery Metals, leading the Nevada North Lithium Project to a 10.5 Mt Measured & Indicated lithium resource in Nevada"

Mining Executive

Website

Biography

Graham Harris is Chairman of Surge Battery Metals (TSXV: NILI; OTCQX: NILIF), the junior developer behind the Nevada North Lithium Project — a high-grade lithium claystone deposit in Elko County, Nevada. He is the figure most associated with the company's recent milestone: a confirmed 10.5-million-tonne Measured & Indicated resource, the two most reliable resource categories, defined through close-spaced drilling. The company states that tonnage is nearly three times the material its current 40-year mine plan requires.

Harris has led Surge's pivot into lithium. The company rebranded from copper explorer Surge Copper after acquiring the Nevada North property in 2022, and has since reported a run of strong drill results, including high-grade lithium close to surface — an advantage for an eventual open-pit operation, because shallow ore means less waste rock to move. Under his chairmanship, the project has progressed from first drilling to one of the highest-grade lithium resources reported in the United States, with shares listed in Canada, the U.S. (OTCQX), and Frankfurt.

His approach is concentration plus de-risking: one flagship asset in a mining-friendly U.S. state, advanced step by step. The Nevada North sequence shows the method — drill to grow the resource, convert Inferred tonnes (the least certain category) into Measured & Indicated, and pair the results with a long-life mine plan. Claystone lithium — metal hosted in clay-rich rock rather than brines or hard rock — is an emerging deposit style, and Harris has framed the project around domestic U.S. battery supply and critical-minerals policy.

For lithium and battery-materials investors, Harris offers a working case study in how a junior company moves a U.S. claystone project through resource definition and toward economic studies — the hurdles that decide whether domestic lithium deposits ever become mines. One caveat for diligence: Surge is an early-stage developer, and its resource and mine-plan figures are company-reported descriptions of potential, not production. Harris keeps a public profile largely tied to Surge, so his record beyond the company is thinly documented.

Videos (1)

Surge Battery Metals Further De-Risks Highest-Grade Lithium Resource in the U.S.

guest May 19, 2026

Top takeaway Argues the resource upgrade — 83% converted to measured and indicated — is the key de-risking milestone that lets engineering firms finalize the PFS on the October timeline.
Frames Nevada North as a scalability story: the current plan consumes only one-third of the 10.5 million ton M&I resource, offering optionality for a longer mine life or higher capacity.
Contends the deposit's 50-80% higher head grade than Thacker Pass makes it the stronger lithium clay project once direct lithium extraction has its proof of concept.
Stresses the company is unusually well funded for its stage, with Evolution's $10 million PFS funding plus $30 million cash, and expects to cover about 70% of its bankable feasibility study share.
Believes US domestic supply policy means the market needs roughly five Thacker Pass-sized projects, positioning Nevada North to supply the North American battery chain from Nevada.

Surge Battery Metals moved 83% of its Nevada North resource into Measured & Indicated (tighter-drilling, higher-confidence categories) to enable feasibility work. The 10.5 million tonne lithium carbonate resource is about three times what the planned 40-year mine consumes, which management frames as scalability optionality. Evolution Mining's $10 million commitment fully funds the Pre-Feasibility Study (a major engineering study) due in October; Surge separately holds $30 million cash. Chairman Graham Harris benchmarks the project against Thacker Pass, claiming a 50-80% head-grade advantage on the same clay processing flow sheet. With Albemarle supplying nearly all current US lithium output, Harris argues domestic demand needs the equivalent of five Thacker Passes.

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Key Works

CEO.CA's Inside the Boardroom: Surge Battery Metals Further De-Risks Highest-Grade Lithium Resource in the U.S. (2026)

Interview with Harris following the resource upgrade to 10.5 million tonnes Measured & Indicated at the Nevada North Lithium Project, covering what the tonnage means for the company's 40-year mine plan.

Specializations

Lithium Development Nevada Resource Estimate Battery Materials Critical Minerals

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