Surge Copper has spent the past several months building out its executive bench to advance the Berg copper project in British Columbia. A pre-feasibility study released this summer put Berg's base-case after-tax NPV8% at C$4.6 billion, with a 24% IRR and a 2.9-year payback. If built, the project would rank among Canada's top three copper mines and become the country's largest molybdenum producer. As governments roll out their own critical minerals strategies, companies looking to build large copper mines are increasingly aligning themselves with those national priorities. Jennifer Anthony joined Surge Copper as VP, Environment and Regulatory Affairs early this year, after more than 20 years in British Columbia's public sector — most recently as Assistant Deputy Minister, Permitting Transformation, where she led the province's negotiations on the Blackwater mine and other resource projects.