VR Resources Completes Airborne Survey for Empire Project in Ontario, Results Due by End of July

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1. Disclosure for the quote from the Stewart Thomson article published on May 15, 2026

1. For the quoted article (published on May 15, 2026, VR Resources Ltd. has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$3,500.
2. Author Certification and Compensation: Stewart Thomson was retained and compensated as an independent contractor by Street Smart for writing this article. Mr. Thomson is a retired Canadian financial advisor who has passed the Canadian Securities Course as well as additional technical analysis courses that were mandated by his former employer and approved by Ontario regulatory bodies. For the past 15 years, he has been editing and writing numerous financial newsletters that have a strong focus on charts.  The recommendations and opinions expressed in this content reflect the personal, independent, and objective views of the author regarding any and all of the companies discussed. No part of the compensation received by the author was, is, or will be directly or indirectly tied to the specific recommendations or views expressed.

2. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Precious metals investors are watching VR Resources Ltd. (VRR:TSX; VRRCF:OTCQB; 5VR:FWB)  after a news-packed release hit the press on July 16, 2026.

Key Takeaways

• Athos completed a VTEM+ airborne EM and magnetic survey over its Empire, Rambler, and Mack properties, with final processed data expected by the end of July 2026.
• Athos Metals received TSXV approval for its NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Empire District Project, confirmed by a May 26, 2026 letter establishing the property as one of merit for a public listing.
• Athos entered a definitive merger agreement with Meed Growth Corp. (MEED.P:TSXV) on June 3, 2026, a step expected to take Athos public in the coming months.
• VR will retain a 9.9% stake in the Resulting Issuer once the go-public transaction with Athos closes, per the farm-out agreement for the Empire and Silverback projects.
• Follow-up drilling is anticipated for later this summer or fall 2026, pending integration of the airborne survey data to prioritize targets.

Results Will Shape Final Drilling Plans Before Transfer

The VTEM+ airborne EM and magnetic survey of the company's polymetallic Empire project in northwestern Ontario has been completed, and final results have been received. The results will inform follow-up drilling plans — the final exploration milestone for the project.

The Empire project is in the process of being transferred to Athos Metals Corp. On February 26, 2026, VR Resources announced it had entered into a definitive agreement with the company in which VR Resources will sell its 100% interest in the Empire and Silverback projects. Athos intends to make these projects its core focus moving forward. Now, Athos is moving forward with a "go-public" transaction and has completed a NI 43-101 technical report for the Empire project. VR Resources will hold 9.9% of Athos' shares, along with other considerations, once the transaction is complete. On June 3, 2026, Athos also announced a merger with Meed Growth Corp., a Capital Pool company that will allow Athos to become publicly listed in the coming months.

Dr. Michael Gunning, CEO of the company, commented: "The completion of this airborne survey is a clear demonstration of the commitment by Athos towards a successful Close of the Empire transaction, and the continuation of the district-scale copper-nickel-PGM exploration strategy that we commenced two years ago. From an exploration perspective, the results from the VTEM+ survey will allow Athos to build upon our work by looking in detail at the coincidence of magnetic and conductivity features within the Cu-Ni-PGM fertile intrusions at Empire and Mack properties in order to refine existing drill targets. The Rambler property located some 25 km to the north emphasizes the scale of this strategy, and the focus will be on new, untested conductors from the VTEM+ survey covering the next greenstone belt to the north, along the northern margin of the Marmion terrane."

In reference to the role VR will play in the project moving forward. "I want to reinforce that via defined Director and Technical Advisor roles in the resulting issuer, VR will look to an ongoing and active contribution of our geological, exploration, and logistics experience in the region towards the success of this strategy and the discovery of a new Cu-Ni-PGM mineral system in northwestern Ontario, with infrastructure! With drilling planned for this fall, we view this as a near-term opportunity for value-creation for the company, and our shareholders."  

VR Resources is a Canadian junior exploration company registered in British Columbia and focusing on copper, gold, and critical metal projects in Nevada, USA. The company also initiated a copper-nickel-PGM-gold strategy in western Ontario, Canada, in 2024; a strategy which it successfully farmed out in a transaction announced on February 26, 2026, with near-term upside potential via exploration milestones planned for both this summer and fall.

The company's introduction page cites VR's goal as being to ". . .  leverage its experience and expertise in grassroots exploration towards early-stage discovery in order to capture the steepest part of the value creation curve in the exploration and mining process for its shareholders."

Copper and Tungsten Demand Surge Due to Defense, AI Needs

VR Resources has most recently been invested in two primary metals. Tungsten and copper are both in-demand metals that show no signs of slowing down.

As one of the strongest metals in the world, with the highest melting point of all metals, tungsten's use in weaponry is critical in a time of war. China, Russia, and North Korea produce roughly 90% of the world's tungsten, which has left the U.S. scrambling to secure solid domestic supply sources since President Trump's tariffs sparked tension between the nations. As of January 1, 2027, a federal procurement rule will take effect that bans sourcing tungsten from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea if it is to be used for U.S. defense operations. Because of this new ban, domestic tungsten production is necessary, and companies like VR Resources are stepping in as potential solutions to the problem.

The tungsten market as a whole is anticipated to grow from US$5.78 billion in 2026 to US$9.19 billion by 2034. The market is broad, with tungsten necessary for everything from weaponry to energy supply to lightbulbs. After experiencing a 667% rally earlier in 2026, this metal has stayed in high demand.

Almost immune to market uncertainty, copper prices are continuing to boom due to industrial demand and the rise of AI data centers. On May 12, 2026, Piyush Shukla of The Economic Times wrote that, "Copper prices are soaring aggressively in 2026 as copper futures smash record highs above US$14,000 per ton. The rally is no longer only about manufacturing demand. AI data center construction is now driving a massive global copper rush. China's factory recovery, Middle East sulfuric acid shortages, and tightening mine supply are deepening the global copper crunch." So far, copper prices have risen more than 10% since the start of the year, and over 40% since the beginning of 2025.

Demand for copper is expected to rise due to continued use in electronics, especially with the widespread construction of new data centers and defense needs America is experiencing. A report from Businessworld claimed that "global copper demand is gradually shifting towards strategic and less price-sensitive sectors such as AI infrastructure, defense, power grids, and clean energy systems. By 2040, these categories are expected to account for nearly 45% of total copper demand, up from 32% in 2024."

Copper has experienced some volatility this year. While a bull market for traders, physical products are trending toward a bear market due to potential tariffs. Last year, the looming potential of President Donald Trump's tariffs surged copper prices in the U.S. as American investors stockpiled the metal.

This hype created an overstocking of copper, widening the gap between futures and physical worth. "Collectively, inventories at the world's main exchanges have risen by more than 500,000 tons since the start of the year," stated a March 6 article by Bloomberg News. The imagined certainty of inaccessible copper due to tariffs evaporated, however, when premiums for U.S. copper futures disappeared, and the tariffs did not materialize. Trump may choose to impose tariffs next year, but analysts and investors are skeptical since his administration chose to forego them in January 2026.

Copper futures rested at US$6.30 per pound on July 16, 2026. Industry data showed that global shipments of copper concentrate have risen since April, pointing to ample raw material availability." Still, copper prices are unlikely to fall dramatically, even if a resolution is found. China's output fell by 3% in April 2026, and tariff expenses are keeping the stock price high.

"Speculative Buy" Rating Backed by Multi-Year High Indicators

In March 2026, Ben Pirie of Atrium Research discussed VR Resources' outlook, writing, "VR is advancing toward a catalyst-rich 2026 program, including follow-up drilling at New Boston and Bonita polymetallic porphyry systems in Nevada. Planned work programs are designed to test high-conviction geophysical anomalies and validate large-scale mineral system models, with multiple opportunities for discovery across jurisdictions with a history and pedigree in the global mining sector." 

¹On May 15, 2026, technical analyst Stewart Thomson rated the stock as a "Speculative Buy", with a short-term technical price target of CA$0.75, a medium-term price target of CA$2.30, and a long-term price target of CA$3.40. Thomson wrote: "The On Balance Volume [of the stock] has surged to a multi-year high, and The Chaikin Money Flows indicator is bullishly diverging with the price and is also at multi-year highs."

New Boston Drilling to Target Porphyry Stock at Depth

In 2026, the company lists multiple catalysts, including:

• The company recently announced the completion of a 2,900 ft drill hole and polyphase vein intersection at the Jeep Mine target on its New Boston polymetallic Mo-W-Cu-Ag porphyry-skarn project in Nevada, USA.  Geochemical results are pending, with final data expected in August.  Further planned drill holes will target sheeted and stockwork veins in both sheeted porphyry dykes and in host rock Triassic limestone. The Company intends to use the results from the current hole as a guide to prioritize follow-up drilling on an array of approved drill sites on its current NOI drill permit.
• The company recently completed a state-of-the-art 3D array DCIP geophysical survey at Bonita copper-gold project in Nevada. As announced on March 12, 2026, the resultant data are robust: the 3D resistivity model contains in the order of 187,000 data points, and the IP model approximately 135,500 data points. The goal of the survey is to provide a precise exploration vector for porphyry-style copper-sulfide veining that was intersected in initial reconnaissance drilling at Copper Queen in 2017, for which there is a clear association in anomalous copper-gold geochemistry. Follow-up drilling will be evaluated once all of the final data and model inversions from the recent survey are integrated with the company's vast array of data collected for the project, starting in 2015.

Ownership & Share Information²

VR Resources Ltd. has a market cap of CA$3.78 million, with 39.79 million shares outstanding. The company's 52-week range is CA$0.10-CA$0.45. Currently, the company reports approximately 1% of shares are owned by Management and Insiders post-consolidation, while around 25% are held by Institutions. The remaining 74% are held by Retail. Ownership details will be subject to change in light of recent share consolidation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is an airborne EM and magnetic survey?

A: An airborne electromagnetic (EM) and magnetic survey uses instruments mounted on an aircraft to measure differences in the rocks below the ground. The data helps geologists identify areas that may contain valuable mineral deposits before drilling begins.

Q: What is an NI 43-101 Technical Report?

A: An NI 43-101 Technical Report is a standardized scientific report required for most Canadian mining companies. It summarizes a project's geology, exploration results, and mineral potential using rules designed to give investors reliable, independently verified information.

Q: What does it mean for a mining company to "go public"?

A: Going public means a private company begins trading its shares on a stock exchange, allowing investors to buy and sell its stock. This can help the company raise capital for exploration and development while increasing its public visibility.

Q: What is a farm-out agreement?

A: A farm-out agreement allows one mining company to transfer an interest in a project to another company, usually in exchange for cash, shares, or exploration work. This lets the original owner retain some upside while reducing the cost and risk of developing the property.