Corporate
Introduction
VR is an established junior exploration company. VR is a publically traded, Canadian company registered in British Columbia and listed on the Venture Exchange (TSX.V) in Vancouver under the symbol VRR.V, with secondary listings in Frankfurt (5VR) and on the OTCQB in the United States (VRRCF).
Business activities include the evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral exploration properties for the purpose of discovering an economic mineral deposit. VR is advancing greenfield opportunities in copper, gold and critical metals in Nevada, USA, and Ontario, Canada, and most recently, a kimberlite breccia pipe field in northern Ontario. VR has the in-house experience and expertise in greenfields exploration to apply modern mineral deposit models and state-of-the-art exploration technologies to explore large-footprint systems in underexplored areas and mineral districts for new, blue-sky discoveries.
VR is the continuance of 4 years of active mineral exploration as a private company starting in 2014, followed by a successful IPO 2017. The founders are Michael Gunning, CEO, and Darin Wagner, Chairman. The Company is founded on their diverse careers in the global mineral exploration, and their proven track record in the junior mineral exploration sector, having steered three different companies in the past twelve years from discovery through successful M&A transactions for an aggregate valuation in excess of C$1.3B.
The goal of VR is explicit: 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.
The Company maintains its day-to-day work out of an exploration office established in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Company employs a tight administrative cost structure, with a focus on translating publically-raised funds directly into its mineral exploration on the ground.
The Company limits its annual financing goals to rigorous annual exploration budgets in order to maintain a tight share structure. That structure includes a 10-12% insider position, maintained by participation in financings on an ongoing basis. Further, there is a collective holding of approximately 45% of the Company’s shares held by the CEO, six mining-long resource investment funds and one strategic holding in an energy company.
Exploration Model
The Company is focused on opportunities in mineral deposit districts which have been underexplored during the past 50 years of the modern exploration era. The Company applies modern mineral deposit models and new exploration technologies to properties with large hydrothermal and alteration footprints for critical metals, copper and gold, and most recently has discovered a new kimberlite breccia pipe complex and potential kimberlite field in northern Ontario.
VR explores properties it owns outright, 100%, in order to leverage their upside potential to shareholders. Mineral exploration properties in Nevada are held in a wholly-owned US subsidiary registered in Nevada. New opportunities are evaluated on an ongoing basis, whether by internal generative work and direct staking, by a joint venture or a direct acquisition of a property from a third party, or by a corporate transaction (e.g. merger).
The Company has completed independent, NI 43-101 compliant Technical Reports on two of its properties: the Bonita copper-gold porphyry property in Nevada, dated March 2, 2017, and; the Danbo epithermal gold-silver project in Nevada, dated January 27, 2020. Both are filed on SEDAR.
Technical Information and Governance
VR strives for technical excellence in its work, and corporate industry leadership. VR’s management has led numerous industry and research organizations in the past, and is recognized with numerous industry achievement and recognition awards.
Technical information contained on this website has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101. Justin Daley, MSc, P.Geo., VP Exploration at VR and a non-independent Qualified Person oversees all aspects of the Company’s mineral exploration projects. The content of this document, and this website, has been prepared and reviewed on behalf of the Company by the CEO, Dr. Michael Gunning, PhD, P.Geo., a non-independent Qualified Person.
Current Exploration Plans, Second Half of 2023
VR added a third drill hole to Northway in June 2023, based on visual confirmation of kimberlite breccia rock at the centre of the 1.2 km magnetic anomaly at Northway in Hole 2, itself more than 450m away from the discovery hole, Hole 001, completed in November, 2022, at the southeastern edge of the anomaly. The three drill hole intersections span just shy of 700 metres of lateral extent of the breccia pipe complex, and 320 metres vertically. Some 1.3 metric tonnes of kimberlite material from nearly 500 metres of drill core combined from the three intersections has been cut, and sampled into aliquots and transported to Saskatchewan Research Centre (SRC) in Saskatoon for microdiamond analysis, for which results are expected in late summer 2023. Petrographic and SEM scanning are also underway for identification of kimberlite indicator minerals.
After rigorous historical data review of the New Boston property in the Walker Lane of west central Nevada, the company has completed two high-tech geophysical surveys with the goal to identify specific targets for drill testing the high temperature, sulfide core of the polymetallic, stockwork and sheeted vein system exposed at surface over a 4 km strike length. The Company is currently working with fully processed data and final plan maps from both surveys, and expects to report integrated results from 3D inversion models soon.
Surface work and reconnaissance drilling by Conoco, Gulf and Bear Creek at New Boston in the 1960s and 70s clearly established the scale of the system, but a sector collapse in 1981 left that work unfinished with regard to identifying and drilling a central porphyry stock for the system of sheeted veins exposed at surface. The opportunity for VR is simply to finish the work that was started by Conoco, with the advantage of modern geophysical technologies.
Our ultimate goal with a planned 10,000 ft fall 2023 drill program is two-fold: 1) Identify and drill test the sulfide core of the system, and; 2) Confirm with modern ICP geochemical techniques the polymetallic grade potential for copper and silver at New Boston, in addition to its known, world-class grades in moly.
VR is awaiting assay results from its fifth drill program at its Hecla-Kilmer critical metals discovery in northern Ontario this Spring. The plan is to commence delineation-stage drilling in follow-up to mineralization intersected in all three of the first four reconnaissance drill programs across the complex, starting in 2020.
News Release NR-23-01; January 17, 2023:
Drill Hole HK22-013:
- 361 m @ 0.96 % TREO (1), of which 20% are PMREO(2), within
- 461 m @ 0.85 % TREO + 0.13% Nb2O5, starting at surface, and including
- 39 m @ 2.01 % TREO within 66.6 m @ 1.57 % TREO with 20% as PMREO.
VR has discovered a large and rich rare earth element mineral system at Hecla-Kilmer, starting with Hole 2 in 2020 and culminating in Hole 13 in 2022, as shown above. We have been on the ground for three years proving up this discovery, with 18 of the 24 test holes completed so far having high-grade REE mineralization. It occurs in three different areas across more than 2.5 km of the overall complex.
It occurs at surface in all three areas, and has more than 500 m of vertical extent in the Hole 13 area. Finally, it is located a mere 23 km from active rail, provincial grid power and the terminus of Highway 634 at Otter Rapids; location, location, location for cost-effective exploration and favourable economic metrics for development
Michael Gunning
President and CEO, Director
Dr. Gunning is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years of experience in mineral exploration and geological research. His experience spans work in federal and provincial geological surveys, exploration in North and South America with Cominco (now Teck), and proven executive leadership in the junior exploration sector, including recent success in the sale of two companies. He is extensively published, holds several industry awards, and is past-president of numerous industry organizations.
Upon completion of his PhD at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Gunning spent nearly a decade leading global exploration projects, and learning the business of exploration within a multi-national and fully integrated mining and smelting company at Cominco. Following Cominco, Dr. Gunning accepted the role of lead Mineral Deposits Research Geologist with the Saskatchewan Geological Survey, which included both original, field-based mapping and research and mineral industry reporting. He also chaired the Energy file within the governments Strategic Development initiative. This work led Dr. Gunning to the uranium junior exploration sector in Vancouver. As CEO of Hathor Exploration Limited, he led successive resource and PEA milestones for the Roughrider uranium deposit discovery, and he guided Hathor successfully through a hostile takeover bid and a $654 million acquisition by Rio Tinto in 2012, which was one of the top ten M&A deals in the global mining sector that year. He built on that success as Executive Chairman of Alpha Minerals which was acquired in 2013 for C$190 million following the discovery of the Patterson Lake uranium deposit in Saskatchewan.
Dr. Gunning is currently focused 100% on VR Resources. He has stepped away from all previous directorships held in other public and private companies, and has refrained from any advisory roles or industry organization positions in order to achieve that focus.
Dr. Gunning is a past-President of the Saskatchewan Geological Society and the Society of Economic Geology Student Chapter at Western. He served on the AME BC Roundup Committee and presented at the annual AME Exploration Safety Workshop for more than a decade, and he was awarded by the industry with both the prestigious Dave Barr Award for Leadership in Exploration Health & Safety for 2011 and the Colin Spence Award for Excellence in Global Mineral Exploration for 2012. Having played field hockey at the club, university, national and international level, he is a past Director of Field Hockey Canada and Chair of the Canadian Men’s Field Hockey Olympic Trust, and he holds several provincial awards recognizing service to sport.
Darin Wagner
Chairman
Mr. Wagner serves as the Chairman of VR. He is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years of mineral exploration and corporate development experience. During that time he has worked in North/South America and in Africa, been directly involved in a number of M&A transactions in the mineral exploration sector and helped to raise several hundred million dollars for mineral exploration globally.
In 1999 Mr. Wagner became Vice President, Exploration for New Millennium Metals Corp. which was successfully merged with Platinum Group Metals Ltd. in 2002. Mr. Wagner served as Exploration Manager for Platinum Group Metals through the acquisition, discovery and initial delineation of the multi-million ounce Maseve PGE mine in South Africa.
Mr. Wagner became President of Sydney Resource Corp. in 2005 and helped steer the successful merger with Band Ore Resources to form West Timmins Mining Inc. in 2006. He then served as a President, CEO, Director and Qualified Person for West Timmins Mining through the discovery of the high-grade Thunder Creek and 144 gold deposits – which form part of the Timmins West Mine Complex in Timmins, Ontario. He oversaw the acquisition of West Timmins by Lake Shore Gold in an all share deal valued at $424 million which was completed in 2009.
He then founded Canadian explorer Balmoral Resources Ltd. and served as its President and CEO through a series of gold and base metal discoveries culminating in its 2020 acquisition by Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd. in an all share deal valued on closing at $160 million. Mr. Wagner was also a co-founder of Falco Resources, a founding director of NewCastle Gold (acquired by Equinox Gold in 2017), and has served as an advisor to the management of Nova Royalty Corp. since inception.
Keith Inman
Director
Mr. Inman is a partner in the Business Law group of Pushor Mitchell LLP, a full-service law firm located in Kelowna, British Columbia, with a practice focused on advising emerging and mid-market companies on corporate/commercial and securities law related matters, including corporate finance and M&A transactions.
Craig Lindsay
Director
Mr. Lindsay is the Managing Director of Arbutus Grove Capital Corp. He has over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, investment banking and business development in both North America and Asia. His focus has been on mineral resources in the western United States, most recent serving as Founder, President and CEO of Otis Gold Corp. until its sale to Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX) in 2020. Previously, Mr. Lindsay was Founder, President and CEO of Magnum Uranium Corp. until its merger with Energy Fuels Inc. in July 2009. Prior to that he was a Vice President in the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and a Partner in the Pacific Rim Group, a financial and business services company located in Hong Kong. Managing Director of Arbutus Grove Capital Corp. since 2003.
Lindsay was a founding Director of Malaspina Capital Ltd. (ASE) and was responsible for identifying its merger with Miranda Mining Corp, a Mexican based gold producer that was subsequently acquired by Wheaton River Minerals. He was also a Founding Director of Rebel Capital Inc (TSXV), and was responsible for identifying and negotiating its merger with Electric Royalties Ltd. He was a Director of Philippine Metals Inc. from 2011 to 2022 and has been a Director of successor company Revolve Renewable Power Corp. since 2022. He is currently a Director of Excellon Resources Inc (TSX), Electric Royalties Ltd (TSXV), Silver North Resources Ltd. (TSXV).
Mr. Lindsay has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia, an MBA from Dalhousie University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He is the Immediate Past National Chair of the Hong Kong Canada Business Association and former President of the Vancouver Section, a past Chair of the Family Services of Greater Vancouver and a member of the Board of Governors of Crofton House School.
Justin Daley
Vice President Exploration
Mr. Daley is a Professional Geologist with over a decade of global experience in grassroots and early-stage mineral exploration. He obtained an M.Sc. in Mineral Exploration from Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON and a B.Sc. Honours in Geological Sciences from Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. Mr. Daley has worked throughout the Americas, in Canada, the USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile, and in Turkey exploring for copper and gold for Teck Resources, Silver Standard (now SSR Mining), Centerra and Pretium. During this time, he gained an in-depth knowledge of porphyry, epithermal and VMS mineral systems, experience in the integration of exploration datasets within scientific mineral deposit models, and an expertise in the application of GIS technologies.
Blaine Bailey, CPA, CGA
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Bailey is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CGA working with public and private companies over the past 20 years. Mr. Bailey brings complementary skills to the team in areas of finance, administration, and financial reporting. Mr. Bailey is currently the CFO of GR Silver Mining Ltd., Panorama Capital Corp., and Cirrus Gold Corp.
Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor of Commerce degree (Honours) from the University of Manitoba in 1977, and qualified for the CPA, CGA designation in British Columbia in 1983. Mr. Bailey has served in the capacity of accountant for Molson Brewery B.C. Ltd. and controller for Nabob Coffee Co. with head offices in Zurich, Switzerland.
Cyndi Laval
Corporate Secretary
Ms. Laval is a partner at the law firm of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver, B.C. and is the leader of the firm’s Corporate Finance, M&A and Private Equity Group in Canada.
Ms. Laval practices M&A, Corporate Finance and Mining Law, and has over 20 years of experience. Her practice involves advising issuers on merger transactions, corporate finance activities, such as equity and debt financings, stock exchange listings, corporate and securities regulatory compliance, corporate reorganizations, corporate governance, and mining-related transactions.
Ms. Laval was named Vancouver “Lawyer of the Year” for Mining by the Best Lawyers in Canada in its 2017 edition. She has also been named one of Vancouver’s 30 leading lawyers by the National Post and is recognized as a leading lawyer in The Best Lawyers in Canada, Legal 500 Canada, Lexpert’s Leading Canadian Lawyers in Global Mining, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Who’s Who Legal: Canada and Who’s Who Legal: 100.
Prior to joining private practice, Ms. Laval worked in the policy department of the now TSX-V. Ms. Laval was a member of the TSX-V’s Local Advisory Committee from 2006 to 2013 and an instructor of the TSX-V Rules and Tools Corporate Governance Workshop from 2004 to 2010.
Terese Gieselman
Corporate Compliance
Terese is the founder and President of MinCo Corporate Management Inc., a corporate services company in Kelowna, BC. Ms. Gieselman has 37 years of international experience with junior mining and exploration companies listed on the TSX, TSXV, OTCBB, NASDAQ and AMEX, in the roles of CFO, Treasurer, Corporate Secretary and director. During her tenure in the resource sector, Ms. Gieselman has accumulated an extensive background in corporate and financial reporting and compliance for Canada and the United States, including particularly relevant experience in financings, treasury, international corporate structure and financial reporting in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Zimbabwe.
VR Resources Ltd. (“VR” or the “Company”) is an established junior mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX.V: VRR; Frankfurt: 5VR; OTCQB: VRRCF), with its head office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
All of the Company’s public disclosure filings may be accessed under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect to the Company’s mineral properties.
The information on this website provides a general overview of the activities of the Company and is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all matters concerning the Company. Although all information posted to this website was accurate at the time of posting, it may be superseded by subsequent disclosures. VR cannot warrant the information contained on this website to be exhaustive, complete or sufficient. In addition, many factors outside of VR’s control can alter the intended results of information presented by VR. The Company makes no representations nor provides any warranty as to the accuracy, currency or completeness of such information and the Company expressly revokes any responsibility of guarantees, expressed or implied, including and without limitation to, any guarantee of quality or compliance, in respect to any end result. The information on this website may be modified by the Company at any time without prior notice. In no event shall the Company be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential or other damages arising or connected with the use of this website or the information herein. Material on this website may contain inaccuracies, omissions or typographical errors, for which the Company assumes no responsibility. In no event shall the Company, its directors, officers, employees, representatives and advisers, be held liable or responsible for any claim or damage, direct or indirect, special or consequential, incurred by the user arising out of the interpretation, reliance upon or other use of the information contained on this website.
For greater clarity, no guarantees are made or implied with regard to the success of VR’s proposed ventures.
There may be statements and/or information on this website with respect to mineral properties and/or deposits which are adjacent to and/or potentially similar to the Company’s mineral properties, but which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Users are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not necessarily indicative of mineral deposits on the Company’s properties.
This website and the material posted on it do not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of VR. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. Users of this website interested in investing should conduct their own assessment of materials and seek independent professional investment advice prior to making any investment decisions based on materials prepared and/or presented by VR.
Technical information on this website has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). Justin Daley, MSc, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration at VR and a non-independent Qualified Person (as the term is defined in NI 43-101) oversees all aspects of the Company’s mineral exploration projects. Information posted on this website, unless otherwise indicated, has been prepared and reviewed on behalf of the Company by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Michael Gunning, PhD, P.Geo., a non-independent Qualified Person.
VR submits all drill core samples for geochemical assay to ALS Global Ltd. (“ALS”). ALS has sample preparation facilities in both Reno, Nevada, and Timmins, Ontario, which are utilized for sample submissions from VR. Final geochemical analytical work is done at the ALS laboratory located in North Vancouver, BC. Analytical techniques include lithium borate fusion, ICP-MS and ICP-AES analyses for base metals, trace elements and full-suite REE analysis, and gold determination by atomic absorption on fire assay. Analytical results are subject to industry-standard and NI 43-101 compliant QAQC sample procedures, such as the systematic insertion of both sample duplicates and geochemical standards, done both externally on the project site by the Company, and internally at the laboratory by ALS, as described by ALS.
This website and the material posted on it may include certain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (together, “Forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including, but not limited to, information that relates to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable or assumptions of management.
Any statements found on this website and the materials posted on it which address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are Forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “project”, “target”, “potential”, “schedule”, “forecast”, “budget”, “estimate”, “intend” or “believe” and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that certain actions, events, conditions or results, “may”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved.
Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the Forward-looking statements, and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and accordingly, undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty. There can be no assurance that a Forward-looking statement referenced herein will prove to be accurate.
Forward-looking statements by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such Forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among other things, the following: the ability of the Company to successfully raise money to fund its business and/or exploration programs; the ability of the Company to successfully operate its mineral exploration programs; the speculative nature of resource exploration; the effect of foreign exchange regulations on exploration programs in Nevada; the absence of mineral reserves on the Company’s properties; uninsured risks; uncertainty of actual capital costs and exploration program costs; changes in commodity prices, including copper and gold, but also other metals which in the past have fluctuated widely and which could affect the financial condition of the Company; currency exchange rate fluctuations; risks related to some of the Company’s properties being located in Nevada, including political, economic, and regulatory instability; uncertainty in the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain certain permits necessary for current and anticipated exploration operations; the Company being subject to environmental laws and regulations which may increase the costs of doing business and/or restrict planned exploration programs; risks associated with our dependence on third parties for the provision of critical services; risks associated with non-performance by contractual counterparties; risks associated with supply chain disruptions; title risks; social and political risks associated with operations in foreign countries; risks of changes in laws affecting our operations or their interpretation, including foreign exchange controls; and risks associated with tax reassessments and legal proceedings. We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. Risks and certain other material assumptions regarding such Forward-looking statements are discussed in VR’s annual management discussion and analysis, annual financial statements and Technical Report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Although VR has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the Forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on Forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the Forward-looking statements on this website.
Any Forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update any Forward-looking statements as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law
Any Forward-looking statements on this website are qualified by this cautionary statement.
This website may provide links to third party websites or content posted on internet sites maintained by third parties. These links are provided solely as a convenience to you and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, investigation or verification by the Company of the linked website or information contained therein or of their security or privacy practices. The Company shall not be responsible for the content of any other linked websites and makes no representation or warranty regarding any other websites or the contents on such websites. If you decide to access other websites, you do so at your own risk.
November, 2022