Dr. Michael Gunning reports

VR DISCOVERS DIAMONDS IN TWO SEPARATE INTERVALS IN HOLE 003 AT NORTHWAY, 600 METRES FROM THE DISCOVERY IN HOLE 001

VR Resources Ltd. has received complete results from caustic fusion and mineralogy for all three drill holes completed into the kimberlite breccia pipe complex on its Northway property in Northern Ontario.

Microdiamonds were recovered in two separate intervals within drill hole NW23-003, the last of the three first-pass drill holes into the 1.2-kilometre magnetic anomaly at Northway. The intersection spanned 354 metres of kimberlite for 723 kilograms of sawn NQ (47.6-millimetre diameter) sample material. There were no microdiamonds in 173 kilograms from NW23-002. Attributes for all four of the microdiamonds recovered in hole 003 are the same as the microdiamond in hole 001:

• Transparent and colourless;
• Clear and free of inclusions;
• Fragment of a larger diamond.

A plus-106-micron microdiamond was recovered at 335 metres, with three additional plus-75-micron diamonds found from 488 metres to 510 metres (see attached table). They are hosted in pyroclastic kimberlitic breccia (KPK rock), characterized by:

• Concentrated chrome-diopside xenocrysts;
• Xenoliths of dunite, pyroxenite and glimmerite;
• Autoliths of KPK rock.

Importantly, phlogopite xenocrysts and mineral grains within xenoliths plot within the kimberlite field on the Ti-Al (titanium-aluminum) plot, and in the kimberlite-orangeite field on the Al-Fe (aluminum-iron) plot, consistent with hole 001. Further, titanium-potassium richterite in magmaclasts indicates an upper mantle source for the kimberlite.

Holes 002 and 003 were collared at the same site located approximately 450 metres to the northwest of hole 001, located near the eastern margin of the breccia pipe complex, where a microdiamond was recovered in the crater facies of kimberlite mudstone at the top of the pipe (see news release dated Sept. 12, 2023). As such:

• Microdiamonds are present across 600 metres of the breccia pipe complex.
• Microdiamonds are present over 220 vertical metres, starting at the top.

The boundary conditions for the 1.2 magnetic anomaly at Northway are consistent amongst an array of different plan maps and 3-D inversion block models. That said, the new drilling shows that Northway may be either: a complex of separate, adjacent breccia pipes or a single, rooted pipe that fans upward into complex geometries at the top. Regardless:

• Hole 001 transected only 30 metres of the top of the breccia pipe complex before the drill hole caved and was abandoned; the KPK rock below the maar-facies with microdiamonds is untested.
• A longer intersection of pyroclastic kimberlite breccia was achieved in hole NW23-003, located approximately 450 metres to the northwest, but the breadth of the magnetic centre remains untested.

Dr. Michael Gunning, VR's chief executive officer, stated: "It's really quite something; Northway has produced microdiamonds in two of the first three reconnaissance drill holes ever put into the large breccia pipe complex, and, more, both holes are arguably yet incomplete in terms of their vertical and lateral transect of the kimberlite.

"Scale is important. Fragments of clear, transparent and inclusion-free diamonds occur across some 600 metres of the breccia pipe complex and over 220 metres vertically starting from the crater facies at the top.

"Composition is equally important. Like in hole 001, the composition of the pyroclastic kimberlite diatreme breccia (KPK) in hole 003 falls within the kimberlite-orangeite compositional range, with Ti-K richterite grains indicative of an upper mantle origin for the pipe.

"The results from the first three reconnaissance holes underscores the diamond potential at Northway in relation to the sheer volume of the breccia pipe complex itself and, in relation, the number of targets around it, never previously explored or drilled and potentially representing a new field of Devonian-aged, diamondiferous kimberlite pipes in the northern Superior craton in Northern Ontario and located along the Ontario Northern railroad."

Compositional studies for hole 003

Initial results from two out of 13 samples of pelletal, accretionary diatreme breccia from drill hole NW23-003 were obtained by petrology and analysis by an electron microprobe (EMPA) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) by Renaud Geological Consulting Ltd. (RGC) based in London, Ont., with extensive experience in kimberlite exploration, geology and mineralogy.

Preliminary observations include:

1. Ti-K richterite, a mantle-sourced amphibole, in a glimmerite magmaclast nodule;
2. Fine-grained diopside, a clinopyroxene, containing 0.15 weight per cent chrome;
3. Deep crustal glimmerite xenoliths composed of massive phlogopite are common;
4. Phlogopite xenocrysts and mineral grains in xenoliths plot within kimberlite fields on Ti-Al plots and in kimberlite-orangeite field on Al-Fe plots;
5. Accretionary lapilli are mainly biotite-phlogopite (now illite), surrounded by illite, dolomite-ankerite, F-apatite and perovskite;
6. Pelletal lapilli are hosted in a groundmass of carbonate, Ti-Ba-biotite-phlogopite, including glimmerite nodules, F-apatite, Al-spinel, clinopyroxene, Nb-ilmenite, monazite and perovskite.

Technical information

Summary technical and geological information for the company's various exploration properties is available at the company's website.

VR submits sawn drill core to the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) through Geoanalytical Laboratories Diamond Services located in Saskatoon, Sask., in roughly eight-kilogram aliquot samples for sodium hydroxide dissolution and fusion. Residue and microdiamonds are sieved down to 75 microns, weighed and assessed for colour, clarity and shape.

Analytical results are subject to industry-standard and National Instrument 43-101 compliant quality assurance/quality control sample procedures, including the systematic insertion of tracer diamonds into each sample ahead of caustic fusion at the laboratory by the SRC. The SRC is an independent mineral processing facility that is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory for specific tests.

Technical information for this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101. Justin Daley, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, and a non-independent qualified person oversees and/or participates in all aspects of the company's mineral exploration projects, and the content of this news release has been reviewed on behalf of the company by the chief executive officer, Dr. Michael Gunning, PGeo, a non-independent qualified person.

About the Northway property and project

The Northway property is located in Northern Ontario. It is approximately 12 kilometres northeast of the company's REE (rare earth element) critical metal discovery at its Hecla-Kilmer project.

Exploration is based out of a camp at the hydroelectric facility at Otter Rapids, located about 50 kilometres to the southeast of Northway. Provincial Highway 634 provides road access to Otter Rapids from Smooth Rock Falls, located at the junction of Highway 634 with the Trans-Canada Highway. The property itself is just 15 kilometres west of the Ontario Northern railway (ONR), which provides service to the communities on James Bay.

The nearest town is Moosonee, located on tidewater at James Bay, approximately 125 kilometres to the north. Kapuskasing is about the same distance to the southwest, located on the Trans-Canada Highway (Provincial Highway 11).

The Northway property consists of 64 contiguous claims in a single, four-kilometre-by-seven-kilometre block 1,315 hectares in size. It was expanded to a district-scale project by staking directly 284 new claims in 19 additional properties covering magnetic anomalies near Northway and proximal to the ONR line, within an area of 50 kilometres by 70 kilometres over all.

The properties are owned 100 per cent by VR. There are no underlying payments or interests on the property and no royalty interests because the property was staked by VR directly.

Northway is located on Crown land in Northern Ontario, with mineral rights administered by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (MNDM). There are no annual payments, but the MNDM requires certain annual exploration expenditures and reporting. The property falls within the traditional territories of the Moose Cree First Nation and the Taykwa Tagamou First Nation.

About VR Resources Ltd.

VR is an established junior exploration company based in Vancouver. VR evaluates, explores and advances opportunities in copper, gold and critical metals in Nevada, United States, and Ontario, Canada, and most recently, a kimberlite breccia pipe discovery in Northern Ontario. VR applies modern exploration technologies and leverages in-house experience and expertise in greenfield exploration to large-footprint mineral systems in underexplored areas/districts. The foundation of VR is the proven record of its board in early-stage exploration, discovery, and mergers and acquisitions. The company is well financed for its mineral exploration and corporate obligations. VR owns its properties outright and evaluates new opportunities on a continuing basis, whether by staking or acquisition.

We seek Safe Harbor.