Empire District

Northwestern Ontario | Cu–Ni–PGE Exploration

17,645-hectare district-scale property comprising the Empire, Mack and Rambler claim blocks.
Highway-accessible, year-round exploration
7 High-Priority Exploration Targets
Critical Minerals Commodity Suite | Cu – Ni – PGE – Au
Permitted Diamond Drill Program | Planned for Q4 2026
Indigenous Partnership | Active exploration agreement and positive working relationship with Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.
Drill target prioritization underway

Overview

The Empire District is Athos Metals’ flagship critical minerals project located in the Thunder Bay Mining Division of northwestern Ontario. With three claim blocks covering approximately 17,645 hectares, the district hosts a large mafic-ultramafic intrusive complex prospective for copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group element (PGE) mineralization.

The project benefits from excellent infrastructure, year-round access and a strong foundation of historical exploration that has identified multiple mineralized occurrences throughout the district. Athos is advancing the project through a modern, systematic exploration strategy, including the recently completed district-scale VTEM™ Plus airborne geophysical survey, designed to refine priority exploration targets and support future drill testing.

By integrating historical exploration data with modern geophysics and geological interpretation, Athos aims to unlock the district-scale potential of the Empire Project and advance high-priority targets toward discovery.

Location and access

The Empire District trend is located along the Trans-Canada Highway, about 170 km northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The district extends 15 km to the northeast. The exploration targets are accessible year-round via a strong network of forestry roads.

Geological setting

Exploration in the district has been limited due to extensive glacial till and lake sediment cover. In 2023, a DIGEM and magnetic survey over the Westwood anomaly outlined a zoned magnetic body. The anomaly was interpreted as a Neoarchean mafic-ultramafic intrusion, with conductors associated with surface base metal–PGM mineralization.

The completed VTEM™ Plus survey has significantly improved Athos’ understanding of the district-scale geological framework and identified multiple conductive targets for follow-up exploration and future drill testing.

Exploration history

Athos’ understanding of the district has developed through a staged, systematic exploration program. District-scale targeting beginning in 2022 combined historical data and regional magnetic surveys to identify the property, followed by prospecting and surface sampling in 2023 that confirmed copper-nickel-PGE-gold mineralization at surface. Airborne electromagnetic surveys in 2023–2024 identified conductive targets at Westwood, which were tested by Phase I drilling in 2024, confirming a mafic-ultramafic intrusion with associated sulphide mineralization. Building on these results, Athos expanded its land position and completed the district-scale VTEM™ Plus survey across all three claim blocks in 2026 to prioritize the next phase of drill targets.

District-scale intrusive corridor

A Continuous Magnetic and Conductive Trend

The Empire District comprises three claim blocks: Empire, Rambler, and Mack, covering approximately 17,645 hectares along a 15-kilometre magnetic corridor interpreted to represent a series of Neoarchean mafic–ultramafic intrusions.

Located within the Empire claim block and adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway, the Westwood target hosts 14 PGE and nickel–copper–chromium anomalies identified by the Ontario Geological Survey along trend.

Surface sampling at the “Highway Showing” returned average grades from three grab samples of 0.14 g/t Au, 0.54 g/t PGEs (Pt+Pd), and 0.17% Cu from chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite mineralization exposed adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway.

Integrated airborne magnetics, DIGEM electromagnetics and ground IP surveys define multiple chargeability and conductivity responses along this trend. Several of these anomalies remain untested by drilling.

Previous drilling completed in December, 2024 confirmed the presence of a zoned and/or layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion at Westwood, with disseminated and net-textured magmatic sulfides similar in appearance to the outcrop showing adjacent to the Trans Canada highway.

The scale, continuity and geophysical coherence of the corridor support the potential for a district-scale magmatic sulphide system

Map of the Empire District Claim Blocks with Targets

Highlighted gold areas on the Empire and Mack properties represent recently added claims.
See July 17 Press Release for more details

Why Empire matters

Positioned for discovery

The Empire District combines the key ingredients sought by today’s critical minerals investors:

District-scale land position spanning approximately 17,645 hectares
Excellent infrastructure with year-round road access
Proven copper, nickel and platinum group element mineralization
Multiple historic discoveries and untested exploration targets
Located within one of Canada’s premier mining jurisdictions
Significant exploration upside supported by modern geophysical datasets

As global demand for critical minerals continues to accelerate, Athos is systematically advancing Empire toward drill-ready targets.

Recent Exploration Progress

On June 17, 2026, Athos announced the completion a district-scale VTEM™ Plus airborne electromagnetic survey totaling approximately 1,756 line kilometres over the Empire District Project. Based on preliminary interpretations, the Company staked additional claims, expanding the project to 17,645 hectares. Final interpretation of the VTEM™ Plus survey is underway and will be used to prioritize high-priority drill targets across the Empire, Mack and Rambler claim blocks.

Westwood target

Drill-Confirmed Magmatic Sulphides

The Westwood target represents the most advanced exploration target within the Empire District.

IP surveys define broad chargeability highs reaching up to 18 mV/V, spatially coincident with DIGEM conductors and magnetic highs. The geophysical signature is consistent with sulphide-bearing mafic intrusive bodies.

Five drill holes (~1,188 metres) intersected layered mafic–ultramafic intrusive rocks with disseminated sulphide mineralization.

Select Results:

the three 1m intervals with 262, 138 and 118 ppb Pd+Pt on the basal contact of the intrusion.
0.09% Cu
0.11% Ni
262 ppb Pd+Pt (peak interval)
Coincident with DIGEM conductor

Rambler

Extending the District-Scale Corridor

The Rambler claim block forms part of the same 15-kilometre magnetic and conductive corridor that hosts the Westwood target, reflecting the continuation of the Neoarchean mafic–ultramafic intrusive system across the Empire District.

Historical exploration at Rambler includes drilling completed in 1968, which encountered mineralization along the trend and has long pointed to the area’s prospectivity.

The recently completed VTEM™ Plus survey extended modern airborne geophysical coverage across Rambler for the first time, identifying conductive anomalies that will be evaluated alongside historical data to prioritize future drill targets.

Highway-accessible and geologically continuous with Empire, Rambler represents a relatively underexplored segment of the district with meaningful discovery potential.

Mack

An Underexplored Segment of the Corridor

The Mack claim block extends the Empire District’s magnetic and conductive corridor, sharing the same district-scale geological setting interpreted to host the mafic–ultramafic intrusive system identified elsewhere in the district.
Mack has seen comparatively limited historical exploration and drill testing, leaving much of its geophysical and geological potential untested.
The completed VTEM™ Plus survey provided the first modern, district-scale geophysical dataset over Mack, outlining conductive and magnetic targets for follow-up evaluation.
With minimal historical drilling and a geological setting consistent with the rest of the district, Mack offers significant exploration upside as Athos advances its systematic, district-scale exploration strategy.

Geological model

Mafic–Ultramafic Intrusive System

Empire is interpreted to represent a layered intrusive complex with potential for sulphide concentration along basal contacts and structural traps.

Surface sampling and drilling confirm:

Pegmatitic ultramafic segregation horizons
Disseminated pyrrhotite–chalcopyrite mineralization
Magmatic textures consistent with sulphide segregation

The geological model is supported by coincident magnetic, conductive and chargeability responses.

The completed VTEM™ Plus survey identified additional conductive and magnetic anomalies across the Empire claim block beyond Westwood. Integration of this dataset will further refine the geological model and support prioritization of future drill targets across the Empire District.

2026 Exploration strategy

Systematic advancement of a district-scale opportunity

Athos is advancing the Empire District through the following exploration priorities:

Prioritize drill-ready targets using the completed VTEM™ Plus survey.
Refine the district-scale intrusive architecture through integrated geophysics.
Conduct systematic drill testing of high-priority targets identified through the completed VTEM™ Plus survey.

The combination of confirmed sulphide mineralization, strong geophysical responses and multiple untested targets provides a scalable exploration platform with significant district-scale discovery potential.