VMS Ventures Inc. is a well financed, publicly traded mineral exploration company listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX.V) under the symbol VMS.
VMS Ventures Inc. is focused primarily on acquiring, exploring and developing copper-zinc-gold-silver massive sulphide deposits in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake VMS Belt of Manitoba. The Company's VMS project property portfolio consists of the Reed Copper Project, McClarty Lake Project, Sails Lake Project, Puella Bay Project and Morton Lake Project. Outside of the Snow Lake camp, the Company holds massive sulphide prospective properties near the past producing Fox Lake and Ruttan copper-zinc mines, near the communities of Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids in northern Manitoba. These properties are located in the mining friendly province of Manitoba, Canada. The Company also has optioned three properties in the Sudbury mining camp. They are Terra Incognita, Golden Pine and Black Creek.
In October, 2007 VMS announced its Reed Lake Discovery Hole intercept of 43.05 metres of 4.38% copper, 1.56% zinc, 0.85 grams per tonne gold and 13.09 grams per tonne silver, including 10 metres of 11.19% copper. 73 holes were drilled through September, 2008 including hole #RD-08-41 which included 33.46 meters of 10.36% Copper, including 18.08 meters of 13.80% copper.
On July 6, 2010, VMS announced a joint venture agreement with Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM) to develop the Reed Lake property and the two claims immediately to the south. VMS has a 30% carried interest and HudBay has a 70% interest and will act as the operator of the joint venture. HudBay began drilling at Reed Lake in late August, 2010 and plans a 43-101 resource estimate before the end of Q1 2011 - NI 43-101 MINERAL RESOURCE FOR THE REED LAKE DEPOSIT AT 2.55 MILLION TONNES @ 4.52% COPPER IN THE INDICATED CATEGORY
The Manitoba government has approved the Reed Copper Advanced Exploration Permit ("AEP") closure plan and issued the lease of park land property for the operation of the mine development activities. The AEP allows the extraction of a 10,000 tonne bulk sample and will provide confirmation of the mineralized widths, metal grades and the conditions of the ground. Testing of the extracted bulk sample will be done in the Flin Flon metallurgical complex. Site preparation will begin in Q1 and the decline will commence in the second half of 2012.
VMS Ventures owns approximately 45% of North American Nickel Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NAN)
VMS Ventures Inc.'s prefeasibility study of the Reed Lake polymetallic deposit near Snow Lake, Man., with joint venture partner Hudbay Minerals Inc. is available for viewing on SEDAR.
REED COPPER DEPOSIT MINERAL RESERVES(1) -- MARCH 30, 2012
Category Tonnes Au Ag Cu Zn
Probable 2,157,000 0.48g/t 6.02g/t 3.83% 0.59%
(1) Shown as 100 per cent of the mineral reserves; VMS has a 30-per-cent
interest in the Reed copper project joint venture.
The prefeasibility study prepared by Hudbay and Stantec in respect of the Reed deposit demonstrates that the indicated resources can be converted to reserves and economically viable for extraction by long-hole open stoping at a rate of 1300 TPD.
Reed Copper Project Assumptions and Qualifications
Production at Reed is scheduled to begin at the 260 metre level from Zones 10 and 20 and in Zone 30 from the 135 metre level. Mining is expected to finish in Zone 30 from the 85 metre level, in Zone 20 from the 110 metre level and in Zone 10 on the 285 metre level.
Run of mine ore will be transported by truck directly to Flin Flon where it will be crushed to less than 150 millimeters. The Reed ore will be batched independently through the Flin Flon concentrator with assumed metal recoveries of 94% copper, 58% gold and 62% silver producing a copper concentrate.
Access to the underground mineral resources will be via a trench, portal and decline located near the center of the surface site. The decline will be excavated 6 metres wide and 5 metres high to a depth of 510 metres from surface and be able to accommodate a 60 tonne truck. Ore and development waste will be hauled to surface via the decline. Each mining level, spaced 25 metres vertically, will be accessed from the decline and will be 5.5 metres wide by 4.5 metres high to accommodate a 10 yard load, haul and dump scooptram.
The project will be powered by diesel generators and power distributed to surface buildings and underground.
Stantec provided capital estimates for: surface infrastructure, underground dewatering, indirect costs (contractor, construction management). Hudbay provided capital estimates for underground development and construction, mine equipment, all other indirect costs, operating costs, sustaining capital, production schedule and metal price forecast.
Qualified Person
Neil W. Richardson, P.Geo, Chief Operating Officer of VMS Ventures Inc., a Qualified Person in accordance of Canadian Regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, is responsible for the information in this release.
