Reed Copper Exploration Permit approved

Neil Richardson, chief operating officer of VMS Ventures, is pleased that the Reed Mine site will accelerate. — Photo courtesy of VMS Ventures.

The Manitoba government approved the Reed Copper Exploration Permit (AEP) and issued the lease of park land property for operating mine developments.

The AEP, announced on January 26, 2012, allows VMS Ventures Inc. to extract a 10,000-tonne bulk sample, test the metallurgical complex of the extraction and report mineralized widths, metal grades and the ground conditions.

“For VMS shareholders,” said Rick Mark, VMS CEO, in a press release, “this is an important milestone in developing the Reed Mine and bringing us ever closer to full production at Reed.”

Site preparation will begin in the first quarter, and the decline will begin later this year.

“It’s a 70-30 joint venture,” said Neil Richardson, chief operating officer of VMS Ventures Inc. “They have 70 and VMS has 30 per cent, and on the Reed project itself they’re funding us right through to production. We have all the exploration expenses, but all of the mine expenses are funded through HudBay and we’ll pay back our 30 per cent from the production earnings.”

VMS Ventures Inc. is a company focused on exploring and developing massive sulphide deposits from copper, zinc, gold and silver in Flin Flon Snow Lake VMS Belt of Manitoba. However, the company owns 45 per cent of North American Nickel Inc. and massive sulphide properties near Fox Lake, Ruttan, Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids.