VMS Ventures Inc. (TSX: V.VMS, Stock Forum), a company with a large land position in the Flin Flon area of Manitoba, is definitely a company to keep an eye on.
In the fall of 2007 the management team of VMS Ventures announced the assays from their Reed Lake Discovery hole. This hole intersected 43.05 meters of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization grading 4.38% copper, 1.56% zinc, 0.85 grams per tonne (gpt) gold and 13.09 gpt silver. This remarkable intersection included 10 meters of 11.19% copper, using today’s copper spot price, just the copper in that 11.19 meters would be worth $1060.80 a tonne.
Seventy three holes were drilled up to September, 2008. Hole #RD-08-41 included 33.46 meters of 10.36% Copper ($982.12 per tonne), which included 18.08 meters of 13.80% copper ($1308.22).
Those news releases - containing long intercepts of rich VMS copper mineralization - led to a July 2010 news release in which VMS Ventures announced a joint venture (JV) agreement with HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX: T.HBM, Stock Forum) to develop the Reed Lake and four adjacent properties.
HudBay is the operator of the Reed Lake joint venture (JV) and the four option properties. An initial resource estimate on the Reed Lake project is expected by the end of March 2011.
The latest news release regarding the Reed Lake project was - VMS Reports 37.10 Metres of 5.60% Copper From In-Fill Hole RLD024 at Reed Lake Joint Venture 02/23/2011
Infill drilling is continuing using two drills on the Reed Lake deposit with cut-off for the initial resource estimate being the third week of February.
"We are pleased with the latest results for the upper lenses (Zones 20 and 30) that confirm the extent of mineralization and provide us with definition required to complete a resource estimate. Geological models are being updated in preparation for a NI 43-101 technical report slated for completion in the latter part of Q1 2011." Neil Richardson, VMS Chief Operating Officer
As part of the VMS/HBM JV earn in agreement HudBay must spend at least a million dollars, before the end of July 2011, on the surrounding four option claims – which means more news.
HudBay is fast tracking Reed Lake and will be applying for an advanced exploration permit in the coming months. This permit allows for a bulk sample with the intention to be production mining in 2012.
Ahead of the Herd Special Report
Security of Supply
VMS has a 30% carried interest in the Reed Lake JV - which to a shareholder means VMS is funded through to production with payback to HudBay made from VMS’s share of production.
2011 Work Program
VMS is cashed up with $16 million in the treasury, and other than monitoring the Reed Lake JV, is focused on exploring its 100% owned properties. Exploration and drill permits have now been received for several of the Company's project areas including Morton Lake, Copper-South, Copper Extension, Puella East and Sails Lake. Permits for additional projects are anticipated in the coming weeks. A drilling contract has been awarded to Westcore Drilling of Salmo, B.C., and road building and line cutting contracts have also been signed.
This winter's drill program will test numerous potential base metal VTEM and Time Domain Electromagnetic anomalies throughout the Company's property package and is expected to continue into April, or when freeze up ends. All of these property packages are owned and operated 100% by VMS Ventures and are completely separate from the company's Reed Lake project Joint Ventures with HudBay Minerals.
Morton Lake
The Morton Lake project is located 25 km west of Snow Lake. The project boundary is within 500 m of the past producing Dickstone copper-zinc mine. Because of the geological similarity to the rocks hosting the Dickstone deposit, targets in the northwest portion of this property are a priority for drilling this season.
The geological rock unit that hosts the Dickstone mineralization has been mapped on the VMS Morton Lake property and a 1.5 - 2 km segment will be surveyed using DeepEM ground geophysics. Both the line-cutting and geophysical surveying contracts have been awarded and work is on-going.
The DeepEM system being employed is capable of detecting massive sulphide bodies to depths well below the depth of an airborne survey, up to 800 m below surface. HudBay Minerals used it to help discover its Lalor Lake deposit in 2007, approximately 20 km to the west of the VMS Morton Lake property.
Targets generated from the DeepEM survey, along with airborne geophysical anomalies already identified elsewhere on the property, will be drilled this winter.
Sails Lake Update
On January 11th 2011, the Company announced a gold discovery at its Sails Lake project featuring an intercept of 56.89 m (186.65 feet) grading 1.21 grams/tonne gold starting within 40 meters of surface.
A follow-up program of new line-cutting, Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical surveys, and Mobile Metal Ion geochemical soil sampling will commence in February, with outcrop washing, detailed geological mapping and prospecting for additional outcropping mineralization to follow in the spring. Drill core samples of the gold mineralization from hole SA-10-007 have been taken for petrographic and lithogeochemical study to determine the mineralogical siting to the gold. Understanding the host lithology will assist Company geologists in planning the next drill program.
Copper Project (Includes Copper North, Copper South and Copper Extension Properties)
The Copper project covers 185 sq. km of prospective geology in the Flin Flon Snow Lake greenstone belt of Manitoba. The property is located approximately 45 km south of the mining community of Snow Lake, Manitoba where HudBay Minerals operates the Chisel North zinc-copper-gold-silver mine.
Work permits for the Copper Project have now been received and drill road construction is underway. Several hundred discrete geophysical anomalies were detected in VTEM airborne geophysical surveys commissioned by the Company. Four priority drill targets have been selected for this program based on the Company's extensive geological-geophysical-geochemical database for the property. The four targeted VTEM anomalies have been Maxwell modeled by Condor Consulting of Boulder, Colorado.
Several volcanogenic massive sulphide-type deposits have been discovered on or adjacent to the Company's property package and the same host rocks to the deposits are covered by Company claims or Mineral Exploration Licenses.
The Copper Project area is covered by a relatively thin layer (25 - 40 m) of younger Paleozoic rock. VMS believes many deposits remain to be discovered in the greenstone belt that underlies the Paleozoic cover that has impeded historic exploration efforts.
Advances in exploration technology including increased depth penetration of geophysical and geochemical survey techniques combined with compilation of historical data sets provide exploration geologists a new opportunity to discover new mines in this area of an under-explored world class belt. The copper-zinc-gold-silver deposit discovered at Reed Lake by VMS Ventures in 2007, demonstrates the prospectivity of the "covered" areas of the Flin Flon-Snow Lake belt.
Upon completion of winter drill roads, diamond drilling equipment will be mobilized onto collar locations and testing of targets will commence.
McClarty Lake (Includes McClarty South, McClarty North & Farwell Properties)
The Company's McClarty Lake project covers an area in excess of 300 sq. km of geology prospective for hosting Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide copper-zinc-gold-silver deposits like that discovered on the Company's Reed Lake property in 2007. The property is located 45 km to the southwest of Snow Lake, Manitoba.
The McClarty Lake land package surrounds a base and precious metal discovery made in the mid 1990's which is now being explored by Troymet Exploration Corp. (TSX: V.TYE, Stock Forum), and HudBay Minerals. Drill intercepts from the property reported by Troymet Exploration Corp., include 4 meters grading 4.17 g/t gold in drill hole DYC-016 and 15.30 meters grading 3.46% zinc in drill hole MC08-08.
Significant drilling activity on the 5 claims in the area being explored by Troymet and HudBay Minerals, which cover an area of approximately 6 sq. km, is expected at these properties during the upcoming drill season. VMS will assess the results of this program, and develop targets on its adjacent claims that occur along strike of the Troymet-HudBay mineralized horizon. Drilling permits for the Company's properties are pending.
Other Properties:
Exploration and drill permits are pending for the Leak Lake, 9-7, and Reed properties. Drill collar locations will be based on Maxwell modeled VTEM anomalies with significant Mobile Metal Ion geochemical signatures. Additional information regarding drill targets on these properties will be released upon receipt of work permits.
Conclusion
VMS Ventures has ambitious exploration plans on their extremely prospective 100% owned property package for 2011 - shareholders are going to get the opportunity to participate in what has to be one of the largest exploration programs, in Canada, for 2011.
Remember, it’s all being managed by the same team that drilled the original Reed Lake Discovery Hole.
Highly advanced greenfields exploration using all the latest technical innovations in what is a highly prospective for discovery land package. VMS has a management team committed to building shareholder value by modern exploration methods and the use of the drill bit. All back-stopped by a carried 30% interest in Reed Lake, a deposit that their JV partner needs in production sooner rather than later.
VMS Ventures is well positioned to become a major player in one of the world’s greatest mining camps. Are VMS’s 2011 exploration and drill programs on your radar screen?
If not, maybe they should be.
Richard (Rick) Mills
Disclosure: Richard Mills does not own shares of VMS Ventures.
VMS Ventures is an advertiser on Richard’s website