Jan 31 2011
VMS Ventures Inc. (TSX VENTURE:VMS) has announced the latest drill and assay results from the in-fill diamond drill program at the Reed Lake deposit, near Snow Lake, Manitoba, Canada.
These latest results are from holes RDL016 to RDL022 inclusive which, were designed to test the continuity and lateral extent of the zinc–copper rich lens (zone 30) which extends vertically near to surface.
Drill highlights include:
RDL020 reporting 32.28 metres grading 3.41% copper – 1.33% zinc – 2.1 g/t gold – 22.03 g/t silver
RDL021 reporting 28.05 metres grading 4.85% copper – 1.75% zinc – 2.35 g/t gold – 25.69 g/t silver
RDL022 reporting 8.90 metres grading 3.95% copper – 4.14% zinc – 1.92 g/t gold – 25.78 g/t silver
These results are part of the first phase of drilling at the Reed Lake project under a joint venture agreement formed between VMS and HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM)(NYSE:HBM) ("HudBay"). The Reed Lake deposit is a base metal, polymetallic, massive sulphide-type deposit and is located approximately 100 kilometers from HudBay's concentrator in Flin Flon, Manitoba. The program is proceeding on schedule with 30 holes now completed.
Two drills are currently operating at the Reed Lake Joint Venture site focusing on completing in-fill drilling on the copper rich lens (zone 10) and defining the mineralization up-plunge from the step out hole RLD015 announced December 10th, 2010. Drill hole RLD015, was a significant first step-out from the deposit which intersected massive sulphide mineralization 214 metres down plunge of the deposit, the current drill program at Reed Lake is expected to provide the data necessary for defining the deposit in preparation for a National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate, which is scheduled for completion by March 31, 2011.
Neil Richardson, VMS' Chief Operating Officer states: "These results for the upper zinc–copper-rich lens in zone 30 and copper–zinc rich lens in zone 20 are consistent with our working deposit model and provide us the definition required to complete an initial resource estimate. Copper and zinc metal zonation and significant precious metal credits are common characteristics of massive sulphide-type deposits in the Snow Lake camp."
On July 6, 2010 VMS and HudBay announced that they had entered into a joint venture agreement pursuant to which HudBay has a 70% interest and VMS has a 30% interest in the Reed Lake property and the two claims immediately to the south. The parties have also entered into four option agreements which grant HudBay the right to earn a 70% joint venture interest in properties held by VMS adjacent to the Reed Lake property.
Qualified Person
All technical information in this release has been reviewed by Dr. Mark Fedikow, P.Geo, who is the Qualified Person for the Company and Vice President of Exploration and Technical Services, VMS Ventures Inc.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Exploration core drilling was NQ size. The core was logged and mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and assaying by geologists and geotechnicians employed by HudBay's Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Company Limited (HBED) subsidiary. The marked intersections or intervals were sawn in half by a diamond saw and one half of the core was placed in plastic bags and tagged with unique sample numbers, while the second half was returned to the core box and stored. Each bagged core sample was transported to HudBay's Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited (HBMS) subsidiary's assay laboratory in Flin Flon, Manitoba where it was dried, crushed and pulverized and a 250-gram sample was prepared for assaying at Acme Analytical Laboratories Ltd., an independent company in Vancouver, B.C., or the HBMS assay laboratory. From each 250 gram sample 0.25 grams was removed and leached in aqua regia and analyzed by ICP-AES for Ag, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Ni and Fe. Also from the 250 gram sample, 30 grams was removed for gold determination by fire assaying with an ICP-AES or gravimetric finish at the Acme laboratory or an Atomic Absorption or gravimetric finish at the HBMS laboratory.
Assaying integrity is monitored internally with a quality control program, which includes the use of assay sample standards, blanks, duplicates and repeats and externally through national and international programs. In addition, within each group of 20 core samples, one core sample has a second 250 gram split collected that was check assayed at a different laboratory, either the HBMS laboratory in Flin Flon or at the Acme laboratory in Vancouver, B.C. This news release provides core lengths and estimates of vertical thickness only. True widths are not provided. Where metal assays are provided for intersections they are either a single assay of a sample of the entire intersection length or a composite of assays calculated from interval weighted assays over the intersection length.