VMS VENTURES ENTERS INTO LETTER OF INTENT WITH
HUDBAY MINERALS TO DEVELOP ITS REED LAKE DISCOVERY AND REED LAKE PROPERTIES
March 4, 2010
Vancouver, B.C., March 4, 2010. VMS Ventures
Inc. (TSX-V: VMS) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered
into a non-binding Letter of Intent with a subsidiary of
HudBay Minerals Inc.
(TSX: HBM) (“HudBay”) respecting VMS’ Reed Lake Discovery Zone, the copper-rich
Reed Lake property claims optioned from HudBay, the two southern claims
adjoining the Reed Lake property and certain exploration properties adjacent to
the Reed Lake property, that are 100% held by VMS. These Reed Lake properties
are all located in Manitoba’s Snow Lake - Flin Flon Greenstone belt.
The Letter of Intent contemplates that the
parties will enter into a definitive Joint Venture Agreement respecting the two
Reed Lake property claims and the two claims immediately south of the Reed Lake
property. HudBay will have a 70% interest in the Joint Venture and VMS will have
a 30% interest. Upon execution of the definitive Joint Venture Agreement, HudBay
will make certain cash payments to VMS in satisfaction of its obligation to earn
back in to the property and as consideration for VMS transferring the southern
claims to the Joint Venture. In turn, VMS agrees to abandon all disputes
respecting the location of the boundary between the Reed Lake property and the
southern claims.
Under the Joint Venture, HudBay will act as
operator with primary authority and discretion as to the exploration and
potential development of the Reed Lake property and will have exclusive rights
to purchase and market the ore produced from the new Joint Venture. HudBay will
provide full financing for VMS’s proportionate share of the costs to develop the
property, which will be repayable solely from VMS’ share of cash flow generated
by the project.
The Letter of Intent also provides that,
concurrently with the entering into of the Joint Venture Agreement, VMS and
HudBay will enter into an Option Agreement that grants HudBay the option to earn
a 70% interest in four adjacent properties held by VMS, including the Tower Zone
and Super Zone properties. Upon making certain cash payments and meeting work
commitments over two to three years with respect to each property, HudBay will
earn a 70% interest in the applicable property resulting in a new Joint Venture
between VMS and HudBay on substantially the same terms as the Reed Lake Joint
Venture. Any failure to make the required cash payments and work commitments
with respect to a particular property will result in such property reverting to
100% ownership by VMS, but will not affect HudBay’s option over the other
properties.
Rick Mark, CEO and Chair of VMS Ventures states:
“We are very pleased to enter into this Letter of Intent with HudBay Minerals.
We believe HudBay is our best partner to develop the Reed Lake deposit quickly
and profitably. We look forward to assisting HudBay in resuming drilling at the
Reed Lake deposit and aggressively exploring and developing the Joint Venture
claims. We welcome their commitment to explore for more deposits in the Super
Zone and the other properties surrounding the Reed Lake Joint Venture claims.”
The establishment of the
joint venture and option arrangements is contingent on the parties reaching
mutually satisfactory definitive agreements and on receiving all necessary
corporate and third party approvals. HudBay and VMS anticipate that definitive
agreements will be completed by May 31, 2010.
About VMS Ventures Inc.
VMS Ventures Inc. is focused primarily on
acquiring, exploring and developing copper-zinc properties in the Flin Flon-Snow
Lake VMS Belt. The Company also holds the largest land package considered
prospective for nickel-copper mineralization at Lynn Lake, which is to date
Canada’s third largest nickel producing camp. The Company’s project portfolio
consists of the Snow Lake VMS project, the Nickel Belt project and the South Bay
nickel-copper-cobalt PGE property.
About HudBay Minerals Inc.
HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) is a
Canadian integrated mining company with assets in North and Central America
principally focused on the discovery, production and marketing of base metals.
The company's objective is to maximize shareholder value through efficient
operations, organic growth and accretive acquisitions, while maintaining its
financial strength. A member of the S&P/TSX Composite Index and the S&P/TSX
Global Mining Index, HudBay is committed to high standards of corporate
governance and sustainability.
All VMS Ventures Inc.
properties are located in the mining friendly province of Manitoba, Canada.
VMS Ventures Inc. currently has
a profile on Corebox.net which is updated as soon as assay results are released.
The link to visit our Corebox profile is:
http://www.corebox.net/properties/reed_lake/.
Investors are invited to visit
the VMS Ventures IR Hub at http://www.agoracom.com/IR/VMSVentures
where they can post questions and receive answers or review questions and
answers already posted by other investors. Alternatively, investors are able to
e-mail all questions and correspondence to
VMS@agoracom.com where
they can also request to be added to the investor e-mail list to receive all
future press releases and updates in real time.
This news
release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is
not limited to, terms of joint venture and option arrangements and the ability
to complete and execute definitive agreements. Generally, forward-looking
information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled",
"estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or
"believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken",
"occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the opinions
and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on
a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and
other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially
from those projected in the forward-looking information. Many of these
assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of
VMS and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.
Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward looking
statements.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Roozendaal B.Sc.
President & Director
For further information contact:
|
Keith Patey,
Director of Communications
Telephone: (604) 986-2020
Toll Free: 1-866-816-0118 |
Dale Paruk
Coal Harbor Communications
Telephone: (604) 662-4505
Toll Free: 1-877-345-3399 |
The TSX Venture exchange does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
|