News Stories & Press Releases

MTS Allstream Inc. is pleased to announce an expansion of its CDMA wireless network bringing coverage to eight new rural Manitoba communities in 2010, including the port of Churchill in northern Manitoba.  

"We are excited to expand our mobile wireless services to new areas of our home province," said Kelvin Shepherd, President, MTS. "Our wireless network already provides the widest coverage available in Manitoba, with over 97% of the province's population enjoying cellular coverage. Expanding to eight more communities, including Churchill, is part of our commitment as Manitoba's leading wireless service provider to continue to invest in our network and services."

"Wireless communications are a great enabler, and this announcement is great news for the First Nations communities who will receive wireless coverage," said Ron Evans, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. "I want to thank MTS for making this investment and helping to connect even more Manitobans with advanced services."  

New wireless coverage will be provided to approximately 11,000 people in the following Manitoba communities: Churchill, Split Lake, Oxford House, Snow Lake, Bisset, Middlebro, Ebb and Flow and Fisher River.  Read more...

February 17, 2010 - TORONTO, ONTARIO - ALEXIS MINERALS CORPORATION (AMC: TSX) ("Alexis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the discovery of significant gold mineralization in an on-strike extension to the Snow Lake Mine, Manitoba (formerly the New Britannia Mine). Mineralization remains open to the east and down plunge, and may represent the discovery of a major new ore zone, similar to one of two principal ore lenses which broadly characterize the Snow Lake deposit, and from which over 1.4 million ounces of gold have been historically mined. (Figure 1). Results from drilling (Table 1) include:

5.41 grams gold per tonne (g.Au/t) over 7.68 metres (m) (Hole HB10-46), including 8.49 g.Au/t over 4.36 m.;

5.35 g.Au/t over 3.02 m (Hole HB10-48);  

5.46 g.Au/t over 1.92 m (Hole HB10-49); and,

3.56 g.Au/t over 2.13 m (Hole HB10-52).                      

Alexis acquired the Snow Lake Mine property in January 2010 through the acquisition of Garson Gold Corp. Alexis has embarked on a $5.0 million surface exploration program in 2010 to expand current Resources and to test numerous gold targets across the property. Alexis’ first drill program, comprised of nine surface diamond drill holes, has tested for a near surface, on-strike extension of the known deposit, Figure 1. Hole HB10-46, the first hole, intersected 5.41 g.Au/t over 7.68 m. The new discovery area lies to the immediate east of the Snow Lake Mine, in an area 300 to 500 feet below surface and over a strike length of 700 feet, Figure 2. The area could be accessed from the 320- and 780-foot levels of the mine. Additional diamond drilling will target the strike-extension of mineralization, which remains open to the east; and, most significantly, its wide-open, down-plunge potential. No previous historical drilling has tested this area and no previous drilling has been completed down plunge, below the discovery area. Read more...

Bison Gold Exploration Inc.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 18, 2010) - Bison Gold Resources Inc. ("Bison Gold" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:BGE) is pleased to provide an update on recent exploration activities on its 100% owned Central Manitoba gold property, in the Bissett-Rice Lake district, and 100% owned Apex gold property, in the Snow Lake area of Manitoba.

...During October 2009, Bison Gold contracted a detailed airborne magnetic survey over the Apex gold property near Snow Lake. Ground surveys and drilling are anticipated on the Apex property in 2010. Read more...

Canasia Industries Corporation

Canasia Industries Corporation ("Canasia") wishes to announce that the line cutting over the primary drill targets has now commenced. The line cutting will be followed by a large Loop Time Domain EM geophysical survey on the targets areas on its Reed Lake Prospect. The survey will consist of 46 line kilometers of Time-Domain Electromagnetics at 25 meter spacing and a magnetometer survey at 25 meter spacing. The large Loop Time Domain EM developed by Crone Geophysics and Exploration Ltd. is the same system used in 2007 by HudBay Minerals Inc. ("HudBay") to discover the Lalor Lake deposit at a depth of approximately 800 meters.

The Reed Lake Prospect consists of 55,300 contiguous acres at Reed Lake, Manitoba. The property is strategically located around the VMS Ventures Inc.'s base-metal discovery in the historic and very prolific Flin Flon mining camp, with more than 27 significant mineral deposits continuously discovered over the past 75 years. The most recent discovery is HudBay's Lalor Lake property, with 20 million tonnes of 8.8 per cent zinc. Read more...  
                 

Toronto, Ontario, January 27, 2010…Copper Reef Mining Corporation ("Company") (CZC.CNSX) is pleased to announce the commencement of a 4000m drilling program on its North Star-Gold Rock Property near Snow Lake Manitoba. The Gold Rock vein lies along a quartz veined 2 km long shear zone with the North Star deposit at the south end and the Gold Rock Vein at the north end of the shear and with very little drilling in between. Copper Reef, which has concentrated its efforts recently on the high grade Gold Rock portion of the shear, will now drill the entire shear zone off at deeper levels with two drills. The 4000 m of drilling will concentrate on the 100 and 200 m vertical levels with a few deeper holes. Drilling will also test two other parallel veins and structures where surface grab samples have indicated grades up to 0.91 oz gold/ton (31.2 g gold /t).

In addition, the Company announces it has received results for drill holes GR-09-80 to GR-09-97 from last fall’s drilling on its Gold Rock Property of which some selected better intersections are presented in the table below. Drill hole results pending for drill holes GR-09-98 to GR-09-112 are expected in February. The drilling concentrated on extending the Gold Rock gold shoots to the south. Last winter (see our Press Release dated February 24, 2009) drilling along the northern portion of the Gold Rock Vein outlined two large gold shoots of over 150 m in length, which remain open to the north. The drilling this fall extended additional gold shoots another 120 m further south along the vein outlining gold for at least 270 metres along the 340 m long vein which remains open to both the north and the south. Read more...      

February 24, 2010 CROWFLIGHT MINERALS INC. ("Crowflight" or the "Company") (TSX: CML) announced today its 2010 outlook for production from the Bucko Lake Nickel Mine ("Bucko Mine") located in the Thompson Nickel Belt near Wabowden, Manitoba.

Crowflight's production targets for 2010 from Bucko are approximately 8.6 million pounds of payable nickel based on projections of 342,000 tonnes at a 1.63% nickel grade and assuming a 78% recovery. The average operating cash costs1 for the entire year are projected to be between US$5.70 - $5.90 per pound of payable nickel (using a US:CAD exchange rate of 0.94) as a result of lower tonnages in the first half of 2010 as the mine resumes production. The average operating cash cost1 projected for the second half of the year is expected to average US$5.15 - $5.35 per pound of payable nickel when the mine is expected to be in full production.

Crowflight currently estimates capital requirements for 2010 to be approximately CAD$14 million for continued mine development, upgrading of the backfill plant and increasing the tailings pond capacity.

Further to the Bucko operational update that Crowflight provided earlier this month (see press release dated February 1, 2010), the ramp connecting surface to the 1,000' Level has been completed. The ramp connection has been designed to develop access to new areas for mining and allow for the use of large 40-tonne class trucks to haul ore directly from the stoping levels to surface. The trucking via ramp is important to allow for efficient mining cycle time as well as the continuous transport of ore to surface from a number of operating mining levels.

Crowflight's President and CEO Mark Trevisiol stated, "We are pleased to announce that production mining activities have resumed at Bucko and we are ramping up to achieve our second quarter target of 1,000 tonnes per day of ore. We anticipate that milling operations and shipments of concentrate will restart in early March as planned." Read more...
                

HudBay Minerals Inc. 

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Feb 22, 2010 (Marketwire via COMTEX News Network) -- HudBay Minerals Inc. ("HudBay", the "company") (TSX:HBM) today announced additional drill results at its 100% owned Lalor deposit near its Snow Lake concentrator in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt.

Notable results intersected in the previously disclosed Copper-Gold zone include DUB265W01, which assayed 11.70 g/t Au, 30.63 g/t Ag, 6.88% Cu, and 0.37% Zn over 6.44 meters, from 1364.32 to 1370.76 meters, and DUB246W01, which assayed 5.25 g/t Au, 15.26 g/t Ag, 3.58% Cu and 0.15% Zn over 3.35 meters, from 1210.95 to 1214.30 meters. Please refer to the map entitled "Lalor Cu-Au Zone - Plan View February 22, 2010", available on HudBay's web site and at http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/HUD0222S.pdf for drill hole intersection locations.

Hole DUB265W01 intersected the mineralization as targeted approximately 150 meters down plunge to the north from the previously disclosed DUB263W02 (the "Discovery Hole") (13.35 g/t Au, 27.98 g/t Ag, 5.33% Cu and 0.35% Zn over 34.54 meters from 1253.08 to 1287.62 meters). This intersection confirms the Copper-Gold zone remains open down plunge to the north. In addition, a recent Crone Borehole Pulse electromagnetic (BHPEM) survey on hole DUB189 suggests the Copper-Gold zone remains open down plunge to the west. The results of this BHPEM survey are consistent with the results of a recent Geotech Z Axis Tipper Electromagnetic system (ZTEM) helicopter survey of the Lalor area suggesting the areas to the north and west of the Copper-Gold zone are geophysically anomalous.

Drill hole DUB246W01 intersected the mineralization as targeted approximately 90 meters up plunge from the Discovery Hole.

"These results are very encouraging and indicate that the Copper-Gold zone remains open down plunge to the north and west," said W. Warren Holmes, HudBay's executive vice chairman and interim chief executive officer. "Our exploration program will continue this year with additional drilling from surface with the intention of further defining the Copper-Gold zone."

HudBay also has received assays for several drill holes confirming the continuity of the gold mineralization and the presence of high grade lenses in the Gold zone. Notable results include DUB226W06, which assayed 11.07 g/t Au, 21.70 g/t Ag, 0.46% Cu and 0.09% Zn over 24.43 meters, from 877.57 to 902.00 meters and DUB226W07 which assayed 29.65 g/t Au, 42.97 g/t Ag, 0.43% Cu, and 0.05% Zn over 18.38 meters, from 884.22 to 902.60 meters.

"The results to date from in-fill drilling on the Gold zone are better than expected, confirming the continuity of gold mineralization and the potential of high grade gold. Development of the Lalor project continues with significant progress made to date on the ramp access from Chisel North, which will allow for early zinc production and provide an advanced underground exploration platform. We are also drilling a geotechnical pilot hole for a proposed shaft location and continuing work on our pre-feasibility study," added Mr. Holmes.

HudBay continues to explore the Copper-Gold zone with two drills. In addition, one drill continues to confirm the continuity between intersections in the Gold zone, and another drill is testing targets peripheral to the Lalor deposit. HudBay's board of directors has approved total exploration expenditures of $41.7 million in 2010, of which approximately $6.8 million will be dedicated to the Chisel Basin, where the Lalor deposit is located. Read more...
                       

International Samuel Exploration Corp.

January 12, 2010: Vancouver, British Columbia: International Samuel Corp. (ISS: TSX-V) ("Company") and  joint-venture partner Canasia Industries Corporation have outlined the winter exploration program for the Reed Lake Project in Manitoba.  

The company is planning to commence a large Loop Time Domain EM geophysical survey on three targets areas on its Reed Lake Project.  The survey will consist of 46 line kilometres of Time-Domain Electromagnetics at 25 metre spacing and a magnetometer survey at 25 metre spacing.

The large Loop Time Domain EM developed by Crone Geophysics is the same system used in 2007 by HudBay Minerals to discover the Lalor Lake deposit at a depth of approximately 800 metres. Read more...                    

Jiminex Inc.    

February 25, 2010 – Pass Lake, Ontario - James R. B. Parres, President & CEO of Jiminex Inc. is pleased to report that Geotech Ltd. has finished flying the Mega Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic ( Mega VTEM35) and high sensitivity cesium magnetic state-of-the-art airborne geophysical survey system over the Parres and Parres Two properties. The Company also added 7.4 square km to the Parres Two Property. A total of 806 km of survey line were flown with resulting maps expected within a week. Jiminex will be engaging the services of a consulting geophysicist, with Snow Lake and VTEM experience, to pick and prioritize the anomalies detected by the survey as soon as possible. Rodren Drilling Ltd., West St. Paul, Manitoba has been contracted to diamond drill the Mega VTEM35 anomalies, the drilling anticipated to begin early in the second quarter.      

The Mega VTEM35 airborne geophysical system can detect conductive geological zones such as copper-zinc sulfide mineralized rock to depths of 500 to 600 metres, or even deeper depending on the geological characteristics of the survey region. The accurate positioning of anomalies detected by this system means that, if the Mega VTEM35 anomalies are well-defined, ground follow-up line cutting and geophysical surveys are not required. This will result in substantial exploration cost savings. Using a geographic positioning system (GPS), drilling can proceed directly using the survey anomaly GPS co-ordinates to accurately locate the Mega VTEM35 targets zones and the required diamond drill hole locations on the ground. Read more...

Murgor Resources Inc.

KINGSTON, ON, Feb. 9 /CNW Telbec/ - Murgor Resources Inc. (MGR: TSX-V) announces the start of a drilling program at its 100% owned Wim Extension copper-gold property in Snow-Lake Manitoba.

Murgor is starting a 1,750 meter drilling program this week at the Wim Extension property to test a minimum of five high-priority VTEM targets outlined in 2008 and 2009 (VTEM is a helicopter-borne, high resolution, electromagnetic geophysical survey). All targets consist of good conductors, locally coincident with magnetic highs and occurring at depths below historical geophysical coverage. None of the targets have ever been drill-tested. Two of the anomalies occur on the mineralized horizon which hosts the Wim copper-gold deposit (also 100% Murgor owned).

These are very intriguing geophysical anomalies occurring in a highly prospective geological environment. All targets show characteristics equal or better than the anomaly coinciding with the Wim deposit. We are looking forward to seeing the drill core, said André C. Tessier, President and CEO of Murgor Resources.

About the Wim Extension Property:

 Murgor acquired a 100% interest in the Wim Extension property through staking in 2007-2009. The property consists of 15 claims covering a total of 24.6 square kilometers. The Wim Extension property surrounds the Wim Deposit Property where Murgor also owns a 100% interest and HudBay Minerals owns a right of buyback of up to 65%. Both properties are located only 16 kilometers north of the Town of Snow Lake Manitoba where HudBay owns an operating mill that will be upgraded to treat the mineralization from the Lalor Lake Mine. The close proximity of the Wim deposit to existing infrastructure, combined with the shallow depth of the mineralization would allow for a quick development of the project with minimal capital expenditure and environmental footprint.

In the past three years, Murgor increased the tonnage at Wim by a factor of 130% including a 60% increase in the contained copper and a 170% increase in the contained ounces of gold (based on a 2.0% copper equivalent cut-off grade). Furthermore more than 85% of the mineral resource has been upgraded to the Indicated category.

Metallurgical testing of the mineralization at the Wim deposit, showed that copper recoveries of 92% are achieved, producing a final high-grade copper concentrate averaging 32.6% copper. Read more...
                        

Rockcliff Resources Inc.      

February 23, 2010 Toronto, Ontario. Rockcliff Resources Inc. (RCR: TSXV) is pleased to announce that it has acquired through staking and property acquisition, two additional 100% owned VMS properties. Both properties form part of Rockcliff’s Snow Lake Project located in central Manitoba. The first property adjoins Rockcliff’s Rail Property north of where continued drilling has intersected high grade, copper-gold mineralization associated with the north trending Rail Zone. The new "Rail North" Property is strategically located approximately 2.5km north of the Rail Zone. The second property adjoins Rockcliff’s Red VMS Property and is located approximately 1km west of the former producing Spruce Point VMS Mine. The Red Property hosts numerous VMS targets with copper-gold potential. Both properties host juvenile arc assemblage rocks, the same rock assemblage that hosts all of the VMS mines in the Flin Flon and Snow Lake mining camps.    
      

The Rail North Property was acquired through staking. The property is located along strike and north of the north-trending Rail Zone and is considered a strategic addition to Rockcliff’s Snow Lake Project. The property is located approximately 2.5km north of Rockcliff’s recent drilling on the Rail Zone which intersected high grade copper–gold mineralization including 4.74m grading 9.02% copper, 3.46g/t gold, 1.62% zinc and 36.5g/t silver and 3.62m grading 5.05% copper, 1.76g/t gold, 2.77% zinc and 19.4g/t silver.

To earn its interest in the Red Property, Rockcliff must maintain the property in good standing and issue 100,000 Rockcliff shares over four years. The vendor will retain a 2% NSR of which Rockcliff can buy half for $500,000 and will have the right of first refusal on the remaining half. The Red Property is strategically located along the same favourable VMS trend that hosts the Lon, Rail and Reed Deposits and the former producing Spruce Point Mine. The Red Property is located approximately 1km west of the Spruce Point Mine and contains multiple VMS targets. One of these, a 500m long geophysical target, was tested with a single historic hole that intersected two zones hosted in strongly altered, sericite-cordierite-chlorite (VMS alteration) rhyolites with 1 to 10% chalcopyrite (copper-bearing) mineralization. One of the zones averaged 0.58% copper, 0.13g/t gold across 6.0m, including a narrow stringer grading 2.19% copper over 0.1m. This transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Rockcliff is also pleased to announce that a second drill rig has been mobilized and will begin drilling shortly on the Reed Lake Property located southwest of Snow Lake. Drilling will focus on a series of deep, off-hole anomalies located in last winter’s drill program. Borehole geophysics (BHPEM) outlined four off-hole anomalies at vertical depths of 500m, 750m, 880m, and 930m. The anomalies are hosted in juvenile arc rocks and are indicative of multiple, stacked, highly conductive lenses with conductivities typical of massive sulphide mineralization. Additional properties are planned to be drilled in this winter program. Read more...

Tribune Uranium Corp.

On May 30, 2008 Tribune Uranium reported assay results from the remaining 11 holes 
at its Reed Lake Project, located southwest of Snow Lake, Manitoba.  The Company 
drilled a total of 3,050 meters in 13 holes to test the Quartz Claims, adjacent to the 
recent copper-gold discovery by VMS Ventures Inc.

The 2008 winter drill program identified multiple sections of gold bearing mineralization 
within rhyolite tuffs as well as other gold bearing structures. These structures have now 
been tested over 200 meters of strike length and 300 meters of dip extent. Company 
geologists have yet to determine the true width of the mineralized structures. Read more...

Troymet Exploration Corp.

February 23, 2010 - Troymet Exploration Corp. (TSXV:TYE) ("Troymet" or the "Company") is pleased to report preliminary results from a pulse electromagnetic (PEM) survey recently completed on the Company's 100% owned claims on the McClarty Lake Project. The McClarty Lake property is located near Snow Lake, Manitoba and lies ~45 km south of HudBay Minerals' (TSX: HBM) Chisel Lake and Lalor Lake volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits.

The property comprises three claims (344 hectares) owned 100% by Troymet and two claims (252 hectares) owned 60% by Troymet and 40% by Hudson Bay Exploration and Development (HudBay) ("option claims").

Troymet identified a gold-bearing VMS system, the Discovery zone, on the option claims, in 2007. HudBay is currently earning an additional 20% interest in the option claims by spending $750,000 on exploration by June 5, 2011. The Company anticipates that HudBay will complete its earn in ahead of schedule by conducting a 2010 winter diamond drilling program on the Discovery zone.

On the 100% owned MAC 3 claim, Troymet has identified a strong conductive response on the southwest edge of the newly established grid. A 400-metre x 1000-metre extension of the grid and survey coverage has been recommended by the Company's geophysical contractor, Crone Geophysics of Mississauga, Ontario.

Completion of the grid extension and additional surveying is expected by the end of February, allowing for a follow-up diamond drilling program to commence in early March. Read more... 
                   

Victory Nickel's Minago Development

Toronto, December 14, 2009 – Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (TSX:NI,
www.victorynickel.ca), today released the results of the Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) on the
100%-owned Minago sulphide nickel deposit in Manitoba. The DFS confirms that the
development of an open pit mine and concentrator at Minago is technically and commercially
feasible. The base case pricing uses three-year trailing averages for metal prices and the US:
Canadian dollar exchange rate in accordance with the recommended practice of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission Industry Guide 7. The DFS is based on mining open pit
reserves only and does not incorporate the potential for underground mining that was included
in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) completed by Wardrop, A Tetra Tech Company
(“Wardrop”) in November 2006. 
The DFS will be posted at www.sedar.com upon receipt of the final document from Wardrop. Read more...

Vancouver, B.C., March 8, 2010. VMS Ventures Inc. (TSX-V: VMS) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that  a high definition, deep penetrating VTEM airborne survey over three of its exploration properties in the Snow Lake portion of the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt of Manitoba is now underway. The survey is being contracted by Geotech Ltd. of Aurora, Ontario. The survey will complete the surveying of most of the properties held by the Company in the Snow Lake area that are prospective for the copper-zinc-gold-silver massive sulphide type deposits mined in the region.  The survey is designed to fly 2,478 line km and cover an area of approximately 230 square kilometers (89 square miles).

The VTEM survey gathers data from the underlying rock with respect to their conductivity and magnetic properties. The Cu-Zn-Au-Ag deposits mined in this area are characterized by strongly conductive geophysical signatures, often accompanied by an associated magnetic signature. The survey detects highly conductive and magnetic rock bodies such as base metal massive sulphide deposits to greater depths than the previous generation of airborne systems. This is particularly useful for the discovery of buried or hidden massive sulphide deposits in this area of Snow Lake Mining Camp, where Paleozoic-aged dolomite covers the prospective greenstone belt.

The Company's 2007 discovery of a high-grade copper-rich massive sulphide deposit at the Reed Lake property in the Snow Lake belt was a result of drilling a strongly conductive and magnetic VTEM airborne target (See the press release dated October 4, 2007 entitled “10.50 Metres of 11.19% Copper Within 43.05 Metres of 4.38% Copper in Drill Hole 2” linked here http://www.vmsventures.com/newsroom/NRG107.asp )

The Company uses the airborne survey as an early data baseline for its large property packages in Manitoba. The geophysical anomalies generated by these surveys, which can number in the hundreds are then typically reduced to priority target areas through a follow-up reconnaissance Mobile Metal Ion (MMI) soil geochemical surveys under the direction of Dr. Mark Fedikow VP Exploration and Technical Services for VMS Ventures Inc. Read more...  

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. Read more...