VMS Ventures Inc announced an update on permits at the Reed Copper deposit. The Reed Copper deposit is located 120 kilometers from Flin Flon, Manitoba and is the subject of JV with HudBay Minerals CA:HBM +0.75% HBM +0.01%. VMS owns 30% of the Reed JV.

The Manitoba government has approved the Reed Copper Advanced Exploration Permit closure plan and issued the lease of park land property for the operation of the mine development activities. The AEP allows the extraction of 10,000 tonne bulk sample and will provide confirmation of the mineralized widths, metal grades and the conditions of the ground. Testing of the extracted bulk sample will be done in the Flin Flon metallurgical complex. Site preparation will begin in Q1 and the decline will commence in the second half of 2012.

Mr Rick Mark CEO of VMS said that "Now that the AEP has been approved, HudBay will commence site preparation for the removal of 10,000 tonne bulk sample by late 2013. For VMS shareholders, this is an important milestone in developing the Reed Mine and bringing us ever closer to full production at Reed."