Royal Nickel Buys Into 2 Producing Mines


Royal Nickel will add VMS Ventures’ 30% interest in the Reed copper mine, pictured here, to its assets
in an acquisition deal valued at approximately C$11.4 million. (Photo: VMS Ventures)
Royal Nickel agreed in early February to acquire a 100% interest in VMS Ventures in Canada and a 67% interest in Salt Lake Mining in Australia in separate cash-andshares transactions. Prior to the acquisitions, Royal Nickel’s primary asset was its advanced-stage, open-pit Dumont nickel development project in western Quebec.

VMS Ventures is a public company whose main asset is a 30% interest in the Reed copper mine in the Flin Flon/Snow Lake greenstone belt in central Manitoba. Hudbay Minerals owns the other 70% and is the mine operator. Royal Nickel is estimating that its 30% share of Reed production in 2016 will total 4,000 to 4,500 mt of copper and 500 to 750 oz of gold in concentrates. Royal Nickel’s acquisition values VMS at about C$11.4 million. Salt Lake Mining is a private company whose main asset is its 100% interest in the Beta Hunt mine, a low-cost nickel and gold producer in the Kambalda mining district in Western Australia. Production during 2016 on a 100% basis is forecast at 3,500 to 4,500 mt of nickel in concentrate and 35,000 to 45,000 oz of gold. Royal Nickel’s acquisition values its 67% share of the company at about C$7.7 million.

Royal Nickel will continue to consider its options for development of the Dumont nickel project, which are currently constrained by the limited availability of mine financing.

As featured in Womp 2016 Vol 03 - www.womp-int.com