Several months after the site entered production, probable ore reserves at Reed mine went down by half.
A news release from VMS Ventures, which owns 30 per cent of the mine, put probable reserves at Reed at 1.076 million tonnes (4.01 per cent copper) as of January 1, 2015.
That was down from probable reserves of 2.121 million tonnes (3.80 per cent copper) on January 1, 2014.
As of January 1, 2015, the mine still had 488,000 proven tonnes grading 3.33 per cent copper.
Work will attempt to lengthen the projected five-year lifespan of Reed, operated by majority owner Hudbay.
Neil Richardson, chief operating officer for VMS, said the mine has seen steady production with copper grades expected to improve as work progresses.
Reed commenced commercial production in April 2014 and achieved full production in the second quarter of 2014.
Meanwhile, VMS has entered into letters of intent to acquire the Assean Lake gold claims 125 km northeast of Thompson.
The letters are with NGEx Resources and Harvest Gold Corp., which together own the claims.
Closing of the acquisition remains subject to the execution of definitive agreements and the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Note: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of information supplied by VMS.
