The Reed Copper Project, located in northern Manitoba within the Grass River Provincial Park, is a greenfield underground copper mining project currently under construction. The $72 million capex project is a joint venture between Hudbay (70% - operator) and VMS Ventures (30%). The Reed mine will be a ramp access mine to three steeply dipping ore zones with a reserve of 2.16 million tonnes at 3.83% copper. Construction started on March 14, 2012, and by October 12, 2012 the first underground round was taken. Several challenges were encountered, such as, environmental scrutiny due to its location in a provincial park, ground water, and poor ground conditions. Despite these challenges, the first ore was brought to surface in July 2013, and it is expected that commercial production will start the second quarter of 2014.
