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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 29, 2014) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (TSX:NI) today announced that the first shipment of 900 tons of washed, concentrated sand from the transload terminal in Winona, WI for drying, screening and sale from the Company's new Seven Persons frac sand dry plant (the "7P Plant") near Medicine Hat, AB has now taken place.



"This first movement of premium-quality Jordan Formation sand concentrate to our 7P Plant for drying and screening is a tremendous milestone for Victory Nickel and Victory Silica," said Ken Murdock, Victory Silica's CEO. "Construction of our 500,000 ton per year frac sand dry plant is approaching completion; required mobile equipment has been acquired and is ready at our plant and rail siding; and all the necessary supply and transport agreements are in place. All costs other than plant operating costs are fixed under contract and we look forward to commissioning our new plant and making that first sale of high-quality frac sand very shortly."


"Ken and his crew did an outstanding job dealing with difficult situations to complete the construction of a modern facility which has a capacity of 500,000 tons of frac sand," said Rene Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Victory Nickel. "Design changes during construction to increase availability and therefore production capacity delayed the project somewhat but it will be worth it in the very near term."



About Frac Sand



Frac sand is a proppant used in the oil and gas business as a part of the hydraulic fracturing process - a means of increasing flow to the wellhead. Frac sand must have particular characteristics including achieving certain levels of crush resistance, sphericity and roundness, and it is therefore a relatively rare commodity. Vast quantities of frac sand are consumed, and more is needed all the time, as shale gas and oil plays in Canada and the US rise to prominence.



About Victory Silica Ltd.



Victory Silica is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and is charged with a phased plan to establish the Company in the frac sand market. In Phase 1, the Company plans to begin sales in 2014 of premium quality Midwestern White frac sand from the 7P Plant in Seven Persons, Alberta near Medicine Hat by shipping partially-processed sand purchased in Wisconsin to the 7P Plant for final processing and distribution. The 7P Plant is well located in an area populated with fracking companies, its potential customers, and is within only a few hours' trucking distance of major oil play well sites. Phase 2, which includes the construction of a concentrator in Wisconsin, will reduce costs and assure security of sand supply through the control of a frac sand mine in Wisconsin. In Phase 3, Victory Silica has identified a site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it plans to build a larger frac sand plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sands, including sand mined as a co-product of development of a nickel mine at the Company's 100%-owned Minago project in Manitoba. With margins expected to be in excess of $25 per ton of frac sand sold, the Company should generate sufficient cash flow in Phases 1 and 2 to provide the financial flexibility to expand its activities by developing a second plant as Phase 3 of its growth plan.



About Victory Nickel



Victory Nickel Inc. is a Canadian company with four sulphide nickel deposits containing significant NI 43-101-compliant nickel resources. Victory Nickel is focused on becoming a mid-tier nickel producer by developing its existing properties, Minago, Mel and Lynn Lake in Manitoba, and Lac Rocher in northwestern Quebec, and by evaluating opportunities to expand its nickel asset base. Through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Victory Silica Ltd., Victory Nickel is establishing a presence in the frac sand market prior to commencing frac sand production and sales from Minago.





Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historic fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic return; the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from estimates and assumptions; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; failure to establish estimated mineral resources; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; inflation; recoveries being less than those indicated by the testwork carried out to date (there can be no assurance that recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in large tests under on-site conditions or during production); changes in equity markets; operating performance of facilities; environmental and safety risks; delays in obtaining or failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; unavailability of plant, equipment or labour; inability to retain key management and personnel; changes to regulations or policies affecting the Company's activities; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated March 28, 2013 filed on SEDAR at >www.victorynickel.ca


Victory Silica Ltd.
Ken Murdock
403.899.0141


CHF Investor Relations
Cathy Hume
416.868.1079
416.868.6198 (FAX)
cathy@chfir.com