- Monarch produced 3,572 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter, up 169% from the third quarter and down 24% from the 4,695 ounces produced last year.
- The increase was attributable to a rise in the production rate at the Camflo mill and the Beaufor mine combined with a higher grade of ore.
MONTREAL, July 31, 2019 – MONARCH GOLD CORPORATION (“Monarch” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: MQR) (OTCMKTS: MRQRF) (FRANKFURT: MR7) is pleased to report its production and corporate highlights for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2019. Amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Production highlights
- Monarch produced 3,572 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter, up 169% from the third quarter and down 24% from the 4,695 ounces produced last year. The increase was attributable to a rise in the production rate at the Camflo mill and the Beaufor mine combined with a higher grade of ore.
- The Corporation recorded revenues of $7.3 million in the fourth quarter from the sale of 2,666 ounces of gold at an average price of $1,764 per ounce (US $1,333) plus custom milling revenue, which was down 3.1% from the third quarter due to an increase in the tonnage milled from the Beaufor mine.
- As at June 30, 2019, the Corporation had more than 1,100 ounces of gold in inventory.
“This was a solid quarter in terms of performance, especially given that we operated with approximately one-third the workforce we had last year,” said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch. “This quarter also marks the suspension of our production activities at the Beaufor mine during the quarter, as of June 27, 2019, and at the Camflo mill on July 10, 2019. Given the current gold environment, our team is focusing on identifying new exploration targets at the Beaufor mine and preparing a drilling program on the most promising targets, while Camflo is currently undergoing maintenance work that should take place over a 90-day period.”
“Despite the fact that we have suspended our production activities, Monarch is in an excellent position to benefit from the current upward trend in gold prices. The Corporation has a large portfolio of high-quality mining assets that include two mills, six advanced gold projects with total measured and indicated resources of more than 3.1 million ounces of gold (see table at the end of this press release), a 14.2% interest in Unigold (TSXV: UGD), as well as a strong financial position. Our goal in the coming quarters will be to develop our flagship Wasamac project, which has an annual production potential of 142,000 ounces of gold over 11 years (see press release dated December 3, 2018), and to increase the value of our assets through partnerships and other transactions.”
Production statistics
Three months ended June 30, 2019 |
Three months ended June 30, 2018 |
Twelve months ended June 30, 2019 |
Twelve months ended June 30, 2018 | |
Beaufor mine | ||||
Ore processed (tonnes) | 27,648 | 30,523 | 96,212 | 98,394 |
Gold recovery (%) | 98.24 | 98.70 | 98.17 | 98.76 |
Ounces produced | 3,572 | 4,695 | 13,225 | 15,071 |
Ounces sold | 2,666 | 4,589 | 12,534 | 14,856 |
Corporate highlights
- On May 9, 2019, the Corporation acquired a block of 6.5 million shares of Unigold Inc. (TSXV: UGD) from an investor at an agreed price of $0.115 per share, for a total of $747,500, payable by the issuance of 3.25 million common shares of the Corporation at an agreed price of $0.23 each (see press release).
- On June 10, 2019, the Corporation announced that it had been awarded the 2018 F. J. O’Connell trophy in the “Underground Operations − Less than 400,000 hours worked” category for the Beaufor mine by the Québec Mining Association at its annual conference held on June 5 and 6, 2019, in Entourage sur-le-Lac, Lac Beauport, in the Quebec City area (see press release).
- On June 18, 2019, the Corporation announced the signature of binding letters of intent for the acquisition of an aggregate 100% interest in the Fayolle property from Hecla Quebec Inc., formerly known as Aurizon Mines Ltd. (NYSE: HL), and Typhoon Exploration Inc. (TSXV: TYP) (see press release).
- On June 19, 2019, the Corporation announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Louvem Mines Inc. had sold a 2% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty on certain claims of the Chimo Mine property to Cartier Resources Inc. (TSXV: ECR) in consideration of a cash payment of $350,000 (see press release).
- On July 25, 2019, the Corporation sold its portfolio of net smelter return (“NSR”) royalties on the Chimo property (owned by Chalice Gold Mines Ltd) for a cash payment of $350,000. Monarch held a portfolio of NSR royalties ranging from 0.50% to 2.50% on the Chimo property, which surrounds the Chimo Mine property.
The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Marc-André Lavergne, P.Eng., the Corporation’s qualified person under National Instrument 43‑101.
ABOUT MONARCH GOLD CORPORATION
Monarch Gold Corporation (TSX: MQR) is an emerging gold mining company focused on pursuing growth through its large portfolio of high-quality projects in the Abitibi mining camp in Quebec, Canada. The Corporation currently owns close to 300 km² of gold properties (see map), including the Wasamac deposit (measured and indicated resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold), the Croinor Gold (see video), McKenzie Break, Beaufor and Swanson advanced projects and the Camflo and Beacon mills, as well as other promising exploration projects. It also offers custom milling services out of its 1,600 tonne-per-day Camflo mill.
Forward-Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Monarch’s actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Table 1 – Monarch Gold: Measured and Indicated Resource | |||
Tonnes (metric) |
Grade (g/t Au) | Ounces | |
Wasamac property1 | |||
Measured Resources | 3.99 M | 2.52 | 323,300 |
Indicated Resources | 25.87 M | 2.72 | 2,264,500 |
Total | 29.86 M | 2.70 | 2,587,900 |
Croinor Gold mine2 | |||
Measured Resources | 80,100 | 8.44 | 21,700 |
Indicated Resources | 724,500 | 9.20 | 214,300 |
Total | 804,600 | 9.12 | 236,000 |
Swanson property3 | |||
Indicated Resources (pit constrained) | 1,694,000 | 1.80 | 98,100 |
Indicated Resources (underground) | 58,100 | 3.17 | 5,900 |
Total | 1,752,100 | 1.85 | 104,100 |
McKenzie Break property4 | |||
Indicated Resources (pit constrained) | 939,860 | 1.59 | 48,133 |
Indicated Resources (underground) | 281,739 | 5.90 | 53,448 |
Total | 1,221,599 | 2.58 | 101,581 |
Beaufor Mine5 | |||
Measured Resources | 74,400 | 6.71 | 16,100 |
Indicated Resources | 271,700 | 7.93 | 69,300 |
Total | 346,200 | 7.67 | 85,400 |
Simkar Gold property6 | |||
Measured Resources | 33,570 | 4.71 | 5,079 |
Indicated Resources | 208,470 | 5.66 | 37,905 |
Total | 242,040 | 5.52 | 42,984 |
TOTAL COMBINED Measured and Indicated Resources | 3,157,865 |
1 Source: Technical Report on the Wasamac Project, Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, Canada, Tudorel Ciuculescu, M.Sc., P.Geo., October 25, 2017, Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. |
2 Source: Monarques prefeasibility study (January 19, 2018) and resource estimate (January 8, 2016) |
3 Source: NI 43â€101 Technical Report on the Swanson Project, June 20, 2018, Christine Beausoleil, P.Geo., and Alain Carrier, P.Geo., M.Sc., of InnovExplo Inc. |
4 Source: NI 43â€101 Technical Report on the McKenzie Break Project, April 17, 2018, Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., and Daniel Gaudreault, Eng., of Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc. and Christian D’Amours, P.Geo., of GeoPointCom Inc. |
5 Source: NI-43-101 Technical Report on the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates of the Beaufor Mine as at September 30, 2017, Val-d’Or, Québec, Canada, Carl Pelletier, P. Geo. and Laurent Roy, Eng. |
6 Source: MRB et Associés (January 2015) |
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SOURCE Monarch Gold Corporation