Monarch Mining Corp. poured its first gold bar from its Beaufor mine and Beacon mill, located east of Val-d’Or, Quebec. During the production for the month of July, the Beacon Mill achieved a record day of 765 metric tons (mt) of ore and ore recovery ranged from 96.3% to 98.7%. While this data is preliminary at this stage of the milling process, it is nonetheless a very positive result. After this first pour, the ore stockpile currently stands at 23,914 mt at an average grade of 4.76 g/mt gold.
“This first gold bar is the most significant milestone for Monarch since our listing in January 2021. Over the past 18 months, we have successfully restarted the Beaufor mine and refurbished the Beacon mill with a new production and exploration strategy, while dealing with the many challenges caused by the pandemic and recent geopolitical and economic events. Despite some delays due to the plant’s automation systems and lost time due to COVID-19, we are proud to have achieved our goals with a slight delay of only six weeks,” said Monarch President and CEO Jean-Marc Lacoste.
The next step, Lacoste explained, will be to gradually increase the production rate of the Beacon mill to reach commercial production, “a goal we expect to achieve in the coming months.”
