Monarch pours first gold bar from Beacon mill in Quebec

Monarch Mining (TSX: GBAR; OTC: GBARF) has produced its first gold bar from the Beaufor mine and Beacon mill located east of Val-d'Or, Que., achieving what the company considers to be its most significant milestone since 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,” Jean-Marc Lacoste, president and CEO of Monarch, commented.

The Beaufor mine and Beacon mill have produced over 1.1 million oz. of gold since it first opened in the 1930s. Monarch acquired a 100% interest in both assets between 2016 and 2017, with a view of rebooting the operation.

Mining has already restarted at the Beaufor mine, with 23,914 tonnes of ore averaging 4.76 g/t gold stockpiled to date. During the production for the month of July, the Beacon mill (750 t/d capacity) achieved a record day of 765 tonnes of ore and ore recovery ranged from 96.3% to 98.7%. The data is still preliminary at this stage of the milling process, given its pre-commissioning started only two months ago.

"The next step 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. This will ultimately allow us to recoup our investment and fund the development of our other promising exploration projects, including McKenzie Break, Swanson and Croinor Gold, which continue to show excellent results," Lacoste added.

The above-mentioned projects are all located near the Beacon mill. Monarch owns 295 km² of mining assets in the Abitibi mining camp that host a combined measured and indicated gold resource of 478,982 oz. and a combined inferred resource of 383,393 oz.

Additional details are available at www.MonarchMining.com.