Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 13, 2022 – MONARCH MINING CORPORATION (“Monarch” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) is pleased to report initial drill results from the 2022 drilling program on its wholly-owned McKenzie Break gold project, located 25 kilometres north of the Corporation’s wholly owned 750 tonne-per-day Beacon mill.
The 2022 drilling program on the McKenzie Break property began in April and is progressing well, with three surface drill rigs in operation and 29 holes drilled to date, for a total of 6,798 metres. The program is aimed at expanding the size of the currently proposed pit in the up-dip direction (to the west), increasing the current underground resource to the east and north and testing additional exploration targets along the volcanic-intrusive contact to the south. Monarch will continue testing the deposit with holes at 50-metre centres.
The initial 11 holes of the 2022 drilling program were focused on expanding the proposed pit to the west, on the up-dip side of the currently defined mineralization, as well as filling in the larger of the gaps of more than 50 m between drill holes within the proposed pit limits. The holes typically tested the shallow dipping mineralized horizon to a maximum depth of 100 m below surface, at times intersecting multiple stacked lenses.
The best intersection was 5.69 g/t Au over 9.69 m, including 42.6 g/t Au over 0.95 m, starting from surface, in hole MK-22-326A, which was drilled to fill a gap in an area that had no historical holes within a radius of over 60 m. The hole also returned other mineralized intersections, including 7.5 g/t Au over 1.38 m and 3.75 g/t Au over 1.45 m (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).
Other notable near-surface intersections on the west side of the proposed pit included 35.15 g/t Au over 0.95 m (MK-22-327), 16.50 g/t Au over 0.78 m (MK-22-329) and 7.75 g/t Au over 2.54 m and 28.20 g/t Au over 0.66 m (MK-22-334).
The near-surface holes drilled to the west of the proposed pit limits have confirmed that the pit shell can be expanded beyond the limits defined in the 2021 mineral resource estimate by Geologica and GoldMinds (2021).
“The McKenzie Break mineralization is still open in all directions, and the near-surface intersections we are seeing confirm that the proposed pit limits can be extended westward,” said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch. “The remainder of the drilling program will continue to test the limits of the mineralization in all directions, as well as several exciting regional exploration targets.”
About McKenzie Break
Gold mineralization occurs in an elongated diorite unit or lens within a shallow embayment of the Pascalis Batholith. Monarch continues to have drilling success beyond the limits of the current resource envelope, recently updated by Geologica and GoldMinds (effective February 1, 2021, and amended October 14, 2021, available on the Corporation’s website) (see Table 1). The mineralized envelope currently measures 1,100 metres by 600 metres and has been tested down to a vertical depth of 400 metres. The Corporation is currently drilling 20,000 metres to continue testing the limits of the defined pit shell and mineralized envelope and to test other priority targets on the property, including targets along the volcanic-intrusive contact to the south.
The table below shows the combined resources for the McKenzie Break deposit. The McKenzie Break assay results and significant intervals and drill hole locations, as well as Monarch’s combine gold resources, can be found in tables at the end of this press release.
Table 1: 2021 mineral resource estimate for the McKenzie Break deposit
Mineral resource estimate notes:
The resource estimate was prepared by Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., Daniel Gaudreault, P.Eng. of Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc., and Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Claude Duplessi, P.Eng. of GoldMinds GeoServices, all qualified persons under National Instrument 43-101.
Drill results are obtained by sawing the drill core into equal halves along its main axis and shipping one of the halves to ALS Canada in Val-d’Or, Quebec, for assaying. The samples are crushed, pulverized and assayed by fire assay, with an atomic absorption finish. Samples exceeding 3 g/t Au are re-assayed using the gravity method and samples containing visible gold are assayed using the metallic screen method. Monarch uses a comprehensive QA/QC protocol, including the insertion of standards, blanks and duplicates.
The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Louis Martin, P.Geo., the Corporation’s qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Monarch
Monarch Mining Corporation (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) is a fully integrated mining company that owns four projects, including the Beaufor Mine, which has produced more than 1 million ounces of gold over the last 30 years. Other assets include the Croinor Gold, McKenzie Break and Swanson properties, all located near Monarch’s wholly owned 750 tpd Beacon Mill. Monarch owns 29,504 hectares (295 km2) of mining assets in the prolific Abitibi mining camp that host a combined measured and indicated gold resource of 666,882 ounces and a combined inferred resource of 423,193 ounces.
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 2: McKenzie Break assay results and significant intervals
*The width shown is the core length. True width is estimated to be between 60% and 70% of core length.
NSA = No Significant Assays
Table 3: McKenzie Break drill hole location
Table 4: Monarch combined gold resources
1 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Beaufor Mine Project, October 13, 2021, Val-d’Or, Québec, Canada, Charlotte Athurion, P. Geo., Pierre-Luc Richard, P. Geo., and Dario Evangelista, P. Eng., BBA Inc.
2 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Croinor Gold Project, June 17, 2022, Val-d’Or, Québec, Canada, Olivier Vadnais-Leblanc, P.Geo., Carl Pelletier, P.Geo. and Eric Lecomte, P.Eng., InnovExplo Inc.
3 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Evaluation Report on the McKenzie Break Property, October 14, 2021, Val-d’Or, Québec, Canada, Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., Daniel Gaudreault, P.Eng., of Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc., and Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Claude Duplessis, P.Eng., of GoldMinds GeoServices Inc.
4 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Swanson Project, January 22, 2021, Val-d’Or, Québec, Canada, Christine Beausoleil, P. Geo. and Alain Carrier, P. Geo., InnovExplo Inc.
5 Numbers may not add due to rounding.
President and CEO
1-888-994-4465 x 201
jm.lacoste@monarchmining.com