Monarques Gold investigating potential game-changer for its wholly-owned Wasamac Gold project
BBA retained to confirm Management's strategy and to assess various options
MONTREAL, April 5, 2018 /CNW/ - MONARQUES GOLD CORPORATION ("Monarques" or the "Corporation") (TSX-V: MQR) (OTCMKTS: MRQRF) (FRANKFURT: MR7) is pleased to announce that it has retained BBA to conduct a conceptual study for the transportation of gold-bearing material from the Wasamac deposit to an existing processing plant with an authorized tailings management facility in the region for custom milling. Since acquiring the Wasamac Gold project from Richmont Mines, Monarques' management has been working towards unlocking the tremendous potential value of the project.
Monarques' management has made it a priority to investigate any and all avenues to make Wasamac economical and profitable at a significantly lower gold price than the scenario that the previous owner was working with. A major breakthrough that Monarques has achieved is the realization that the Wasamac Gold project can be serviced by bulk, railcar transport. As such, Monarques could eliminate the extremely large capital outlay required to build a mill as it could potentially ship the Wasamac ore to any of a number of possible custom milling opportunities in the vicinity of Wasamac (see map of potential sites).
"We look forward to working with BBA to confirm our belief that the Wasamac Gold project could be profitable at a significantly lower gold price than what was envisioned under the previous owner. This is a potential game-changer for Monarques and its shareholders," said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarques. "Following the update of the Wasamac resource estimate last October, which established a measured and indicated resource of 2,587,900 ounces of gold (see press release), we decided to look into the various possible operating scenarios, including custom milling. This study will allow us to collect data and information for the option of mining the Wasamac deposit using custom milling at one of the processing plants in Quebec and Ontario. This option has the advantage of significantly reducing the initial cost of the project as we would not have to build a mill or a tailings facility."
The first phase of the study will establish an inventory of the main mining and processing sites in operation and accessible by road and/or rail in the Abitibi region, in both Ontario and Quebec, with their locations and qualifications. The second phase will develop a concept for the transportation of mineralization and/or treatment sludge for the three best options selected from the sites identified in the previous phase. The main goal of this phase is to design a concept for transporting the mineralization from the Wasamac deposit to a regional processing plant and tailings facility for custom milling. The Corporation expects to receive the results of this study in May 2018.
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 MONARQUES GOLD CORPORATION
Monarques Gold Corporation (TSX.V:MQR) is an emerging gold producer 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 Beaufor Mine, the Croinor Gold (see video), Wasamac, McKenzie Break and Swanson advanced projects, and the Camflo and Beacon mills, as well as six promising exploration projects. It also offers custom milling services out of its 1,600 tonne-per-day Camflo mill. Monarques enjoys a strong financial position and has more than 150 skilled employees who oversee its operating, development and exploration activities.
ABOUT BBA
BBA is a Canada-wide consulting engineering firm that offers multidisciplinary consulting services in engineering, project management and environment. Thanks to its cutting-edge expertise in the energy, mining and metals, biofuels, and oil and gas sectors, BBA is now recognized for the excellence of its services, from pre-study to onsite commissioning support and detailed engineering.
The firm relies on a team of over 750 professionals from its 11 offices across Canada to carry out local, national and international mandates, thereby helping its industrial clients implement the most reliable, profitable and eco-friendly solutions.
Forward-Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Monarques' actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
SOURCE Monarques Gold Corporation
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