MONTRÉAL, Aug. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MONARCH MINING CORPORATION (“Monarch” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) announces that it has made the decision to slow down mining operations at its wholly-owned Beaufor Mine, located east of Val-d'Or, Quebec. The Beacon Mill operations will not be impacted.

The restart and ramp-up of the Beacon Mill have been slower than expected and the availability for the months of July and August has been approximately 50% of its capacity of 750 tpd. The ramp-up has been impacted by a number of mechanical and procurement problems as well as technical problems with the grade reconciliation of the stockpile already at the Beacon site, which included a low-grade pile and development ore that turned out to be lower grade than expected. As a result, cash flow from milling operations has been lower than expected.

As a result of short-term cash restriction, the Corporation has decided to slow down production activities at the Beaufor Mine. During this period, the Corporation will work towards optimizing its mining method in an effort to reduce dilution.

“This is a difficult decision to make, especially with the recently announced first gold pour, but one that is necessary to ensure that the ramp-up and integration of mining and milling operations improve over the coming weeks,” said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and CEO of Monarch. “The presence of COVID-19 brings a new reality that we must deal with and better integrate into our production process. Over the next few weeks, our team will be working relentlessly to find solutions to resolve these issues and to get the plant running at full capacity.”

"During this period, which we believe to be temporary, we will continue to process the more than 20,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled at the Beacon Mill and Beaufor Mine sites in order to generate the funds required for our operations," concluded Mr. Lacoste.

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.

                
www.monarchmining.com

Table 1: Monarch combined gold resources