As the Beaufor gold mine heads for a temporary shutdown in less than two months’ time, Quebec miner Monarques Gold has begun promoting its Wasamac project – a past producing mine in the heart of the Abitibi gold mining camp – to the mining and financial communities.
President and CEO Jean-Marc Lacoste said on Monday that the company had created a confidential virtual data room to provide access for parties that had expressed an interest in reviewing data and participating in project development.
“With the pending release of the feasibility study results in early December, we see the Wasamac project starting to generate interest. We are confident that the parameters we have set for the feasibility study, including the use of the proven Rail-Veyor material haulage technology, will create the conditions needed to put the project into production,” he said in a statement.
Monarques is also moving forward its other advanced projects, including Croinor Gold and McKenzie Break, for which drilling results will be released soon. Lacoste said that Croinor Gold continued to impress, with multiple high-grade results and continuity of the mineralisation along strike and at depth.
Meanwhile, the TSX-listed junior produced 4 695 oz in the fourth quarter ended June, down 5% from 4 932 oz in the previous quarter. An average selling price of C$1 617/oz was achieved, while all-in sustaining costs came in at C$2 005/oz sold.
Revenue of C$10-million was recorded in the fourth quarter from the sale of 4 589 oz of gold combined with revenue from custom milling, which increased by 31% year-on-year.
Monarques reported a net loss of $2.8-million.
The firm further reported revenue of C$7.8-million in the September quarter, based on an average gold price of C$1 520/oz and the sale of 3 272 oz, combined with revenues from custom milling operations, which increased by 8% during the quarter.
The Beaufor mine produced 3 604 oz in the first quarter.
The mine will be shut down on December 14 and Lacoste said that the company’s short-term goal was to “minimise the impact of the shutdown” on its results.
The miner had C$15-million in cash at the end of June.