Canadian miner Monarch Gold has signed a memorandum of understanding with Glencore Canada Operation related to the potential use of Glencore’s Kidd concentrator, in Timmins, Ontario, for the treatment of ore.
The ore will be mined from Monarch’s Wasamac gold property, located in Québec.
The agreement between the companies includes a four-phase work plan that Monarch will execute.
The first phase involves an upgrading study, whereby Monarch will launch a study on upgrading the concentrator and related infrastructure to ship the ore from the Wasamac property by rail, to have it transformed into dore bars at the concentrator.
The funding study needs to be funded by Monarch and completed before the end of the year.
The second phase of the work plan comprises negotiation and signing of a toll milling agreement. If the parties agree that the results of the upgrading study are positive for each of their interests, Monarch and Glencore will negotiate in good faith to enter into a toll milling agreement.
The toll milling agreement should be executed by March 30, 2021, latest. Failing which, Glencore will have no further obligations hereunder.
Next, Phase 3 will entail concentrator plant upgrading work. Once a toll milling agreement is in place, Monarch will fund the work to upgrade the concentrator plant and the related infrastructure, which should be complete by the end of July, 2023.
Once this is complete, Monarch will ship the ore from its Wasamac property to the concentrator and Glencore shall process it in compliance with the toll milling agreement between the parties. Phase 4 requires that first delivery of ore from the property happen no later than December 31, 2023.
In the coming weeks, Monarch will appoint consultants to start work on the upgrading study.