MEDIA RELEASE
17 April 2007
MONARCH ANNOUNCES $6 MILLION EXPLORATION PROGRAM
Monarch Gold Mining Company Limited (ASX:MON) today announced the
company will spend $6 million on exploration over the next 12 months.
$4 million of the exploration program will be spent on 30,000
metres of RC and 41,000 metres of RAB drilling at the company’s flagship
mine at the Davyhurst Gold Project located some 120 kilometres north-west of Kalgoorlie.
$2 million has been allocated to 10,000 metres of RC and 20,000
metres of RAB drilling at the company’s Minjar gold project 500
kilometres north-east of Perth.
Monarch Executive Chairman, Michael
Kiernan said exploration would be the key driver of value for
Monarch shareholders.
“Monarch is on track to commence mining gold ore from
Davyhurst in late June and Mt Ida in late July but the key to providing shareholder
value is a well funded exploration program on regions where shallow drilling
has been previously applied,” Mr Kiernan said.
“Shareholders will be pleased in the short term to achieve
the key milestone of a first gold pour in late July. Longer term, it’s
imperative to deliver value through exploration success.
“We’re in a fortunate position of having funding in
place to pursue an aggressive exploration program in parallel with a
development program targeting total target production for the next 12 months
from Davyhurst and Mt Ida of 125,000 ounces.”
Davyhurst will deliver 75,000 ounces of gold at an estimated cost
of US $500 per ounce and Mt Ida will deliver 50,000 ounces of gold at an
estimated cost of US $330 per ounce.
Key targets of the $6 million exploration campaign include:
- Davyhurst Round Dam trend with more than six kilometres of
mineralised structure and under-exploration by previous tenement owners.
- Python trend with more than ten kilometres of mineralised
structure, located on the Ida Fault, north of the 389,000 oz Iguana
resource and under-exploration by previous tenement owners.
- Sunraysia Extended prospect where recent regional RAB drilling
outlined more than two kilometres of strike of mineralisation north of the
64,000 oz Sunraysia resource.
- Prospects outlined in the SRK gold study where twenty high priority
targets were identified.
Mr Kiernan said Monarch
has received positive results from a January to March 2007 exploration program.
“The greenfields
Sunraysia Project is shaping up as an impressive resource with recent drilling
results confirming mineralisation extending for more than two kilometres north
of Sunraysia.”
Monarch is pleased to
provide shareholders with an update on exploration progress from January to
March 2007 including:
Davyhurst
Project
RAB and RC drilling
focused on extensions of known mineralised trends in the Walhalla/Federal Flag
area on the Round Dam trend and also the Sunraysia area following up consultant
SRK’s target areas and extensions to the Sunraysia resource trend.
Results in the Round Dam
area confirm the extension to resources at Walhalla and Federal Flag including RDRC061, 9m @ 5.6 g/t Au from 43m, RDRC062,
3m @ 12.4 g/t Au from 42m, RDRC065, 3m @ 14.1 g/t Au from 54m, RDRC066, 5m @
5.9 g/t Au from 23m and RDRC079, 1m @ 80.7 g/t Au from 19m.
At the Mt Banjo prospect,
500m south of Walhalla, RC drilling recorded encouraging results (including RDRC026, 2m @ 22.9 g/t Au from 14m, RDRC031, 6m @ 4.4
g/t Au from 42m, RDRC036, 11m @ 15.0 g/t Au from 23m).
A review of potential
mineralisation south of Mt Banjo indicates a six kilometre strike length of
broad spaced shallow historical drilling with the potential to outline further
resources.
Results from RAB drilling
in the Sunraysia Extended and Renmark areas have recorded significant results including MURB448, 16m @ 2.97 g/t Au from 28m,
MUAC076, 12m @ 6.80 g/t Au from 32m, at Sunraysia Extended, RERB055, 4m @ 15.1
g/t Au from 32m at Renmark.
Minjar
Project
RC drilling at the Riley
prospect has further confirmed a mineralised zone with more than 200 metres of
strike and open north and south with economic grades reported including RRC001, 4m @ 5.7 g/t Au from 48m, RRC002,
16m @ 4.1 g/t Au from 5m, RRC004, 10m @ 6.0 g/t Au from 24m, RRC008, 3m @ 56.7
g/t Au from 44m.
Other
Resource infill drilling
is being planned at the Bellevue
and Lady Ida projects.
- ENDS -
For further
information, please contact:
Michael Kiernan Warrick Hazeldine
Executive Chairman
- Monarch Gold Purple
Communications
Tel: 08 9481 6422 Tel:
+61 (0)8 9485 1254 Mob:
0417 944 616
Background
Monarch Gold Mining
Company was formed and listed on the ASX in 2002 by a group of experienced
Australian mining executives.
The Company has a
resource base of more than 2.4 million ounces, two state-of-the-art gold
treatment plants, and has dominant ground positions in the prolific gold mining
region to the north-west of Kalgoorlie.
Since November 2005,
Monarch has laid the foundations for its growth as a mid-tier Australian gold
production company. It acquired the Davyhurst Gold Project in November 2005,
and in 2006 reached agreement with Gindalbie Metals to acquire the Minjar gold
projects 500km north-east of Perth. Monarch also completed a merger with
Siberia Mining Corporation Limited in 2006, which provided access to Siberia
1.2 million ounce resource base, and the largest Australian-controlled ground
position in the Kalgoorlie
region. Monarch also has the ground package surrounding the historic Bellevue
Gold Mine near Leinster. In March 2007,
Monarch acquired the rich Mt Ida project, located within the 120 kilometres of
Monarch’s Davyhurst Mill, from International Goldfields Limited.
Growth Strategy
Monarch’s
growth strategy is focused on four potential production centres in Western Australia:
Davyhurst - gold resources of over
2m oz within a 2,000 sq km tenement package and 1.2mtpa gold processing
facility (+1.2Moz historic production)
Mt Ida - resources are stated as
143,000t at 24.0 g/t containing 110,650 ounces of gold within four areas - the
Baldock, Whinnen, Meteor and Timoni deposits. Monarch will commence mining gold
in July 2007.
Minjar - gold resources of over
400,000oz within a 1,722 sq km tenement package and 600,000tpa gold processing
facility (+120,000oz historic production)
Bellevue - gold resources of
120,000oz associated with the historic Bellevue Gold Mine, one of WA’
premier gold operations (750,000oz historic production)
Monarch’s strategy
has been to capture opportunities for the consolidation of gold development
assets which have not in the past realised their full potential, either due to
a lack of capital or to limited exploration.
Monarch is focussed on gold
production, with a target to be producing 500,000oz per annum by December 2009.
For further
information visit: www.monarchgold.com.au
So far as it
relates to ore and mineralisation, this report is based on information compiled
by John Davis, who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientist. Mr Davis has
sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of the mineralisation and
type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is
undertaking, to quality as a Competent Persons as defined in the 2004 Edition
of the Australasian Code for Reporting for Exploration Results, Minerals
Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr Davis is a full time employee of the Company.
This report accurately reflects the information complied by Mr Davis. Mr Davis
has consented to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in
which is appears in this report.
Monarch’s
Project Location Map
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