• An updated mineral resource estimate on the Wasamac gold project indicates a Measured and Indicated resource of 2,587,900 ounces and an Inferred resource of 293,900 ounces, as the bulk of the previous Inferred resource has been upgraded to the Indicated category.
• Drilling to date shows that the Main Zone is open to the east and at depth. Zones 2 and 3 are also open at depth.
• Monarques Gold will plan an exploration program aimed at increasing the Wasamac resource.

MONTREAL, Oct. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - MONARQUES GOLD CORPORATION ("Monarques" or the "Corporation") (MQR.V) (MR7.F) is pleased to report the results of an updated mineral resource estimate for its wholly-owned Wasamac gold project located 15 km west-southwest of Rouyn-Noranda, Québec. The estimate was prepared by Tudorel Ciuculescu, M.Sc., P. Geo., Senior Geologist for Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA) and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. The effective date of the estimate is October 20, 2017.

"The outcome of the estimate is great news for Monarques, as the bulk of the previous Inferred resource has been upgraded to the Indicated category based on infill drilling," said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarques. "This is also an important step towards our goal of advancing the development of our Wasamac gold project. With our latest acquisition, which includes the Beaufor mine and the Camflo mill, we have become a fully integrated gold producer and now have the team and the resources to reach this goal. The Wasamac gold project is an important part of the future of Monarques and we intend to bring it to its full potential." 

Based on a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/t Au, RPA estimated a resource of 3.99 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.52 g/t Au for 323,300 ounces in the Measured category, and 25.87 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.72 g/t Au for 2,264,500 ounces in the Indicated category. An additional 4.16 million tonnes grading an average grade of 2.20 g/t Au for 293,900 ounces were estimated in the Inferred category. The cut-off grade is based on a gold price of US $1,500 per ounce and assumed operation costs.

The database includes 3,317 holes drilled for various purposes on the property and surrounding area from the 1940s to 2012. Of these, 2,016 holes were used for the resource estimate. The resource holes consist of 288 surface holes with a total length of 122,781 m and 24,613 samples (24,401 m sampled) and 1,728 underground holes with a total length of 36,842 m and 24,018 samples (32,148 m sampled).

Gold mineralization is hosted in a number of zones located along the Wasa Shear Zone (WSZ), namely, from west to east, the Main Zone, Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, the MacWin Zone and Zone 4 (see map). The Wildcat Zone occurs off the WSZ to the south of the Main Zone. Historical production from 1965 to 1971 was predominantly from the Main Zone and the upper portion of Zone 1, with a limited tonnage extracted from the Wildcat Zone. Zone 2 was partially developed but was not mined. A total of 252,923 ounces of gold were produced at Wasamac. 

The estimate was supported by a block model and was constrained with mineralized wireframes capturing mineralized intercepts with a nominal grade of 1.0 g/t Au over a minimum thickness of four metres.  Erratic higher-grade samples were capped at 35 g/t Au prior to compositing to two metre intervals. Block gold grade was estimated using an inverse-distance-to-the-power-three (ID3) interpolation method.

The new mineral resource estimate reflects a number of changes, including additional drilling, the exclusion of mineralization previously considered as resources, the addition of new resources, a lower cut-off grade, and the upgrading of Inferred mineral resources to the Indicated category.

The Wasamac property is near a major mining centre in a mining-friendly jurisdiction and benefits from significant infrastructure, including underground openings that could be redeveloped, road access, access to the provincial power grid, and a restored tailings disposal area.

RPA is of the opinion that the Wasamac property hosts a significant gold deposit and that the project has good exploration potential that warrants additional exploration and technical studies.

The 43-101 technical report will be delivered and filed on SEDAR within the next 45 days.

Recommended work program

Phase I:

• Exploration potential study to determine the minimum grade, thickness, and tonnage for new targets
• Drill hole targeting exercise to optimize future drilling programs, with the objective of upgrading areas of Inferred resource to the Indicated category and extending the mineral resource to areas that remain open
• Investigation into the Horne Creek Fault and its potential control on the Wasamac deposit
• Testing of advanced 3D modelling techniques based on the current database
• GIS database compilation of all available and relevant data

Phase II:

• Contingent on the results of Phase I: 20,000-metre diamond drilling program focused on bringing the mineral resource estimate to the point where it could support the preparation of a preliminary economic assessment.

The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Marc-André Lavergne, Eng., the Corporation's qualified person under National Instrument 43‑101, and by Tudorel Ciuculescu, M.Sc., P. Geo., Senior Geologist for Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA) and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101.