Monarch Mining Reports a Significant Resource Increase at its Mckenzie Break Property

• 44% increase in the Indicated resource to 145,982 ounces of gold and nearly 300% increase in the Inferred category to 250,593 ounces of gold
• Monarch now has 588,482 ounces of combined measured and indicated resources and 329,393 ounces of combined inferred resources from its four gold deposits in Abitibi, Québec (see Table 2 at the end of the release)

MONTRÉAL, Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - MONARCH MINING CORPORATION ("Monarch" or the "Corporation") (TSX: GBAR) is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource estimate dated February 1, 2021, for its wholly-owned McKenzie Break project, 25 kilometres north of Val-d'Or, Québec.

Monarch acquired the McKenzie Break property from Agnico Eagle Mines Limited in 2017 and expanded the property in 2020 through additional purchase agreements with local prospectors and map staking to now stand at 133 claims covering a total area of 5,130.4 hectares. Located 20 kilometres north of the Beacon mill and 10 kilometres south of the municipality of Barraute, Québec, the property is accessible year-round via Route 397 and a gravel road and includes a portal and 700-metre ramp excavated in 2009.

Geologically, the property straddles the Manneville Tectonic Zone, interpreted to be the eastern extension of the Destor-Porcupine Break. Gold mineralization occurs in an elongated diorite unit or lens within a shallow embayment of the Pascalis Batholith.

The 2021 updated resource estimate follows the 2018-2020 diamond drilling programs completed by Monarch that included 75 drill holes totalling 20,037.9 metres. The 2018-2020 programs were focused on better defining and expanding the mineralization within the previously proposed pitshell and the deeper known mineralization. This new diamond drilling focused on the mineralization covering an area measuring 1,300 metres along strike by 900 metres and to a vertical depth of 455 metres.

Monarch mandated Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc. of Val-d'Or and GoldMinds Geoservices of Québec to prepare and update the July 12, 2018, NI 43-101 Technical Evaluation Report and Resource Estimate prepared by Geologica and GeoPointCom. The 2021 updated resource estimate was calculated to present resources with both constrained pit and underground potential. The current resource estimate for Monarch indicates that:

• The resource estimate is confined to 30 parallel and stacked mineralized zones / vein structures that have been identified on the property.
• The estimated resources are reported for combined constrained pit and underground scenarios.
• The total Indicated resource stands at 1,829,097 t at 2.48 g/t Au for 145,982 ounces of gold.
• The total Inferred resource stands at 3,327,065 t at 2.34 g/t Au for 250,593 ounces of gold.
• Many of the high-grade intersections outside of the pit shell are open. It is likely that additional diamond drilling would increase the Inferred tonnage and allow some of the Inferred resources to be upgraded to the Indicated category.

Figure 1: Property geology with expanded property limits. 

Figure 2: McKenzie Break deposit; sectional view looking W-NW. Proposed pit shell and underground resources.

Figure 3: McKenzie Break deposit; plan view. Proposed pit shell and underground resources. 

The estimate is based on a database of 333 drill holes, 57,789 metres of drilling and 34,026 assays. A total of 30 mineralized envelopes were modelled and validated. Capping was applied to raw assays before compositing, with grades capped at 60 g/t Au for the mineralized zones. The independent and qualified persons for the mineral resource estimate, as defined by NI 43–101, are Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., and Claude Duplessis, Eng., of GoldMinds Geoservices.

Table 1 presents the combined resources (in-pit and underground) by category for the McKenzie Break deposit at the selected cut-off grades.

This updated mineral resource results in 44% more gold in the Indicated category and 291% more gold in the Inferred category compared to the 2018 resource estimate (Geologica, 2018). The resource in the area of the proposed pit shell was expanded due to increase drilling below and at the outer edges the proposed pit shell. The underground resource increased significantly due to the new zones discovered at depth and exploration drilling completed at 50-m centres in an attempt to define the limits on the mineralized zone.

Some of the better intersections from this recent exploration step-out drilling incorporated into the resource estimate included 32.30 g/t Au over 7.1 m in hole MK-18-205ext (see press release dated February 26, 2020) and 13.95 g/t Au over 14.35 m in hole MK-20-255 (see press release dated July 23, 2020).

The mineralized envelope has yet to be closed off and Monarch continues to drill it off at 50-m centres. Monarch has planned a 38-hole, 14,500 metre follow-up drilling program to continue to expand the limits of the known mineralization. This follow-up drilling is in progress, with results pending.   

"We are very pleased with the updated resource estimate," said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch. "Our 2018-2020 drilling programs have allowed us to significantly expand the known mineralized envelope, which lies at a relatively shallow depth. These programs totalling 20,037.9 metres of drilling managed to add 44,401 ounces of indicated material and 186,566 ounces of inferred material, which translate to an additional 2.2 ounces of indicated resource and 9.3 ounces of inferred resource for every metre we drilled. We believe that McKenzie Break continues to hold significant exploration potential, as shown by these latest results, and we intend to develop that potential through efficient drilling programs."

The resource estimate was prepared by Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Ph.D., and Claude Duplessis, P.Eng., of GoldMinds Geoservices Inc., both qualified persons in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 standards. The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Louis Martin, P.Geo., the Corporation's qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Monarch
Monarch Mining Corporation (TSX: GBAR) is a fully integrated mining company that owns four advanced projects, including the fully permitted past-producing Beaufor Mine, which has produced over 1 million ounces of gold over the last 30 years. Other advanced assets include the Croinor Gold, McKenzie Break and Swanson properties, all located near Monarch's wholly owned and fully permitted Beacon 750 tpd mill. Monarch owns more than 260 km² of mining assets in the prolific Abitibi mining camp that host 588,482 ounces of combined measured and indicated gold resources and 329,393 ounces of combined inferred resources.

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.

Table 2 - Monarch combined gold resources

SOURCE Monarch Mining Corporation