re: drilling to start MONARCH COMMENCES GOLD DRILLING
PROGRAM AT DAVYHURST/SIBERIA
Monarch Resources Limited (ASX: MRS) today announced the planned commencement of its first major exploration drilling program across the newly consolidated Davyhurst/Siberia project area in Western Australia as
advances a strategic review of existing major gold deposits within its 2 million ounce resource inventory.
drilling program, targeting 10 advanced prospects, is the first to be undertaken by the Company since the recent completion of its merger with Siberia Mining Corporation Limited and its acquisition of the Davyhurst Gold Project in November last year.
Monarch’s Managing Director, John Davis, said the Company’s recent focus had been on integrating the databases
exploration programs for the adjacent Davyhurst and Siberia project areas, with a view to launching an aggressive and well-focused exploration program across the combined tenement area.
Following completion of the Siberia merger, Monarch has emerged as a substantial gold exploration and development company with a combined JORC compliant resource base of 26.2 million tonnes @ 2.4 g/t Au for 2 million ounces of contained gold within a 2,000 square kilometre consolidated tenement holding in the Northeastern Goldfields.
The project area is relatively under-explored using modern techniques and we consider it to be highly prospective
further discoveries within a region that has already produced several discoveries in excess of 1 million ounces,” Davis said. “The completion of the merger has enabled us to undertake the first comprehensive and integrated assessment of the combined project areas with a view to accelerating exploration to rapidly expand the existing 2 million ounce resource base.”
Davis said exploration drilling programs were set to start over 10 advanced prospects, including resource extensions at Sunraysia (64,000oz), Lady Bountiful (88,000 oz), Lights of Israel (82,000oz) and Walhalla
63,000oz).
Monarch is also well advanced in carrying out a strategic review of a number of existing resources on the Siberia tenements, including Sand King (400,000oz), Missouri (230,000oz) and Iguana (390,000oz), which had previously been subject to mining studies based on a gold price of A$500-550 per ounce.
With the gold price currently around A$725 per ounce and a positive outlook going forward, our priority will be to reassess the enhanced economics of these resources, as well as following up the potential for extensions along strike and at depth,” Davis said.
addition, we are undertaking re-interpretation of the regional geology, geochemistry and geophysics to better understand structural controls on gold mineralization in order to define new targets,” he said.
Monarch has allocated an exploration budget of $6 million per annum to the combined project areas, with a view to generating within 12 to 18 months a minimum 3-year production base ahead of re-commissioning the centrally located, fully permitted Davyhurst gold plant which has treatment capacity of 1.3 mtpa.
-ENDS-
Released by:
On behalf of:
Hope/Nicholas Read
Monarch Resources Limited
Hope & Partners
Telephone: (+61-8) 9388-1474
John Davis – Managing Director
Telephone: (+61-8) 9481-6422
Web: www.mrl.net.au
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Monarch Resources Ltd (ASX: MRS) is an aggressive Australian gold company which, through a combination of acquisition and corporate activity during 2005, has established a dominant position in the prolific gold belts to the north west of Kalgoorlie including a resource base in excess of 2 million ounces and a centrally located gold treatment facility.
Monarch acquired the Davyhurst Gold Project from Croesus Mining NL for $5 million in November 2005, comprising an 808,000oz resource base, 841sq km tenement package and a 1.2mtpa gold processing facility. The Davyhurst Project is located within the Davyhurst-Mt Ida greenstone belt, which hosts the Zuleika Shear and Ida Fault – structures which reportedly control significant gold endowment. Historically, the Davyhurst field has produced some 1.15 million ounces since 1897.
Subsequently, in early 2006, it completed a merger with Mr Andrew Forrest’s Siberia Mining Corporation Limited, resulting in the strategic consolidation of the nearby Siberia and Ida Gold Camp deposits within the enlarged Monarch.
Siberia’s assets included a 1.4 million ounce resource base, a 1,250sq km exploration portfolio representing the largest Australian-controlled ground position in the Kalgoorlie region, and several projects with near-term production potential. The 35km long Siberia Gold Belt is a geological contact that hosts the high-grade Siberia Gold Camp deposits (comprising resources in excess of 750,000oz at Missouri, Sand King, Invincible and Black Rabbit). Much of this gold belt is obscured by thin cover and remains untested.
Monarch’s focus is to build a significant independent Australian gold exploration and production company by advancing these Northeastern Goldfields assets towards production as rapidly as possible, with the initial focus over the next 1-2 years on an aggressive exploration program to build a minimum 3-year reserve position prior to re-commissioning the Davyhurst mill.
In addition, Monarch will draw on its depth of technical, financial and corporate expertise to target additional growth opportunities in the current strong environment for gold companies.
So far as it relates to ore and mineralisation, this report is based on information compiled by Mr John Davis, who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and who has had more than five years relevant experience in the field of activity being reported on. This report accurately reflects the information compiled by Mr Davis. Mr Davis has consented to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears in this report.
-ENDS-
Released by:
On behalf of:
Jan Hope/Nicholas Read
Monarch Resources Limited
Jan Hope & Partners
Telephone: (+61-8) 9388-1474
John Davis – Managing Director
Telephone: (+61-8) 9481-6422
Web: www.mrl.net.au
MRS
monarch resources limited
