MONARCH Gold Mining Company will seek to fast-track its developing gold projects in Western Australia to take advantage of the precious metal's high price.
Drilling at the Sunraysia prospect at the Davyhurst project
Monarch's Davyhurst mill
Chairman Michael Kiernan said production at Davyhurst will increase from 6500 ounces per month to 10,000oz by January as production at the mine is ramped up after the mill's refurbishment.
He also said Mt Ida had been targeted for a production increase.
"We are opening another four faces [at Mt Ida] and ore is expected to flow from these early in the new year, increasing production by a target of some 20 percent," he said.
Kiernan said better efficiency, from driving down unit costs and capitalising on the rising gold market, would be a by-product of production increases.
"Monarch's cash costs are currently $US490 per ounce and are expected to reduce by 10 to 15 percent over the next 12 months as production efficiency is maximised," he said.
The company said it has also begun an exploration program at the recently-acquired Riverina project, which is near the Mt Ida and Davyhurst mines, north of Kalgoorlie.
"This is part of our strategic exploration and expansion program which is focussed on meeting our production targets and advancing Monarch towards becoming a 500,000 ounce per annum producer by the end of 2009," Kiernan said.
Monarch is in a solid position to expand its exploration programs after raising $11.7 million through a share placement issued earlier this year, and Kiernan said the future looked bright.
"We are in production, own two state-of-the-art processing plants and are backed by the largest Australian-controlled land position in the Kalgoorlie region, and the company remains debt-free and unhedged," he said.
Shares in Monarch were down slightly at 30c in mid-morning trade.
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MON Price at posting:
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