South Africa police standoff with illegal gold miners escalates
The police sealed off access to the Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein several weeks ago to deny the miners access to food and other essentials.
After completing a Plan of Arrangement with Yamana Gold in January, Monarch Mining is now working to advance spin-out assets within the new company. Monarch has released an updated resource estimate for the McKenzie Break property in Quebec, 25 km north of Val-d’Or.
Pit-constrained indicated resources at the site total 1.4 million tonnes grading 1.8 g/t gold for a total of 83,305 gold oz. with an additional 2.2 million pit-constrained inferred tonnes at 1.44 g/t gold for a further 104,038 gold oz. The underground inventory includes 387,720 indicated tonnes grading 5.03 g/t gold that contains 62,677 oz. of gold and 1.1 million inferred tonnes at 4.21 g/t gold for an additional 146,555 gold oz.
The resources sum to 145,982 indicated oz. and 250,593 inferred oz., which represents 44% and 300% increases when compared with the 2018 estimates. The update incorporates an additional 75 drillholes that sum to 20,038 metres of drilling. The exploration work focused on defining and expanding mineralization within the previous pitshell and also targeted mineralization at depth, targeting mineralization over 1,300 metres of strike, across 900 horizontal metres and to a depth of 455 metres.
“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,” Jean-Marc Lacoste, Monarch’s president and CEO, said in a release.
Earlier this month, the company announced an updated and increased mineral resource for its 51.2-sq.-km Swanson project
The mineralized envelope remains open and drilling is ongoing on 50-metre centres. The company has planned a 38-hole, 14,500-metre follow-up program to continue to expand the mineralization.
McKenzie Break covers an interpreted eastern extension of the Destor-Porcupine Break.
Monarch acquired McKenzie Break in 2017 and, last year, expanded the property to 51.3 sq. km. The project is 20 km north of Monarch’s permitted, 750 t/d Beacon mill (on care and maintenance since 2010) and includes a portal and 700-metre ramp (excavated in 2009).
McKenzie Break is one of the assets spun-out to shareholders of Monarch Gold with Yamana’s acquisition of the Wasamac and Camflo properties and Camflo mill. The TSX-traded spinco also holds the Beaufor, Croinor Gold and Swanson properties, among others, for a total of over 260 sq. km in the Abitibi.
Earlier this month, the company announced an updated and increased mineral resource for its 51.2-sq.-km Swanson project, 65 km northeast of Val-d’Or. Total resources, across both open-pit and underground categories, stand at 1.9 million indicated tonnes grading 1.82 g/t gold and 116,000 inferred tonnes at 2.76 g/t gold.
In January, Monarch also released a resource update for the past-producing Beaufor Mine project, 20 km northeast of Val-d’Or. Measured and indicated resources total 431,100 tonnes grading 6.68 g/t gold with inferred resources of 134,600 tonnes at 6.96 g/t gold.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
