Jean-Marc Lacoste's Monarch Mining Corp. (GBAR), up 28 cents to $1.08 on 1.29 million shares, has expanded its resource estimate for the Swanson project, northeast of Val d'Or in Quebec. The company lists 1.95 million tonnes indicated at 1.82 grams per tonne and 116,000 tonnes inferred at 2.76 grams per tonne, a total of 124,000 ounces. Nearly all the gold, about 108,000 ounces, sits as an open-pit resource, while the rest is deemed an underground resource.
The ounce count is modest, but it tops the 123,000 ounces that Monarch reported late last week for the Beaufor project, just southwest of Swanson. Beaufor holds 431,000 tonnes measured and indicated at 6.68 grams per tonne and 135,000 tonnes inferred at 6.96 grams per tonne.
Mr. Lacoste, president and CEO, says that "with our new company," he and his crew "continue to define and develop our gold assets in one of the most prolific greenstone belts in the world," adding that the near-surface deposits have the potential to expand into significant economic deposits. The spiel serves as a reminder that Mr. Lacoste's old company, Monarch Gold Inc., was a success last year, with its stock rising from 11 cents in March to a high of 60 cents last fall after Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI: $6.37) agreed to pay 63 cents per share in cash and stock for the company.
Monarch Mining is a spin-off from Monarch Gold, as Yamana was after the Wasamac gold project and had little interest in Monarch's lesser prospects -- projects that are nevertheless keeping Mr. Lacoste and his crew busy. The new Monarch is still zeroing in on its trading range since it listed last Tuesday: Its stock dipped as low as 59 cents last week but closed at nearly double that amount today.