Monument’s Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2018 Results

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Monument Mining Limited (TSX-V: MMY and FSE: D7Q1) “Monument” or the “Company” today announced its annual financial results for the year ended June 30, 2018. All amounts are in United States dollars unless otherwise indicated (refer to www.sedar.com for full financial results).

President and CEO Cathy Zhai stated: “In fiscal 2018 we had a 78% increase in gold production primarily from the oxide ore production at Felda Block 7. Substantial work was done during the year to advance the Feasibility Study (“FS”) for the Selinsing Sulphide Project in Malaysia, and a NI43-101 Resource Estimation Report has been updated at Burnakura in Western Australia, providing a basis for a further Preliminary Economic Assessment. A Resource Estimation under NI43-101 standards was also carried out at Mengapur, targeting completion in October 2018.”

Ms. Zhai continued to comment: “Exploration programs were completed during the year on the Peranggih Prospect aiming for a potential oxide system adjacent north of Buffalo Reef in Malaysia; and on ANA and NOA7/8 at Burnakura to test and to confirm down plunge underground mineralization. As conversion of the development assets to production is in progress, exploration has become critical to increase the upside potential for both of our gold portfolios moving forward.”

Fiscal 2018 Highlights:

• 14,750oz of gold sold for gross revenue of $19.25 million (2017:12,700oz of gold sold for gross revenue of $15.72 million);
• 22,854oz of gold produced (2017:12,854oz);
• Cash cost per ounce (“oz”) of $753/oz (2017:$936/oz);
• Gross margin of $8.15 million (2017:$3.73 million);
• Felda Block 7 acquisition completed and in production;
• Selinsing Sulphide FEED study commenced during the year and completed in July 2018;
• Burnakura production deferred for studying underground mining opportunities, exploration continued with drilling success; 
• Completed drilling programs at Peranggih in Malaysia and Burnakura in Western Australia;
• Mengapur resource estimation study carried out targeting completion of a NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimation Technical Report; and
• Completed a $7.00 million gold forward financing.

 FOURTH QUARTER AND FISCAL 2018 PRODUCTION AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

1. Defined as good delivery gold bullion according to London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”), net of gold do?e in transit and refinery adjustment
2. Total cash cost includes production costs such as mining, processing, tailing facility maintenance and camp administration, royalties,  and operating costs such as storage, temporary mine production closure, community development cost and property fees, net of by-product credits. Cash cost excludes amortization, depletion, accretion expenses, idle mining costs, capital costs, exploration costs and corporate administration costs.

Production Results

Fiscal 2018 gold production was 22,854oz, a 78% increase compared to 12,845oz in fiscal 2017, as a result of commencing production from Felda Block 7, the average ore head grade increased to 1.03/t Au from 0.80g/t Au and mill feed increased to 891,936t from 847,416t in the previous year. Production included processing stockpiled super low-grade gold oxide ore, old tailing materials and oxide ore from production at Felda Block 7 in transition toward treating sulphide ore.

The process recovery increased to 72.0% compared to 58.8% in fiscal 2017 due to higher mill feed grade from the Block 7 ore. Together with lower mining and processing costs that have been achieved by processing softer ore extracted at the Block 7 and highly oxidized ore from the stockpile, the cash cost per ounce decreased by 20% to $753/oz in fiscal 2018 from $936/oz last year.

Financial Results and Discussion

For fiscal 2018, the Selinsing Gold Mine generated a gross margin of $8.15 million before non-cash amortization and accretion compared to $3.73 million in the prior year. The increase in gross margin reflected higher gold production in fiscal 2018 compared to fiscal 2017. Net loss for the year was $4.75 million, or $0.02 per share (basic) compared to $7.21 million or $0.02 per share (basic) in the prior year.

Gold sales generated $19.25 million for fiscal 2018 compared to $15.72 million in the prior year, comprised of 14,750oz of gold sold from production (2017: 12,700oz), at an average realized gold price of $1,305 per ounce (2017: $1,238 per ounce) that was also equal to the weighted average London Fix PM gold price. Total production costs decreased by $0.89 million or 7% in fiscal 2018 to $11.10 million, compared to $11.99 million in the prior year. The decrease reflected lower production costs, offset by higher amounts of gold produced and sold in the year.  

Corporate expenses for fiscal 2018 of $4.53 million (2017: $4.35 million) were $0.18 million or 4% higher compared to the prior year. The increase included a $1.59 million legacy payment in salaries and wages, of which $1.19 million remained in accrued liabilities at June 30, 2018, offset by a prior year project investigation expense of $0.76 million and legal, accounting and audit expenses that decreased by $0.07 million, or 8% to $0.82 million (2017: $0.89 million) in fiscal 2018 from less litigation costs.

Loss from other items for fiscal 2018 was $3.24 million compared to $2.13 million in the prior year. The change for the year was primarily due to a $3.00 million (2017: $nil) legal settlement expense, offset by a decrease of $0.92 million in foreign currency exchange loss to $0.30 million (2017: $1.22 million) due to a lower US dollar and a prior year impairment loss of $0.89 million mainly for Intec testwork on the Selinsing Sulphide project.

The Company's cash and cash equivalents, including the restricted cash balance as at June 30, 2018 was $15.01 million, an increase of $1.31 million from the balance held at June 30, 2017 of $13.70 million. Working capital was $27.10 million at June 30, 2018, an increase of $2.65 million compared to $24.45 million at June 30, 2017. During the year, total exploration expenditures of $2.91 million comprised of $0.96 million (2017: $1.85 million) at Selinsing, $1.69 million (2017: $2.30 million) at Murchison and $0.25 million (2017: $0.28 million) at Mengapur. Total PPE expenditures for the year of $3.85 million (2017: $2.80 million) were mainly incurred at Selinsing including $1.12 million for the Sulphide Project and $1.61 million for acquiring Felda Block 7 mining rights and related incidental costs.

DEVELOPMENT

Selinsing Gold Mine

At Selinsing the focus was on the preparation for Sulphide Gold Production. The Company has done major work to progress the FS for the Selinsing Gold Sulphide Project. At year end, all primary work was completed includes a gold processing plant design, a front-end engineering design (“FEED”), mine design and scheduling optimization,  except some additional flotation testwork and finalization of the economic study targeting completion by November 2018.

Mining development work including tailing Storage Facility expansion design and slope stability studies for both the Selinsing and Buffalo Reef pits were also completed. Equipment quotations were received and combined with the material take-offs and schedules of rates to produce capital cost (“Capex”) estimates. Quotations were also received for specialist BIOX® and ASTER™ nutrients, flotation chemicals and flocculants towards producing operating cost (“Opex”) estimates. Capex and Opex estimates are being reviewed for use in the FS. The mine plan is in progress to complete the FS to deliver the Sulphide Project Execution Plan, which is in progress.

Murchison Project

At Murchison development was focused at Burnakura. SRK Consulting (Australasia) Pty Ltd (“SRK”) completed the “NI 43-101 Technical Report: Updated Mineral Resources, Burnakura Gold Project, Western Australia, Australia” dated July 17, 2018 by SRK, and it was SEDAR filed on July 18, 2018 subsequent to fiscal 2018 subsequent to the end of the year. A total of 293koz Indicated and 88koz Inferred Gold Mineral Resources was reported including deposits from: Alliance and New Alliance (“ANA”); North of Alliance (“NOA”) 1 to 8; Federal City; and Authaal.

The NOA 7/8 resource estimates form a significant part of the Indicated Resources, resulting in an underground mining scoping study (“UG study”) to be initiated at Burnakura and included in the PEA study. It included a deep drilling program at NOA 7/8 to test down plunge continuity of mineralization, and additional samples for further geo-metallurgical testwork. Subsequent to fiscal 2018, the drilling results were received with positive confirmation and metallurgical data was sent out for an independent review. The UG study included an assessment of mining and processing treatment methods and costs to optimize production. A 500ktpa plant upgrade report and the opportunity to increase production without increasing mill size are being reviewed by the Company’s technical team.

A  Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) was commenced in fiscal 2018 and will continue in the subsequent year.

Mengapur Project

The Mengapur Project is a long-term potential project. Since acquisition, the Company has carried out extensive exploration programs to confirm historical resources and metallurgical testwork in studying downstream products. The resource confirmation was largely completed in 2014 and the metallurgical work was continued in 2015 pending completion. Development was placed on hold since 2015 due to a change in the corporate focus to development of the gold portfolio. In August 2017, the Company announced that a Deed of Variation Agreement was signed with Intec International Projects Pty Ltd, to exploit the Intec Technology for the sulphide copper process. Pursuant to the Deed, the term of the interim Intec license granted to Monument has been extended to January 16, 2022. The Company intends to apply Intec Technology in testing sulphide copper recovery and produce copper metal in-country at the Mengapur Project.

Geological and resource modelling study work resumed during fiscal 2018, to deliver a NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimation Technical Report targeting completion in October 2018. As copper prices recover, the Company intends to continue work in fiscal 2019 to assess the opportunity for copper production.  

Acquisition and Financing

During fiscal 2018, the Company closed the Block 7 transaction at Felda Land. The Company commenced Felda Block 7 production, which contains the extension of the BRC oxide ore body. It also allows the pit shell to be fully developed across the boundary to access the entire sulphide ore body beneath the BRC once the Sulphide Gold Project is in production.

The Company entered into a $7.00 million gold forward sale transaction in January 2018. The transaction is non-dilutive to shareholders and the funds will be primarily used for development of the Burnakura Gold Mine and for general working capital.

Exploration

Malaysia

An Exploration program took place at Peranggih prospect confirming a zone of high-grade gold materials, with the mineralization occurring in the same regional shearing structure hosting the Selinsing and Buffalo Reef deposits. At Peranggih North, the program was focused on high-grade areas and adjacencies based on results from close spaced drilling in fiscal 2017. The Peranggih North Diamond Drilling (“DD”) drilling program completed 20 holes totalling 956m. The Peranggih South Reverse Circulation (“RC”) Program completed 26 RC holes totalling 1,320m, and 1 DD twin hole for 59m. The Peranggih North RC drilling program completed 5 holes totalling 285m.

A metallurgical drilling program at Selinsing Pit V was completed to study metallurgical recoveries of the mineralization and to confirm leachable sulphide materials for mill feed, with 6DD holes drilling for 292m and followed by a CIL testwork program.

Western Australia

Exploration work was carried out at Burnakura aiming to increase gold resources in both the near surface oxide and underground fresh material. Three drilling programs totaling 99 RC and DD holes for 4,987m were completed including: Burnakura Deeper Pit Program, NOA 7/8 Deep Exploration Program and Burnakura Shallow Oxide Program. Significant results have been announced subsequent to year-end with positive geological implications. At ANA mineralization has been shown to be continuous at depth, and at NOA 7/8 mineralization has been extended approximately 130m down plunge. Shallow oxide drilling assay results are prompting further drilling especially at Lewis, the best performing oxide target. A geological structural study is currently underway to interpret regional geology and identify follow-up drill targets at Burnakura.

At Tuckanarra geological modelling continued to support opportunities for open pit resources, with the Cable and Bollard deposits currently being re-modelled for internal mine optimization studies. At Gabanintha, historical drilling data studies continued and highlighted that mineralization is open at depth.

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Roger Stangler, B.S.c, MEng, MAusIMM, MAIG, a Qualified Person defined in accordance to National Policy 43-101, and Chief Managing Geologist of the Company.

About Monument

Monument Mining Limited (TSX-V: MMY, FSE:D7Q1) is an established Canadian gold producer that owns and operates the Selinsing Gold Mine in Malaysia. Its experienced management team is committed to growth and is advancing several exploration and development projects including the Mengapur Copper and Iron Project, in Pahang State of Malaysia, and the Murchison Gold Projects comprising Burnakura, Gabanintha and Tuckanarra in the Murchison area of Western Australia. The Company employs approximately 195 people in both regions and is committed to the highest standards of environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighboring communities.

Cathy Zhai, President and CEO
Monument Mining Limited
Suite 1580 -1100 Melville Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 4A6

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION visit the company web site at www.monumentmining.com or contact:

"Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes statements containing forward-looking information about Monument, its business and future plans (“forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are statements that involve expectations, plans, objectives or future events that are not historical facts and include the Company’s plans with respect to its mineral projects and the timing and results of proposed programs and events referred to in this news release.  Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The forward-looking statements in this news release are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.  These risks and certain other factors include, without limitation: risks related to general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; uncertainties regarding the results of current exploration activities; uncertainties in the progress and timing of development activities; foreign operations risks; other risks inherent in the mining industry and other risks described in the management discussion and analysis of the Company and the technical reports on the Company’s projects, all of which are available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.  Material factors and assumptions used to develop forward-looking statements in this news release include:  expectations regarding the estimated cash cost per ounce of gold production and the estimated cash flows which may be generated from the operations, general economic factors and other factors that may be beyond the control of Monument; assumptions and expectations regarding the results of exploration on the Company’s projects; assumptions regarding the future price of gold of other minerals; the timing and amount of estimated future production; the expected timing and results of development and exploration activities; costs of future activities; capital and operating expenditures; success of exploration activities; mining or processing issues; exchange rates; and all of the factors and assumptions described in the management discussion and analysis of the Company and the technical reports on the Company’s projects, all of which are available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.  Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.