With gold production below target, Monarch Resources (TSE) lost US$2.2 million during the first quarter, compared with a net income of US$55,000 in the same period last year.
While production increased by more than 80%, to 15,510 oz., from last year, this was still well below expected levels.
At the Camorra mine in Venezuela, Monarch suffered a shortage of skilled, local underground miners, and was forced to contract miners from elsewhere in the country. The mine also experienced frequent voltage drops, which is partly due to the lack of a reliable power supply. As a result, La Camorra, which began production in August, 1994, produced only 9,542 oz. gold for the quarter.
Production from the Revemin mill, in the country’s Callao district, was down from last year’s record results, and the flow of mill feed from the company’s Canaima and Bochinche concessions ceased in mid-1994. Currently, the principal source of mill feed is third-party tailings and low-grade stockpiles.
On the exploration side, expenditures of US$2.3 million were significantly higher than the US$890,000 spent in the same period last year. Activities were focused on the Camorra deposit, where minable reserves rose by 38% to 553,410 oz. gold.
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