"We've been working relentlessly over the last year to restart the Beaufor mine and Beacon Mill and we're pleased to see our efforts coming to fruition," Monarch's president and CEO Jean-Marc Lacoste said.

The company said it has started processing a 530-tonne batch of ore at the Beacon mill while a total of 31,079 tonnes of ore averaging 4.76g/t Au has been mined and 30,549 tonnes are currently stockpiled, ready to be processed.

Monarch has invested about C$20 million (US$15.33 million) to refurbish the Beacon mill. The company suspended production at the Beaufor mine in June 2019 and placed it under care and maintenance. The company had previously cited issues impacting the mine including falling grades, a soft gold price, and labour difficulties.

"We are convinced that our new mining and exploration strategies will enable us to make the Beaufor mine a success once again and create new, good-quality jobs and sustainable employment in the region in the process," Lacoste said.

"Once the mine and mill are fully operational, we will focus on generating cash flow for our exploration activities and increasing the Beaufor resource, which remains open on several levels of the mine," he added.