Monarch Mine, Manica District, Manica Province, Mozambiquei

Regional Level Types
Monarch Mine	Mine (Inactive)
Manica District	District
Manica Province	Province
Mozambique	Country

Monarch mine, just on the border with Zimbabwe, was operated periodically by Mincor de Mozambique until its closure in 1997. The gold is connected to shear zones in Archaean mafic and ultramafic volcanics, banded
iron formation and chert or in the fractured contact between the supracrustals and the surrounding granites (Lehto and Goncalves, 2008).

This dormant mine lies just east of and right on the Zimbabwe border 12 km NE of Mutare. It was worked by JIC Mining for only 25 months before being expropriated by the Mozambique authorities in January 1995. They worked it to standstill in 6 months due to lack of expertise. During this 2 year period, some 3000-4000 tonnes per month were milled giving a recovery of 15-20 kg bullion which was around 90% fine.

It appears that the bulk of the ore was partially oxidised and derived from the 10-20 m wide sub-vertical ironstone bodies near surface, and trammed to surface via adits. The ironstone itself is a shattered ferruginous chert shot through with quartz veinlets carrying pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor arsenopyrite (jarosite and limonite where oxidized). This folded horizon is sandwiched between serpentinite and schists so providing the ideal situation of a preferentially fractured competent horizon within un-mineralised mafic to ultramafic country rock. Two sections separated by a broad, northerly trending dolerite dyke, with an aggregate strike of just over 300 m, have been mined on surface and followed underground by a drive on one adit level. Magnetic anomalies either side of the dyke suggest that this body extends for much further eastwards and to the west in Zimbabwe. These orebodies have been drilled at <30 m intervals and systematically channel sampled according to sound geological practice.

The high grade Chromate Reef consists of sausage-shaped, boudinaged quartz bodies <1 to >3m wide and known strikes of 10-40 m long hosted in an inadequately explored shear zone, probably >500 m long. Their plunge down dip has not been properly tested but in this environment, they can be expected to extend for 50 to >200 metres. The quartz veins carry pyrite, galena, sphalerite and minor arsenopyrite and much of the gold is said to be associated with sulphides. Mabex reports that this reef carries less free gold (15-20%?) than that of the ironstone bodies which is surprising. A long section with assays shown to the writer indicates numerous places with assays in the 20-40 g/t range and diamond drilling tends to undervalue the orebodies.

A third mineralised zone known as the Clarks Reef along the northern portion of the claims boundary also has been partially tested for 400 -500 m but is of lower grade, 4-5 g/t. We did not see plans of this area.(Kalbskopf, 2003).

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References