28 March 2022
All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted and are unaudited.
|
2021 Q4 |
2020 Q4 |
YoY Variance |
FY 2021 |
FY 2020 |
YoY Variance |
|
|
Total tonnes mined (ore and waste) |
10,812,723 |
9,796,823 |
10% |
35,447,014 |
35,870,474 |
-1% |
|
Ore tonnes mined |
1,019,671 |
840,261 |
21% |
3,561,417 |
3,286,843 |
8% |
|
Ore tonnes treated |
813,308 |
736,138 |
10% |
3,082,572 |
3,245,941 |
-5% |
|
Carats recovered |
1,511,253 |
1,521,617 |
-1% |
6,229,042 |
6,518,261 |
-4% |
|
Carats recovered (49% share) |
740,514 |
745,592 |
-1% |
3,052,231 |
3,193.948 |
-4% |
|
1Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs, and adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. See the Non-IFRS Measures section of the Company's December 31, 2021 MD&A for explanation and reconciliation. |
|
2 Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. See the Non-IFRS Measures section of the Company's December 31, 2021 MD&A for explanation and reconciliation. |
|
3 In FY 2021 a total of 35.4 million tonnes mined, compared to a total of 35.9 million tonnes mined in 2020; a 1% decrease year over year. |
In Q4 2021, 808,750 carats were sold at an average value of $105 per carat (US$84 per carat) for total proceeds of $85.1 million (US$67.6 million) in comparison to 957,120 carats sold at an average value of $84 per carat (US$65 per carat) for total proceeds of $80.2 million (US$61.7 million) in Q4 2020.
During FY 2021, 3,158,429 carats were sold at an average value of $94 per carat (US$75 per carat) for total proceeds of $298.3 million (US$237 million) in comparison to 3,329,289 carats sold at an average value of $68 per carat (US$51 per carat) for total proceeds of $227 million (US$171 million) in FY 2020.
Recovery in rough diamond prices was evident from late 2020 with Mountain Province's final sales of 2020 registering prices close to pre-pandemic levels. This price growth continued through 2021 with the Company's indicative market price index increasing 37% year on year average, or 62% from January through December 2021. Price recovery began in larger, higher quality diamonds and accelerated through all product ranges, and by year end all segments had recovered their price decline of the last two years.
Upstream stock levels are now believed to reflect operating inventories only. This supply scarcity combined with forecast higher demand for diamond jewellery support the continued stability or further growth in rough diamond prices.
Due to the rapid rise in fuel costs because of the global oil price shock during the supply period, noting that the Gahcho Kué mine procures all of its diesel in the first quarter during the ice-road supply season, a significant, once-off and unbudgeted diesel price increase was experienced. Additional issues related to the previously announced COVID-19 (Omicron) outbreak at site and the failure of the pitman bearing in the primary crusher, together have impacted annual production and costs. More than 95% of the diesel for the year has been purchased, the site is free of any COVID-19 cases, and the crusher has been repaired and is operating at full capacity. These issues, although now managed, have had an impact on annual production and cost targets for the 2022 operating year. The Company expects:
In a positive development for the mine, although a short-term constraint, during mining in the opening months of 2022, additional unmodeled resource has been encountered, carrying a lower grade than planned mining areas. This incremental, previously unmodeled kimberlite will be incorporated into stockpile strategy throughout 2022, with the net effect of lower processed grade, but a net increase in Life-of-Mine ore tonnes. It is seen as a positive by Mountain Province that more diamond bearing ore is being mined that existed in the mine plan.
"While the beginning of last year was a challenging time for the Company, we ended 2021 strong with excellent sales results, record free cash flow and a $240.6M impairment reversal. Our recently announced US$50 million junior ranking finance package, combined with expected cash flow from production and an encouraging supply and demand dynamic are positioning us well to resolve the debt from our 2nd Lien bonds coming due at the end of the year.
We now have a clear Business Strategy in place, excellent cash-flows, a clear vision to manage our debt, as well as an updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on Gahcho Kué that we released yesterday that generates a pre-tax NPV of $1,233M attributable to Mountain Province. That together with our initial results from our recently initiated Kennady North drill program with our first hole returning kimberlite intercepts at the South Anomaly which is incredibly encouraging, I believe that Mountain Province is position for an exciting future."