13 April 2023
On April 13, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (TSX: MPVD) (OTC: MPVD) announced production and sales results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 ("the Quarter" or "Q1 2023") from the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine ("GK Mine"). All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Q1 Production Takeaways
(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)
Q1 2023 Production Figures
|
2023 Q1 |
2022 Q1 |
YoY Variance |
|
|
Total tonnes mined (ore and waste) |
8,935,015 |
8,167,801 |
9 % |
|
Ore tonnes mined |
427,925 |
1,018,722 |
-58 % |
|
Ore tonnes treated |
766,786 |
707,553 |
8 % |
|
Carats recovered |
1,319,603 |
1,185,156 |
11 % |
|
Carats recovered (49% share) |
646,605 |
580,726 |
11 % |
|
Recovered grade (carats per tonne) |
1.72 |
1.68 |
3 % |
Q1 2023 Production was impacted by lower than planned process plant and loading unit availability. An annual planned major-maintenance shut-down will occur in May that is expected to address many of the areas in the plant seeing recurring unplanned downtime.
Q1 Sales Results
During the quarter 961,024 carats were sold for total proceeds of $128.7 million (US$95.0 million). This is the highest Q1 revenue recorded by the Company to date with three open market sales completed in the quarter. These results compare favourably with Q1 2022 when 506,567 carats were sold for total proceeds of $84.7 million (US$66.7 million). Achieving this milestone was a targeted effort to optimise revenue and expedite three full production splits into a strong market for small rough diamonds.
Mark Wall, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"While Q1 has historically proven to be a seasonally low production period, Q1 of 2023 has not met my expectations from an operational performance perspective. We are working with our operator and joint venture partner to ensure that the required resources and improvements are delivered to return to the performance that we saw in quarter four of last year. While I remain optimistic about the growth and life extension opportunities at the GK mine, the day-to-day operational results from our operator need to improve. We continue to expect to deliver production and costs within guidance for 2023. On the sales side we saw an excellent result in a resilient market amid strong demand from major jewelry brands and the continued recovery in the Chinese market."
On April 13, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (TSX: MPVD) (OTC: MPVD) announced production and sales results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 ("the Quarter" or "Q1 2023") from the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine ("GK Mine"). All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Q1 Production Takeaways
(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)
Q1 2023 Production Figures
|
2023 Q1 |
2022 Q1 |
YoY Variance |
|
|
Total tonnes mined (ore and waste) |
8,935,015 |
8,167,801 |
9 % |
|
Ore tonnes mined |
427,925 |
1,018,722 |
-58 % |
|
Ore tonnes treated |
766,786 |
707,553 |
8 % |
|
Carats recovered |
1,319,603 |
1,185,156 |
11 % |
|
Carats recovered (49% share) |
646,605 |
580,726 |
11 % |
|
Recovered grade (carats per tonne) |
1.72 |
1.68 |
3 % |
Q1 2023 Production was impacted by lower than planned process plant and loading unit availability. An annual planned major-maintenance shut-down will occur in May that is expected to address many of the areas in the plant seeing recurring unplanned downtime.
Q1 Sales Results
During the quarter 961,024 carats were sold for total proceeds of $128.7 million (US$95.0 million). This is the highest Q1 revenue recorded by the Company to date with three open market sales completed in the quarter. These results compare favourably with Q1 2022 when 506,567 carats were sold for total proceeds of $84.7 million (US$66.7 million). Achieving this milestone was a targeted effort to optimise revenue and expedite three full production splits into a strong market for small rough diamonds.
Mark Wall, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"While Q1 has historically proven to be a seasonally low production period, Q1 of 2023 has not met my expectations from an operational performance perspective. We are working with our operator and joint venture partner to ensure that the required resources and improvements are delivered to return to the performance that we saw in quarter four of last year. While I remain optimistic about the growth and life extension opportunities at the GK mine, the day-to-day operational results from our operator need to improve. We continue to expect to deliver production and costs within guidance for 2023. On the sales side we saw an excellent result in a resilient market amid strong demand from major jewelry brands and the continued recovery in the Chinese market."