6 October 2023
TORONTO, Oct. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) & (OTC: MPVD) today announces operating and sales results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023 ("the Quarter" or "Q3 2023") from the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine ("GK Mine"). Additionally, the Company wishes to provide details of its third quarter 2023 earnings release and conference call. All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Operational Highlights for Third Quarter 2023
(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)
Q3 2023 Production Figures
|
2023 Q3 |
2022 Q3 |
YoY Variance |
|
|
Total tonnes mined (ore and waste) |
9,145,849 |
7,753,629 |
18 % |
|
Ore tonnes mined |
887,695 |
1,345,654 |
-34 % |
|
Ore tonnes treated |
877,617 |
816,201 |
8 % |
|
Carats recovered |
1,326,160 |
1,451,455 |
-9 % |
|
Carats recovered (49% share) |
649,818 |
711,213 |
-9 % |
|
Recovered grade (carats per tonne) |
1.51 |
1.78 |
-15 % |
Sales Highlights for Third Quarter 2023
During the third quarter, 478,653 carats were sold for total proceeds of $60.3 million (US$45.3 million), resulting in an average price of $126 per carat (US$95 per carat). These results compare to Q3 2022 where 805,227 carats were sold for total proceeds of $110.6 million (US$83.3 million), resulting in an average value of $137 per carat (US$103 per carat).
The relative reduction in volume sold in Q3 2023 reflects the Company's decision to strategically stock a sub-set of the lower value goods available for sale in order to defend its prices in the rough market. We expect to sell the goods stocked in the Company's planned December sale.
The diamond market is experiencing very low levels of demand since returning from the August holiday period. Macro-economic concerns and delays to post-covid restocking of diamond jewellery in China have motivated diamond polishers to adopt conservative rough diamond buying and reduce polished inventories. This includes a temporary measure tabled by the Indian cutting and jewellery trade to voluntarily reduce rough imports into the country.
Mark Wall, the Company's President, and Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Following the mid-June 5-day plant shut-down, plant stability has increased greatly allowing for improved throughput relative to performance earlier in 2023. We continue to monitor this improvement closely in order to ensure this level of performance is maintained going forward.
During quarter 3 we saw the devastating wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories in Canada. The decision by the Northwest Territories to evacuate many remote communities, in addition to the territorial capital Yellowknife, created labor pressure on site as workers needed to support their families in evacuation, or were unable to return to work.
Despite these challenges, the team at site maintained operations and production during this period, although we did see a reduction in equipment utilization numbers due to workforce constraints, particularly in the mining area. Additionally, delays to mining the higher-grade ore in the 5034 pit persisted during the quarter, caused by the previously reported safety issues related to the interactive nature of the mining of the Tuzo and 5034 pits simultaneously. Access is being re-established to the 5034 pit bottom to recommence mining in that area.