13 May 2025
TORONTO, May 13, 2025 /CNW/ - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) & (OTC: MPVD) today announces financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 ("the Quarter" or "Q1 2025") from the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine ("GK Mine"). All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Financial Highlights for Q1 2025
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1Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs, and adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. See "Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures" at the end of the news release for explanation and reconciliation. |
Operational Highlights for Q1 2025
(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)
Sales Highlights for Q1 2025
As previously released, during Q1 2025, 426,000 carats were sold for total proceeds of $44.0 million (US$30.7 million), resulting in an average value of $103 per carat (US$72 per carat). These results compare to Q1 2024 when 938,000 carats were sold for total proceeds of $89.4 million (US$66.1 million), resulting in an average price of $95 per carat (US$70 per carat).
Mark Wall, the Company's President, and Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"The diamond market remained depressed in Q1 2025, and this was a real challenge from a cashflow perspective. On the mine operations side we executed another successful ice-road resupply season safely and on plan. Safety at the operations remained a key focus area, with the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) finishing at 2.14, which was a material improvement on the TRIFR of 6.37 for Q1 2024.
The processing plant continued to perform very well, with total tonnes treated in Q1 2025 improving by 15% compared to Q1 2024. On the negative, the grade for Q1 2025 was 48% lower than Q1 2024. The grade reduction was expected while lower grade stockpiles were treated during the period that we are stripping down to the higher grade NEX orebody, although the grade reduction experienced in the stockpile was greater than anticipated. Confidence remains in the overall grade of the stockpile, but at around 3 million tonnes there are pockets of higher and lower grade that will be experienced. We have begun treating areas of higher grade although the minerology of the ore will reduce the tonnes able to be treated by the processing facility.
On the all-important mining side, the total tonnes mined increased by 28% in Q1 2025 when compared to Q1 2024. The significant increase in mining rate is the result of a sustained focus on drill and blast efficiency, people efficiency, maintenance efficiency and short-term planning efforts. At this time, I anticipate earlier access to the high grade NEX ore than was originally anticipated in the plan, which will help us later in the year.
I am optimistic that the turbulence in the global markets will stabilize as we move through 2025 and the diamond market will recover.
As previously announced, during Q1 2025, we saw the closing of the Refinancing Transactions , which served to address the reclamation liabilities owed to De Beers as operator of the GK Mine, provide an immediate injection of capital to address the 2025 near cash flow deficit faced by the Company, and extend the term of the Second Lien Notes to December 2027, which were due to mature in December 2025. Furthermore, we recently announced that at our AGM to be held on May 16th, Shareholders will be asked to pass an ordinary resolution approving a new working capital facility from Dunebridge Worldwide Ltd., a related party of the Company, in the amount of CAD33,000,000, or the USD equivalent amount. In respect of these transactions for which we have received much appreciated support from De Beers and our financing partners, I would like to recognize the stalwart support of our largest shareholder and debt holder, Mr. Dermot Desmond. "