Mountain Province Confirms Gahcho Kué Construction Completion During Q2 2016

(IDEX Online News) – Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. has reported its results for the second quarter of the 2016 fiscal year, ended June 30, which included confirmation of the completion of the Gahcho Kué mine.

The company announced that first ore was introduced to the diamond plant on June 20 and first commissioning diamonds were recovered on June 30. A ramp-up to commercial production is also underway, with the mine set to commence commercial production in January 2017.

Mountain Province entered into agreements with third parties for the valuation, sorting and marketing of its share of the diamond production from the Gahcho Kué diamond mine, with the company expecting its first sale of pre-commercial production diamonds during the fourth quarter, and approximately every five weeks thereafter.

The Gahcho Kué project is a joint venture between Mountain Province Diamonds, which holds a 49-percent stake, with the remainder belonging to De Beers Canada. It is claimed to be the world’s largest new diamond mine and consists of a cluster of four diamondiferous kimberlites, three of which are thought to contain a probable mineral reserve of 55.5 million carats of diamonds.