Mountain Province Results Indicate Average P/C of $75 for Gahcho Kue Goods

(IDEX Online) – Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. reported net income of $27.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, and $33.1 million for the nine month period.

Revenue in the three months ended September 30 was $65,218,000, and for the nine months totaled $160,359,000. Revenue recognized year to date reflects an average realization of $75 per carat for goods from the Gahcho Kué mine, the firm said.

The company’s 49 percent attributable share of diamond production for the three months ended September 30 was approximately 894,000 carats, and 2,110,000 carats for the nine month period.

"Participation at the company’s tender sales has been strong from the outset, with participation rates increasing through the year," the miner said. "Bids per lot (approximately 125 lots per sale) increased from an average of 8.1 in January to 11.8 in September. There is a high level of market interest and competition for Gahcho Kué diamonds with an average of 100 companies bidding each sale."

The company held seven tenders of diamonds during the first three quarters of 2017 through its broker in Antwerp, and the eighth and ninth sales were completed in October and November. "Although the Gahcho Kué Mine declared commercial production on March 1, the first four sales have been recorded against the mine construction costs rather than as revenue on the company’s statement of comprehensive income as those diamonds sold were all recovered prior to the mine declaring commercial production."

David Whittle, Interim President and CEO, said: “These third quarter results demonstrate the solid cash flow generating capabilities of Mountain Province and the Gahcho Kué Mine, strongly supporting our work to complete the resolution of the project lending facility.”