Industria
Mountain Province Diamonds Announces Strong First Quarter Financial Results for 2022
All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
As previously disclosed, during the first quarter Gahcho Kué experienced an outbreak of COVID-19 Omicron that caused disruption to both operations and maintenance activities, in conjunction with a major failure of the Pitman bearing in the primary crusher. These two events have been largely resolved, but within the quarter production was below internal expectations, as the feed rate through the Primary crusher continued to be lower than planned. Grade was impacted by unplanned external dilution from mining that was primarily due to workforce inefficiencies around shovel operations and bottom pit mining causing space constraints, in conjunction with a different ore mix than was planned. The Company is working with its joint venture partner DeBeers, who are the operator of the mine, to address these operating issues.
As previously released, during the first quarter only 507,000 carats were sold for total proceeds of $84.7 million ( US$66.7 million ) resulting in an average value of $167 per carat ( US$132 per carat). This is a 52% increase relative to the average value per carat in Q4 2021 of $110 per carat ( US$86 per carat) but 16% lower in terms of volume of carats sold.
I'm extremely pleased to see the Company's strong financial performance in Q1, with a record adjusted EBITDA of $44.6M in the first 3 months of the year. In addition to its strong financial performance, the Company closed a US$50M Junior Credit Facility with its largest shareholder, and produced an updated NI 43-101 Technical Report which demonstrated an NPV attributable to Mountain Province of over $1.2Bn . These milestones are significant steps forward as we progress through what is to be a pivotal year for the Company, and all of its stakeholders. Going forward Management time will be focussed on guiding the Operator to optimise the operation and addressing the financing requirements of the Company.
The following table summarizes key operating statistics for the Gahcho Kué Mine in the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.
The Company will host its quarterly conference call on Wednesday, May 4 , 2022 at 11:00am ET .
Conference ID: 29875964
Date of call: 05/04/2022
Time of call: 11:00 Eastern Time
Expected Duration: 60 minutes
Webcast Link:
https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1545143&tp_key=bd339f39e9
Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (+1) 888-390-0546
Participant International Dial-In Number: (+1) 416-764-8688
A replay of the webcast and audio call will be available on the Company's website.
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is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine located in Canada's Northwest Territories . The Gahcho Kué Joint Venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed, and explored for future development. The Company also controls 106,202 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases that surround the Gahcho Kué Joint Venture property that include an indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites.
For further information on Mountain Province Diamonds and to receive news releases by email, visit the Company's website at www.mountainprovince.com.
The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Matthew MacPhail , P.Eng., MBA, and Tom E. McCandless , Ph.D., P.Geo., both employees of Mountain Province Diamonds and Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101
Investor Contact: Rich Matthews, Partner, Integrous Communications, rmatthews@integcom.us, (604) 757 7179, www.integcom.us; Mark Wall, President and CEO, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com; Matthew MacPhail, Chief Technical Officer, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com