Lower Grades Hit Mountain Province Production

RAPAPORT… Production at the Gahcho Kué mine failed to meet Mountain
Province’s expectations in the third quarter, as bad weather led to the
mining of lower-grade ore.



Ore from the asset yielded 1.7 carats of rough diamonds per
tonne in the three months ending September 30 — 28% lower than the same period
a year ago. Total output fell to 1.5 million carats versus 1.8 million in 2018,
even as the amount of material treated increased 17% to 890,325 tonnes.


“The severe weather conditions encountered during the
earlier part of the year caused delays in the mine-plan schedule, and access to
the planned higher-grade blocks of the orebody was limited,” Mountain Province,
which owns 49% of the asset, said last week. De Beers holds the remaining 51%.


Additionally, output suffered as a result of ongoing plant
modifications to increase the amount of ore processed daily, the company
explained.


“Higher plant throughput capability as a result of the
ongoing plant modifications, and subsequent need for more ore sources, required
the processing of all available ore sources, which mostly consisted of lower-grade-ore
tonnes, all of which are reflected in the lower grades and carats recovered.”


Revenue for the July-to-September period fell 27% to $41.6
million from the sale of 791,252 carats, while the average price dropped 28% to
$53 per carat.


Mountain Province expects total full-year production at Gahcho
Kué to meet its original forecast of 6.6 million to 6.9 million carats, as it
moves to the higher-grade portion of the mine in the fourth quarter, it added.


Image: Gahcho Kué mine. (Mountain Province)