Mountain Province Output Slips in Third Quarter

RAPAPORT… Production at Gahcho Kué dropped in the third quarter as Mountain Province mined ore from a lower-grade portion of the Canadian deposit.

Ore from the asset yielded 1.88 carats of rough diamonds per tonne in the three months ending September 30, 14% lower than the same period a year ago. Total output fell 13% to 1.6 million carats, Mountain Province, which owns 49% of the asset, said last week. De Beers holds the remaining 51%.

In addition to the planned processing of lower-grade material, Mountain Province changed its diamond-screening filter to a larger size, meaning it did not recover as many smaller stones, it explained.

“We remain well on target to meet our production guidance of 6.3 million to 6.5 million carats recovered for 2021,” said Mountain Province chairman and interim CEO Jonathan Comerford. “The operator has done a good job in recovering some of the lost production from the temporary suspension of operations due to Covid-19 in [the first quarter]. The sizable stockpile built up at the plant also gives us confidence that we will reach our goals for the year.”

In the first nine months of the year, the miner recovered 4.7 million carats, it noted. Mountain Province will release its full third-quarter financial results on November 9.

Image: The Gahcho Kué mine. (Mountain Province)