Mountain Province Diamonds Announces Second Quarter 2019 Production and Sale Results and Provides Q2 Conference Call Details - Seite 3

Q2 2019 Summary

Q2 2019 production results were in line with the Company's expectations, with over 10.8 million tonnes of material mined, 6% higher than the same period last year. The total carats recovered and grade in Q2 2019 were 10% lower than the same period last year, but ahead of plan. The lower grade and carats recovered during Q2 2019, as stated in previous announcements, are driven by the grade and carats associated with the source of ore feed for each period.  In Q2 2019 the majority of the plant throughput consisted of the Hearne and SWC Kimberlites which contain lower average values per carat than the 5034 Kimberlite, where majority of the production was sourced from in Q2 2018.  In addition, the plant process modifications have, as planned, resulted in the ability of the plant to treat more ore resulting in the removal of the very small, lower value diamonds but increasing the number of larger more valuable diamonds recovered with the increased tonnage.  This outcome is expected and lower grades and carats recovered are offset by generating higher average values from the increased production. 

The Company's sales results in Q2 2019, and year over year value per carat performance demonstrate that the plant process changes are having a positive impact on the average value of the diamonds recovered. Considering that lower quality ore was being mined during Q2 2019 in comparison to Q2 2018, and in addition to a softer diamond market year over year, achieving similar average values per carat in Q2 2019 is very encouraging.  The Company and its JV Partner, De Beers Canada, continue to implement these changes and expect full completion by early Q2 2020.  Therefore, the Company is well positioned for 2020 and beyond, as it plans to mine larger percentages of the 5034 Kimberlite. 

The plant treated 882,374 tonnes and produced over 1.73 million carats in Q2 2019, in comparison to 899,000 tonnes treated and 1.93 million carats recovered in Q2 2018; 2% and 10% lower than the same period last year respectively, but slightly ahead of plan for the first half.  The GK plant continues to perform well and the process improvements are showing great results, demonstrated by similar average realized values per carat, and taking into account the source of diamonds for the two periods and corresponding values per carat.  Total tonnes treated during Q2 2019 was slightly less than what was achieved compared to the same period last year due to variable mixture of the plant feed for each period and the rate of processing for each ore type which can impact monthly throughput figures year over year.  Taking this into account, and considering the sources of ore from a year ago, the plant has achieved 4% higher throughput in the first half of 2019 compared to the first half of 2018.