Mountain Province Diamonds Announces Plan for Restart of Operations at Gahcho Kué Mine

TSX and OTCQX: MPVD

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", or the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) and (OTCQX: MPVD) reports that the ramp-up to resume operations at the Gahcho Kué Mine has begun. The mine suspended production related activities on February 6 after experiencing several cases of COVID-19.

The ramp-up follows an essential services team crew change on February 23, which included bringing in two industrial hygienists to review and oversee work protocols and further deep cleaning. Essential services include maintaining power, water treatment, clearing roads, time critical maintenance work, water management, and receiving incoming winter road fuel and cargo shipments.  The next step is to bring in the production crew later this week and to begin the build up to production over the weekend.

Stuart Brown, the Company's President and CEO, commented:

"The return of our employees to site is a positive step for Gahcho Kué as we continue our safe ramp-up to steady-state operations. I'd like to thank all employees for their tireless efforts during these challenging times. As always, the decisions we make will prioritize the health and safety of our workforce, and the communities we interact with. Plans to mitigate the loss of production are being assessed and will continue to be reviewed over the coming weeks. It is important to keep our focus on maintaining a safe and secure site while balancing the need to make up for lost production as we navigate our way through the pandemic."

Additional details will be provided via news release as they become available.

Qualified Persons

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 Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and employees of Mountain Province Diamonds.

About the Company

Mountain Province Diamonds Mountain Province Diamonds 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.