Mountain Province Diamonds Inc has sold 290,000 carats of rough from its share of production at the newly opened Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine at its recent sale, the Company said in a statement yesterday. Proceeds from the sale, which was its 6th since production commenced, were US$ 20.9 million which translates into a value per carat of US$ 72, it reported.

The Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine, projected as the world’s largest new diamond mine, is jointly owned by De Beers Canada (51%) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49%).

The Company said that the latest sale was the highest sale by volume to date, above the 222,000 carats sold in the 5th sale, but proceeds were lower than the US$ 21.1 million it realized at the earlier sale at a value per carat of US$ 95.

Clarifying that the lower value was on account of the product mix, Mountain Province said that it had included a high-value selection of the fancies and specials won by the Company in the fifth sale which has otherwise been scheduled for inclusion in the sixth sale. Including these high-value diamonds, the value realized per carat in the sixth sale would have been US$87.

As reported earlier, the two partners bid for the fancies and specials within each production split through a special process conducted approximately every five weeks.

The statement added that competitive bidding and strong prices were realized on the fancies and specials and high-end parcels, and prices realized on the remainder of the lots were in line with expectations. Cumulative sales at tender now exceed 1.18 million carats.

Reid Mackie, the Company’s Vice President Diamond Marketing said, “Following on from a very strong June sale, the July tender was well attended and bidding performance remains high. Repeat customers won 83% of lots, consolidating our view that the rough market is now fully engaged with the Gahcho Kué product and its positive performance at manufacturing.”

Mountain Province also presented an overall picture of the monthly production, adding that the diamonds at the 6th sale were primarily originating from the April production month. It clarified that goods produced in May, June and July have not yet been sold.

David Whittle, the Company’s Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The attributed value per tonne for April as realized from the sale was C$225. This is the highest monthly value per tonne we have achieved to date, and reflects the particularly strong recovered grade for the April production. It is encouraging to see these positive trends through the initial months of our first full year of production.”