(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds has arranged a short-term $33m loan with Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond, to ease its "near term liquidity needs".The Canadian miner has struggled with the three-week Covid-enforced closure of its Gahcho Kue mine (pictured), which in turn forced it to cancel its May diamond sale in Antwerp.That, combined with the high costs of maintaining its winter access road, left it seeking funds from Desmond's Dunebridge Worldwide Ltd, which holds a 32 per cent stake.Stuart Brown, the company's president and CEO, said a news release yesterday that he expected to make up the lost production, revenue and cash generation, allowing it to repay this loan by the end of the year.Meanwhile Mountain Province turned last year's Q1 loss of $33.7m into a $6m profit for the first quarter of 2021.It sold 603,000 carats in the quarter, with total proceeds of $42.7m, averaging $71 per carat.