95ct. Diamond Boosts Mountain Province Sales

RAPAPORT... Strong rough demand and the sale of a 95-carat diamond drovean increase in revenue at Mountain Province's June tender, the miner said. The company sold 356,000 carats of rough from its Gahcho Ku?(C)mine for $30.3 million, at an average of $85 per carat, it reported last week.The purchase price for the 95-carat stone was more than double the miner'sprevious record for a single stone, though it declined to reveal the diamond'sexact selling price. "The positive results of our fifth sale were driven bystrong demand in the rough market," said Reid Mackie, Mountain Province's vicepresident for diamond marketing. "This demand is supported by stable roughsupply levels and continued positive retail news from the key diamond consumermarkets." Larger white diamonds drew especially strong competition andinterest from customers, with prices for that category increasing by alow-single-digit percentage compared with the previous sale, Mackie added. Mountain Province's previous tender, in May, brought inrevenue of $28.3 million, with an average price of $81 per carat.