(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province is preparing to resume operations after a Covid outbreak closed its Gahcho Kue mine for almost a month. At least 19 workers at the site (pictured), in Canada's remote Arctic tundra, tested positive for the virus.The unscheduled closure is a further blow for the miner, which reported diamond sales down almost 18 per cent to to $208.2m in its full-year results.Most of its sales were to Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond who holds a 32 per cent stake in the company and stepped in with a a "vital liquidity lifeline" last August.The mine closed on 6 February. Mountain Province Diamonds said: "The ramp-up to resume operations at the Gahcho Ku?? (C) Mine has begun" and production will resume soon.Stuart Brown, the company's president and CEO, said: "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."