(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province reported an 11 per cent increase in carats recovered, and a 42 per cent increase in sales during Q1.But the Canadian miner said production at the Gahcho Kue mine, close to the Arctic Circle, was below expectations, as a result of "lower than planned process plant and loading unit availability".Mark Wall, president and CEO said: "We are working with our operator and joint venture partner (De Beers Canada, 51 per cent participant) to ensure that the required resources and improvements are delivered to return to the performance that we saw in quarter four of last year. "While I remain optimistic about the growth and life extension opportunities at the GK mine, the day-to-day operational results from our operator need to improve." The company hopes a major-maintenance shut-down next month will address many of the issues causing recurring unplanned downtime.A total of 1,319,603 carats were recovered in the quarter ending 31 March, 11% higher than last year's comparable quarter (Q1 2022: 1,185,156 carats). During the quarter 961,024 carats were sold for total of US$95.0m.For the whole of 2022 Mountain Province reported a 20 per cent drop in total proceeds after a "very challenging start to the year". It sold fewer carats - down from 3.16m in 2021 to 2.66m - but average prices per carat were up a third from US$75 to US$112.Earlier this year it forecast 2023 production of 5.6m to 6.1m carats.Pic shows the processing plant at Gahcho Kue, courtesy Mountain Province Diamonds