Mountain Province Slides to Net Loss

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province saw a net loss in the third quarter,hampered by bad weather and the negative impact of currency fluctuation. The company reported a loss of CAD 25.8 million ($19.6million) from its Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada for the three months endingSeptember 30, compared with a profit of $17.5 million ($13.3 million) theprevious year, as the Canadian currency weakened against the US dollar. Revenue for the July-to-September period fell 27% to $41.6million from the sale of 791,252 carats, while the average price slumped 28% to$53 per carat. Although sales volume rose, it consisted of a larger proportionof lower-value rough as severe weather forced the company to mine atlower-quality portions of the deposit, Mountain Province said Tuesday. Total output fell 16% to 1.5 million carats, althoughthe amount of material treated increased 17% to 890,325 tonnes. The miner has lowered its full-year production outlook, asit continues to retrieve ore from the lower-grade portions of the mine. It nowexpects output of between 6.7 million and 6.8 million carats, compared to the6.6 million to 6.9 million carats it reported in October. Image: The Gahcho Ku?(C) mine. (Mountain Province)