Mountain Province Output Slides in 2020

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's share of production at the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine fell 4% to 3.2 million carats in 2020 as the company struggled with coronavirus-related restrictions to its operations.Total output for the mine fell 4% to 6.5 million carats for the full year, the company said Wednesday. However, that figure was higher than the company's revised guidance of between 6.3 million and 6.4 million carats, due to a strong third quarter. The miner's portion of output for the fourth quarter ending December 31 fell 23% to 745,592 carats."Production results compared to [the] same period last year...continue to be affected as a direct result of the impacts of Covid-19 on mine operations," according to the company, which owns 49% of the deposit in partnership with De Beers. "Reduced levels of personnel, travel restrictions to and from site, revised health and safety protocols on site, and new operating procedures to reduce the risk of Covid-19 are some of the key driving factors in the lower production figures."Revenue for the full year fell 29% to $171.3 million. The average price dropped 19% to $51 per carat, outweighing a 1.4% rise in sales volume to 3.3 million carats. Sentiment in the rough-diamond market grew more positive toward the end of the year, and remained that way leading up to the first sales cycle of 2021, Mountain Province noted."The diamond market came under unprecedented pressure from early March to early September and although this pressure remains, we did see a strong recovery with respect to rough-diamond demand in the last quarter of the year," said Mountain Province CEO Stuart Brown."The two sales during the last quarter saw significant price recovery across all categories of diamonds sold.Early diamond jewelry retail sales reports are encouraging, and we expect to see steady demand for rough diamonds in the first quarter of 2021."Image: The Northern Lights over the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine. (Mountain Province)