(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province reported a 45 per cent drop in revenue, as the company sought to defend it prices by holding back its higher value goods.During Q3 the miner sold a total of 478,653 carats for US$45.3m from Gahcho Kue, the deposit it operates jointly with De Beers in Canada's Northwest Territories. Average price per carat was US$95.In Q3 2022 Mountain Province sold 805,227 carats for US$83.3m at an average price of US$103 per carat.It said it had taken the decision to "strategically stock a sub-set of the lower value goods available for sale in order to defend its prices in the rough market". It expects to sell the goods stocked in December. The diamond market was, it said, experiencing "very low levels of demand", citing a slow return in China, and India's voluntary two-month ban on rough purchases.Plant stability increased, said president and CEO Mark Wall, despite a planned five-day shutdown and the evacuation of many communities as a result of devastating wildfires.