(IDEX Online) - Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds sold 559,528 carats of rough at the second sale since its Gahcho Kue mine was hit by the lockdown in February.Total proceeds from the tender in Antwerp were $34.3m - an average of $61 per carat, indicating an encouraging recovery in global demand.The figure is significantly higher than its first post-lockdown sale last month, which averaged $42, (210,661 carats sold for $8.9m) but didn't include any high-value or fancy stones. "We are pleased with the result of our second post COVID-19 sale despite the ongoing challenges during the pandemic," said Stuart Brown, president and CEO."The continued recovery in diamond prices across the categories is positive for the company and indeed the industry. We are encouraged that a positive momentum is building as we enter the all-important traditional retail selling season."Mountain Province reported Q2 losses of $21.8m as the pandemic closed markets, but it negotiated a lifeline with Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond, whose Bahamas-registered company Dunebridge, agreed to buy $50m of rough. The miner operates the Gahcho Kue mine (pictured) in Canada's Northwest Territories, in a joint venture with De Beers Canada Inc.