Mountain Province Diamonds Inc said that production at the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine in Canada, in which it is a 49% participant with De Beers, reached 5.9 million carats in 2017, exceeding even the upwardly revised full year production guidance of 5.5 mn cts by 8%.

The Company said that over 3.5 million tonnes of ore were mined and nearly 2.8 mn tonnes were processed during the year for an average grade of 2.14 carats per tonne.

MPV’s share of the annual production amounted to over 2.9 mn cts, it added.

During Q4 2017, mining of overburden, waste rock and ore in the 5034 open pit was approximately 8.7 million tonnes, with approximately 840,000 tonnes of ore (100 per cent basis) mined but remaining untreated at period end, the miner said.

In the same period, the mine treated approximately 693,000 tonnes of ore through the process plant and recovered approximately 1,627,000 carats on a 100% basis for an average grade of approximately 2.35 carats per tonne. The Company’s attributable share of fourth quarter diamond production was approximately 797,000 carats.

Said David Whittle, the Company’s Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, “These production results have notably exceeded our upwardly-revised full-year 2017 production guidance of 5.5 million carats recovered on a 100% basis (actual is 8% greater than guidance). This was driven by overperformances in both ore tonnes processed (actual is 3% greater than guidance) and grade recovered. Ice road development is progressing on schedule, with shipments to site expected to commence by the end of the month. As well, production results continue to track on budget into 2018, with winterization measures implemented this past year showing to have been effective. The Gahcho Kué team is to be congratulated for achieving such a strong performance in the mine’s first full year of operations.”