Mountain Province Diamonds Announces Third Quarter and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 Results, Second Highest Quarterly Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in Company History

Canada NewsWire

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2021

TSX and OTCQX: MPVD

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) (OTCQX: MPVD) today announces its financial and operating results for the third quarter ("Q3 2021") and nine months ended September 30, 2021. All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

Operational Highlights for Third Quarter 2021 ("Q3 2021")

   -- 832,000 tonnes treated, a 1% increase from the 821,000 tonnes treated in 
      Q3 2020. 
   -- 1,562,000 carats recovered at an average grade of 1.88 carats per tonne, 
      a 13% decrease compared to the 1,795,000 carats recovered at 2.19 carats 
      per tonne of Q3 2020. 
   -- 10,280,000 total tonnes mined, a 4% increase from 9,884,000 total tonnes 
      mined in Q3 2020. 

Financial Highlights for Third Quarter 2021 ("Q3 2021")

   -- Revenue from 1,027,000 carats sold at $94.2 million (US$74.1 million) at 
      an average realised value of $92 per carat (US$72) compared to $47.3 
      million from 956,000 carats sold in Q3 2020 (US$35.3 million) at an 
      average realized value of $50 per carat (US$37). Third quarter revenue of 
      2021 represents the second highest quarterly revenue in the company's 
      history. 
   -- Adjusted EBITDA1 of $41.2 million compared to $15.3 million in Q3 2020 
      Third quarter adjusted EBITDA of 2021 represents the second highest 
      quarterly adjusted EBITDA in the company's history. 
   -- Earnings from mine operations $35.5 million compared to a loss from mine 
      operations of $2.2 million in Q3 2020. 
   -- Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs1 of $101 
      per tonne treated (2020: $95 per tonne) and $54 per carat recovered 
      (2020: $44 per carat). 
   -- Net income at September 30, 2021 was $8.8 million or $0.04 earnings per 
      share (2020: net loss $6.5 million or $0.03 loss per share). Included in 
      the determination of the net income at September 30, 2021 are unrealized 
      foreign exchange losses of $9.9 million, on the translation of the 
      Company's USD-denominated long-term debt. The unrealized foreign exchange 
      losses are a result of the weakening of the Canadian dollar versus US 
      dollar. 
(1) Cash costs of production, including capitalized 
 stripping costs, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS 
 measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under 
 IFRS. See the Non-IFRS Measures section of the Company's 
 September 30, 2021 MD&A for explanation and reconciliation. 

Operational Highlights for the nine months ended September 30, 2021

   -- 24.6 million total tonnes mined, an 6% decrease from comparable period 
      (September 30, 2020: 26.1 million tonnes). 
   -- 2,269,000 tonnes of ore treated; a 10% decrease from comparable period 
      (September 30, 2020: 2,510,000 tonnes. 
   -- 4,718,000 carats recovered at an average grade of 2.08 carats per tonne, 
      (September 30, 2020: 4,997,000 carats and 1.99 carats per tonne). 

Financial Highlights for the nine months ended September 30, 2020

   -- Total sales revenue of $213.2 million (US$169.4 million) at an average 
      realised value of $91 per carat (US$72) compared to $146.8 million in 
      2020 (US$109.5 million) at an average realized value of $62 per carat 
      (US$46). 
   -- Adjusted EBITDA2 of $98.2 million compared to $14.2 million for the nine 
      months ended September 30, 2020. 
   -- Earnings from mine operations of $82.1 million (2020: loss from mine 
      operations $24.3 million). 
   -- Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs2, of $110 
      per tonne treated (2020: $100 per tonne) and $53 per carat recovered 
      (2020: $50 per carat). 
   -- Net income at September 30, 2021 was $35.5 million or $0.18 earnings per 
      share (2020: net loss $74.3 million or $0.35 loss per share). Included in 
      the determination of the net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 
      2021 are unrealized foreign exchange gains of $0.4 million, on the 
      translation of the Company's USD-denominated long-term debt. The 
      unrealized foreign exchange gains are a result of the strengthening of 
      the Canadian dollar versus US dollar. 
   -- Capital expenditures were $27.3 million, $17.6 million of which were 
      deferred stripping costs, with the remaining $9.7 million accounting for 
      sustaining capital expenditures related to mine operations. 
   -- Quarter end cash position of $42.5 million (December 31, 2020: $35.2 
      million) and a net working capital of $91.6 million (December 31, 2020: 
      $52.8 million). 
(2) Cash costs of production, including capitalized 
 stripping costs, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS 
 measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under 
 IFRS. See the Non-IFRS Measures section of the Company's 
 September 30, 2021 MD&A for explanation and reconciliation. 

Market Highlights

As previously disclosed, during the third quarter of 2021, 1,028,327 carats were sold for total proceeds of $93.9 million (US$74.1 million) resulting in an average value of $91 per carat (US$72 per carat). This compares to 718,549 carats sold at an average value of $90 per carat (US$73 per carat) for total proceeds of $64.7 million (US$52.6 million) in Q2 2021. This brings year-to-date sales to 2,349,644 carats, for total proceeds of $212.5 million (US$169.4 million) resulting in a year-to-date average value of $90 per carat (US$72 per carat).

The positive market environment which began early in the year persisted through the third quarter, resulting in strong price growth across all size classes. Indexed on a like-for-like basis, the Company is now achieving sales prices 47% above its pre-Covid benchmark of February 2020. As global economies continue to recover and the Covid-19 pandemic becomes less restrictive, consumer confidence heading into the important holiday retail buying season is expected to strengthen, further supporting price growth in the Diamond industry. Additionally, supply-demand dynamics are expected to favour the company as volumes sold by industry majors remain at multi-year lows.

Jonathan Comerford, the Company's Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We're extremely pleased to report the strong third quarter operating and financial results. With the mine returning to peak efficiency levels and the diamond market exceeding pre-Covid levels, the company is on a strong footing as we enter 2022. With our new incoming CEO Mark Wall at the helm, we're looking forward to taking full advantage of the strong rebound in the diamond market, with our Gahcho Kué Diamonds in a great position to fill the gap that the Argyle Mine closure has left.

As we head into the end of the year with a good amount of cash in the bank, and an improved financial outlook backstopped by the strong performance we're seeing at the mine, we have many more options available to us than before as we explore ways to streamline the balance sheet, as we work with our supportive and constructive bondholders.

We believe that Mountain Province Diamonds is exiting a challenging time for the diamond industry as a whole. With the Covid-19 overhang on the industry slowly fading, supply and demand dynamics are expected to continue to tilt in our favour, to the benefit of all of our stakeholders."

Gahcho Kué Mine Operations

The following table summarizes key operating statistics for the Gahcho Kué Mine in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020.

                       Three months  Three months  Nine months   Nine months 
                       ended         ended         ended         ended 
                       September     September     September     September 30, 
                       30, 2021      30, 2020      30, 2021      2020 
GK operating 
data 
Mining 
*Ore tonnes      kilo 
 mined         tonnes         1,034           890         2,542          2,447 
*Waste 
 tonnes          kilo 
 mined         tonnes         9,246         8,994        22,092         23,627 
*Total 
 tonnes          kilo 
 mined         tonnes        10,280         9,884        24,634         26,074 
*Ore in          kilo 
 stockpile     tonnes           542           165           542            165 
Processing 
*Ore tonnes      kilo 
 processed     tonnes           832           821         2,269          2,510 
*Average       tonnes 
 plant            per 
 throughput       day         9,244         8,924         8,311          9,061 
*Average       carats 
 diamond          per 
 recovery       tonne          1.88          2.19          2.08           1.99 
*Diamonds       000's 
 recovered     carats         1,562         1,795         4,718          4,997 
Approximate 
 diamonds 
 recovered - 
 Mountain       000's 
 Province      carats           765           880         2,312          2,449 
Cash costs 
 of 
 production 
 per tonne 
 of ore, net 
 of 
 capitalized 
 stripping 
 **                 $            80            73            93             86 
Cash costs 
 of 
 production 
 per tonne 
 of ore, 
 including 
 capitalized 
 stripping**        $           101            95           110            100 
Cash costs 
 of 
 production 
 per carat 
 recovered, 
 net 
 of 
 capitalized 
 stripping**        $            43            34            45             43 
Cash costs 
 of 
 production 
 per carat 
 recovered, 
 including 
 capitalized 
 stripping**        $            54            44            53             50 
Sales 
Approximate 
 diamonds 
 sold - 
 Mountain       000's 
 Province***   carats         1,027           956         2,349          2,372 
Average 
 diamond 
 sales price 
 per carat         US    $       72    $       37    $       72     $       46