Mountain Province Diamonds Announces June 30, 2017 Quarter End Results

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2017

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX and NASDAQ: MPVD) today announces the results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Highlights for 2017 and to date
(All quoted figures in CAD$ unless indicated otherwise)

• For the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Company reported a net income of $7.6 million or $0.05 per share.  The Company conducted two diamond sales during the quarter of which only the second sale, which took place in June, was reported in the statement of comprehensive income.  The proceeds from the first sale in the quarter were credited against the mine construction costs as those diamonds sold were recovered prior to the mine declaring commercial production.
  
  
• Mining of overburden, waste rock and ore in the 5034 open pit for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was approximately 16.1 million tonnes.  Ore mined in the first six months totalled 1,551,000 tonnes, with approximately 395,600 tonnes of ore stockpiled at period-end on a 100% basis.
  
  
• For the six months ended June 30, 2017, the Gahcho Kué ("GK") Mine treated approximately 1,258,600 tonnes of ore through the process plant and recovered approximately 2,481,200 carats on a 100% basis for an average grade of approximately 1.97 carats/tonne.  This recovered grade is approximately 20% above budget for the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The Company's attributable share of diamond production for the three months ended June 30, 2017 was approximately 790,900 carats, and 1,215,800 carats for the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Production in the second quarter was 86% higher than the first quarter, reflecting the achievement of commercial production effective March 1, 2017.
  
  
• In the six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company conducted five sales through its diamond broker based in Antwerp, Belgium for a total of approximately 892,000 carats, which included fancies and specials.  Proceeds of approximately US$71.5 million or an average of US$80 per carat were received.
  
  
• Gem and near-gem diamonds for the six months ended June 30, 2017 contributed approximately 96% of the diamond sales proceeds at an average price of US$128 per carat.  The remaining 4% of proceeds came from industrial diamonds at an average price of US$7 per carat.  Gem and near-gem diamonds represented approximately 60% of sales by volume to June 30, 2017.
  
  
• Subsequent to quarter end, on July 20, 2017, the Company closed its sixth and largest sale to date at an average realized price of US$72 per carat.  Certain of the fancies and specials from this assortment were accelerated and sold in the fifth sale in June, and including the value of these diamonds the average realized price on the sixth sale assortment was US$87 per carat.  This sale confirmed the continued strong market interest in the Gahcho Kué production, with 10.6 bids received per parcel and 83% of winning bidders being repeat customers.
  
  
• Participation at the Company's sales has steadily increased in recent months.  Bids per parcel (approx. 120 parcels per sale) increased from an average of 9.1 over the first three sales to 10.8 over the last three sales.  There is a high level of market interest and competition for Gahcho Kué diamonds with an average of 100 companies bidding each sale.
  
  
• The Company has increased 2017 production guidance on a 100% basis by 25% to 5.5 million carats recovered (2.7 million carats on a 49% basis) from 4.4 million carats previously (2.2 million carats on a 49% basis).  Guidance on carats sold for full-year 2017 has accordingly been increased by 20% to 2.4 million carats from 2.0 million previously.

Financial Summary

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company reported a net income of $7.6 million or $0.05 per share, and $5.4 million or $0.03 earnings per share, respectively.

The Company undertook five sales of diamonds during the first half 2017 through its broker in Antwerp, Belgium, and a sixth sale was completed in July.  Although the GK Mine declared commercial production on March 1^st, the first four sales have been recorded against the mine construction costs rather than as revenue on the Company's statement of comprehensive income as those diamonds sold were all recovered prior to the mine declaring commercial production.

The following table summarizes the results of each sale: