Large Stones Keep Mountain Province on Track

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's sales increasedat its August tender, as larger stones and higher-than-expected productionboosted results. The miner sold 411,317 carats of diamonds from its Gahcho Ku?(C) mine for $26.9 million, at anaverage price of $65 per carat. "Consistent with the wider rough-diamondmarket, prices saw single-digit decreases overall," said Reid Mackie, theminer's vice president of diamond marketing. "Lower qualities and smaller sizesexperienced price pressure, but our 10.8-carat-plus specials performed well andmade a strong contribution to the higher total sale result." In July, a lack of large and fancydiamonds led to a decrease in the miner's sales to $22.2 million at $66 percarat. Mountain Province and De Beers, itspartner in Gahcho Ku?(C), bid for the right to sell large stones and fancies fromeach run of production. In August, Mountain Province won the right to sellthose diamonds. Production from the mine exceededexpectations, yielding higher grades that boosted total sales, CEO Stuart Brownnoted. Image: Diamond from Gahcho Ku?(C) mine. Credit: Mountain Province