Shares of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (TSX and NASDAQ: MPVD) surged on Thursday after releasing its latest mineral resource estimates at the Faraday 2 kimberlite, located within the Kennady North Project, NWT, Canada. The stock rebounded by more than 12% at the open in Toronto, lifting the company's market capitalization to over C$256 million.
The updated inferred mineral resource at Faraday 2 highlights 5.45 million carats of diamonds, a hefty 74% increase over its 2017 estimate of 3.13 million carats. In addition, a total of 2.07 million tonnes of kimberlite was reported, a 49% increase from the previous estimate. This results in an overall grade of 2.63 carats per tonne, compared with 2.24 carats per tonne in 2017.
The company reports the attributed average value per carat at Faraday 2 has increased to $140, a 25% improvement from the 2017 value of $112 per carat. The average value is derived by applying a base case value distribution model to models of recoverable (+1 mm) diamond size frequency distribution for each geological domain.
"The Faraday 2 project is one of three known kimberlites within our wholly-owned exploration properties adjacent to the Gahcho Ku?(C) Mine," president and CEO Stuart Brown said. "As anticipated from our microdiamond results reported earlier this year, the inclusion of the northwest extension at Faraday 2 has greatly increased the value of this resource and at an average diamond value of $140 per carat offers significant potential."