Mountain Province Diamonds Announces First Quarter 2019 Production and Sale Results and Provides Q1 Conference Call Details

TORONTO and NEW YORK, April 25, 2019 – Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (“Mountain Province”, the “Company”) (TSX and NASDAQ: MPVD) today announces production and sales results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 (“Q1 2019”) from the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine (“GK Mine”). The Company also releases the details for its Q1 2019 earnings conference call and webcast.

Q1 2019 Highlights

(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)

• 870,949 tonnes treated, an 11% increase on comparable quarter (Q1 2018: 786,000 tonnes).
• 1,584,552 carats recovered at an average grade of 1.82 carats per tonne, slightly lower than the same period last year and mainly as a result of planned mine sequencing and lower grade ore tonnes treated during the quarter (Q1 2018: 1,641,000 carats and 2.09 carats per tonne).
• 9,528,018 total tonnes mined, a 16% increase on comparable period (Q1 2018: 8,202,000).
• In Q1 2019, the Company sold 643,739 carats at an average value of $USD 71 per carat ($CAD 94 per carat) for total proceeds of $USD 45.8 million ($CAD 60.7 million) in comparison to 527,000 carats sold at an average value of $USD 99 per carat ($CAD 126 per carat) for total proceeds of $USD 52 million ($CAD 66.6 million) in Q1 2018.

Q1 2019 Production Statistics¹

Q1 2019 Diamond Sales

Results from the Company’s first two diamond sales of 2019 were promising as demand for our diamonds increased and market prices stabilised.

Reid Mackie, the Company’s Vice President of Diamond Marketing, commented: “We had a strong start to 2019 with increased customer demand for our product and price increases observed across most rough diamond categories, particularly in the better quality diamonds. The rough market is showing signs of stability and there are early signs of a potential price recovery in the cheaper run of mine products where we saw low single digit increases.”

Q1 2019 Summary

Q1 2019 production results were slightly ahead of the Company’s expectation following a solid 2018 performance across all metrics. Just over 9.5 million tonnes of material were mined during the first quarter, 16% higher than the same period last year. The average grade during the quarter was lower than what the plant has been experiencing over the past few quarters, but in line with the expected outcome for Q1. The lower grade during the quarter is a function of two key factors; mine plan sequencing which allowed for lower grade ore tonnes to be treated, and the early impacts of the initiatives to increase plant performance by increasing sieve size cut offs. As stated previously, the Company and its JV Partner DeBeers Canada, are in the early stages of implementing changes in the plant which will result in higher throughput in tonnes treated by increasing sieve sizes to accommodate the recovery of larger and higher quality stones at a faster pace. This in turn will cause the grade to be slightly lower than previously reported as the lower quality and smaller stones will be eliminated from the recovery process. The main objective of this initiative is to increase revenue per hour generated in the GK Plant by eliminating lower quality and smaller stones in the early stages of treatment.  The benefits of the changes are starting to be seen in the value of the production sold.

During the quarter, the plant treated 870,949 tonnes, 11% higher than the same period last year and produced just under 1.6 million carats. The GK Mine remains on track to achieve it’s 2019 production guidance of 6.6 – 6.9 million carats.

Stuart Brown, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “we have had a solid start to the year with our Q1 sales and production results slightly ahead of our expectations.  We remain on track to achieve our 2019 target of 3.3 – 3.45 million carats (our 49% share of the full production) recovered, which together with the improving diamond market and the planned plant enhancements will translate into a better operating margin.”

The Company will release Q1 2019 financial results on Wednesday May 8^th, 2019 after market hours. The Company will host its quarterly conference call on Thursday May 9^th, 2019 at 11:00am EDT.

Q1 2019 Conference Call Dial-In Details:

Title: Mountain Province Diamonds Inc Q1 Earnings Conference Call
Conference ID: 7179307
Date of call: 05/09/2019
Time of call: 11:00 Eastern Time
Expected Duration: 60 minutes

Webcast Link: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/dtcvb9mr

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (866) 300-0510
Participant International Dial-In Number: (636) 812-6656

A replay of the webcast and audio call will be available on the Company’s website

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NT4