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Gahcho Kué Prices Rise as Market Improves
Feb 13, 2018 9:12 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Mountain Province Diamonds has posted its highest monthly sales total to date, as better-quality production and improved demand drove rough prices higher in February.
The company sold a total of 351,000 carats from its Gahcho Kué mine for $27.3 million during the month, at an average of $78 per carat. The increase from $53 per carat in December was due in part to an improvement in the size distribution, as well as the quality of fancies and special-size stones, the company explained. Prices of the miner’s rough also rose 7% from December on a like-for-like basis for equivalent diamonds.
“The results of this sale were driven not only by the
quality of the diamonds on offer, but stronger rough-diamond prices generally,
as we experienced an improvement in customer sentiment similar to that which
has been reported by the industry generally,” said Mountain Province interim CEO David Whittle. “We have experienced general rough-diamond price increases of
approximately 12% since October, supporting a view of improving market
fundamentals.”
De Beers owns a 51% stake in Canada-based Gahcho Kué, with Mountain Province holding the remainder. The two companies split the run-of-mine — or standard — rough diamonds according to their stake in the venture, and bid against each other for the fancies and specials.
The February tender featured half of Mountain Province’s allocation
of fancies and specials from the mine’s production at the end of last year. This means the remainder will be available at the company’s next sale.
Operations at the mine began in late
2016, with the project achieving commercial production in March 2017.
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Tags:
Canada, David Whittle, De Beers, diamonds, fancies, Gahcho Kué mine, Kennady Diamonds, miner, mountain province, Mountain Province Diamonds, Rapaport News, rough prices, rough-diamond, special-size stones
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