Mountain Province boosts inferred resources at Faraday 2 kimberlite

Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX: MPVD; NYSE: MPVD) has incorporated the northwest extension of the Faraday 2 kimberlite at its Kennady North project into an updated inferred resource for the kimberlite in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

The company discovered the northwest extension in 2017, a finding that extended the kimberlite by 150 metres.

Faraday 2 is one of three kimberlites at Kennady North, which sits about 10 km northeast of the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, in which Mountain Province owns a 49% stake and its partner De Beers Canada the remaining 51%.

The kimberlite now has an inferred resource of 5.45 million carats contained in 2.07 million tonnes of kimberlite, with an overall grade of 2.63 carats per tonne and an average value of US$140 per carat.

The new resource marks a 74% increase in total carats from the 2017 estimate of 3.13 million carats, and a 49% jump in tonnes compared with the 2017 estimate of 1.39 million tonnes.

Value per carat has increased 25% from the 2017 average of US$112 per carat, while the overall grade has risen 17% from the previous estimate of 2.24 carats per tonne.
Faraday 2 is an irregularly shaped, inclined pipe-like body that has been delineated for over 600 metres and remains open to the northwest. It varies in width between 30 and 50 metres and its vertical thickness ranges between 10 and 100 metres in subcrop at the southeast end, beneath Faraday Lake, to 50 metres thick at the furthest end of the northwest extension.

Drilling and bulk density data up until the end of 2018 forms the basis of the geological model for the kimberlite. The database includes 22,183 metres of core drilling from 102 drill holes and 3,688 metres of large diameter drilling from 31 reverse circulation drill holes. It also includes 811 bulk density measurements derived from the drill core, 250 of which are from within the northwest extension.

News of the resource update sent Mountain Province’s shares up 9.5%, or 10.5¢, to $1.22 in mid-morning trading.

Over the last year, the company’s shares have traded in a 52-week range of $1.09 to $3.72. It has a $255-million market capitalization.