Mr. Mark Wall reports

MOUNTAIN PROVINCE DIAMONDS ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR 2023

Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. has released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (Q1 2023) from the Gahcho Kue diamond mine (GK mine). All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

Financial highlights for first quarter 2023:

• 961,000 carats sold, with total proceeds of $128.7-million ($95.0-million (U.S.)) at an average realized value of $134 per carat ($99 (U.S.)), a record quarterly revenue result for the company;
• Record adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $67.5-million;
• Earnings from mine operations of $47.2-million;
• Record net income of $28.2-million or 13 cents of basic and diluted earnings per share;
• Repaid $12.0-million (U.S.) of second-lien bond debt principal on April 4, 2023.

Operational highlights for first quarter 2023 (all figures reported on a 100-per-cent basis unless otherwise stated):

• 766,786 ore tonnes treated, an 8-per-cent increase relative to Q1 2022 (Q1 2022: 707,553 tonnes treated);
• 1,319,603 carats recovered, 11 per cent higher than the comparable quarter (Q1 2022: 1,185,156 carats);
• Average grade of 1.72 carats per tonne, a 3-per-cent increase relative to Q1 2022 (1.67 carats per tonne);
• Cost per carat recovered, including capitalized stripping, of $90 per carat and cost per tonne processed, including capitalized stripping, of $155 per tonne:
  • Increase in unit cost relative to prior periods reflects greater capitalized stripping incurred in Q1 2023 (approximately $42-million versus $20-million in Q1 2022), as well as an increase in one-off maintenance related costs (numerator);
  • Net of capitalized stripping, cost per carat recovered was $58 per carat in Q1 2023, versus $56 in Q1 2022.

Sales highlights for first quarter 2023

As previously released, during the first quarter, 961,024 carats were sold for total proceeds of $128.7-million ($95.0-million (U.S.)), resulting in an average value of $134 per carat ($99 (U.S.) per carat). Three open market sales were completed in the quarter to deliver the highest Q1 revenue recorded by the company to date. These results compare favourably with two open market sales during Q1 2022 when 506,567 carats were sold for total proceeds of $84.7-million ($66.7-million (U.S.)).

Reid Mackie, the company's vice-president, sales and marketing, commented:

"In Q1 2023, the company achieved record sales on the back of a three-sale first quarter, which included three full production shipments and buoyant prices for smaller diamonds. Compared with Q1 2022, the lower average sales price achieved can be primarily attributed to the different mix of goods sold in both quarters with market prices also adjusting downwards from the record high seen early last year."

Growth

The latest round of drilling at Hearne has been highly successful with the results strongly supporting the Hearne extension as modelled. Ten holes have been completed, with each featuring kimberlite intercepts. One scheduled hole remains to be drilled on Hearne, with two additional holes planned to test for extension to the known Tuzo orebody. Final drilling results are expected later in Q2 2023. The company continues to work with its joint venture partner to study the economic viability of extending the life of mine at Gahcho Kue to include underground mining and the potential inclusion of the Kennady North project kimberlites.

Mark Wall, the company's president and chief executive officer, commented:

"In the first quarter, we saw an improvement in production compared to Q1 in 2022 despite unplanned maintenance challenges. There remains work to be done to fully optimize production and we are working with our joint venture partner on the required opportunities. The mine operator expects to see production increase as we move through the year in response to these initiatives and warmer weather.

"Quarter 1 was an excellent sales period, with our sales team bringing three sales to the market to achieve record sales results in a market that continues to oscillate. We continue to enjoy healthy adjusted EBITDA to revenue margins.

"On costs, the mine entered a period of heavy capitalized waste stripping during the quarter, which, coupled with some one-off maintenance related costs, resulted in a high unit cost per carat recovered and tonne processed. We expect these costs to reduce as we phase out of the heavy waste stripping and return to normal operations in the plant.

"Reducing our debt by $12-million (U.S.) in early April was a positive as Q1 is a capital-intensive period for the company, with all of the bulk commodities and heavy equipment for the year transported up the winter ice road. We remain focused on paying down our debt from free cash flow and we are fortunate to have no early repayment penalties in our debt facilities.

"On growth we continue to work with our joint venture partner De Beers on reviewing mine life extension possibilities for the project via the drilling we are currently doing on the underground potential of the Gahcho Kue mine as well as reviewing any potential to incorporate kimberlites from the Kennady property.

"We will continue to push hard in quarter 2 where we have important maintenance work scheduled that is planned to further optimize the processing plant at Gahcho Kue."

Gahcho Kue mine operations

The attached table summarizes key operating statistics for the Gahcho Kue mine in the three months ended March 31, 2023, and March 31, 2022.

Conference call

The company will host its quarterly conference call on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 11 a.m. ET.

Title:  Mountain Province Diamonds Q1 2023 earnings conference call

Conference ID No.:  44495 17 4

Date of call:  May 10, 2023

Time of call:  11 a.m. Eastern Time

Expected duration:  60 minutes

Webcast:  A webcast will be available.

Participant toll-free dial-in number:  1-888-390-0561

Participant international dial-in number:  1-416-764-8668

A replay of the webcast and audio call will be available on the company's website.

About Mountain Province Diamonds Inc.

Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49-per-cent participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in Canada's Northwest Territories. The Gahcho Kue joint venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed and explored for future development. The company also controls more than 113,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases surrounding the Gahcho Kue mine, including an indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites. Kelvin is estimated to contain 13.62 million carats in 8.50 million tonnes at a grade of 1.60 carats per tonne and value of $63 (U.S.) per carat, at February, 2019. Faraday 2 is estimated to contain 5.45 million carats in 2.07 million tonnes at a grade of 2.63 carats per tonne and value of $140 (U.S.) per carat, at February, 2019. Faraday 1-3 is estimated to contain 1.90 million carats in 1.87 million tonnes at a grade of 1.04 carats per tonne and value of $75 (U.S.) per carat, at February, 2019. All resource estimations are based on a one-millimetre-diamond-size bottom cut-off.

Qualified person

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Matthew MacPhail, PEng, MBA, and Tom E. McCandless, PhD, PGeo, both employees of Mountain Province Diamonds and qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

We seek Safe Harbor.