Mr. Mark Wall reports

MOUNTAIN PROVINCE DIAMONDS ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2023 OPERATING AND SALES RESULTS

Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. has released operating and sales results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023, from the Gahcho Kue (GK) diamond mine.

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

• 750,241 ore tonnes treated, largely unchanged relative to Q2 2022 (Q2 2022: 749,821 tonnes treated);
• 1,339,196 carats recovered, 6 per cent higher than the comparable quarter (Q2 2022: 1,260,899 carats);
• Average grade of 1.79 carats per tonne, a 6-per-cent increase relative to Q2 2022 (1.68 carats per tonne);
• 595,990 ore tonnes mined, a 43-per-cent decrease relative to last year's comparable quarter (Q2 2022: 1,043,348 ore tonnes mined).

Five-day major plant shutdown safely executed

In mid-June, a planned five-day major plant shutdown was safely executed. Process equipment, which had been responsible for repeated unplanned downtime, was repaired/replaced, with strategies implemented to ensure reduced unplanned downtime going forward. Plant stability has benefited from the shutdown, with throughput expected to ramp up though the second half of 2023.

Revised ore mined guidance for 2023

A transition to greater waste stripping activities than planned in the Tuzo pit, driven by the need to reduce the effects of interactive mining, has resulted in less mining activity in the 5034 pit than planned, with the ore release from this pit deferred to future periods. Given the sizable ore stockpile (1.27 million tonnes grading 1.26 carats per tonne, containing 1.59 million carats) and resource overperformance relative to the model, there is no production interruption expected from this deferral. Given this ore release deferral, it is appropriate to revise the ore mined guidance for the 2023 operating year. For full-year 2023, the company expects:

• Three million to 3.6 million ore tonnes mined:
  • Previously 4.10 million to 4.50 million ore tonnes mined;
• All other guidance remains unchanged.

Sales highlights for second quarter of 2023

During the second quarter, 360,308 carats were sold for total proceeds of $59.9-million ($44.6-million (U.S.)), resulting in an average price of $166 per carat ($124 (U.S.) per carat). These results compare with Q2 2022, where 586,567 carats were sold for total proceeds of $97-million ($74.5-million (U.S.)) at an average price per carat of $165 per carat ($129 (U.S.) per carat).

The reduction in volume sold in Q2 2023 relative to Q2 2022 was due to the acceleration of sales into Q1 2023, where three sales were held versus the historical norm of two. Relative to Q2 2022, average price per carat in Q2 2023 benefited from a coarser-than-average mix of goods sold, offsetting a softening in the market. The company expects a finer mix of goods sold in Q3 2023.

Despite a softening of the broader rough diamond market in Q2 2023, the market for smaller goods, making up the majority of Gahcho Kue goods, continues to show resilience and a more positive demand outlook. The company expects that the Gahcho Kue production will continue to attract sustained market demand.

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

"Q2 2023 saw quarter-on-quarter operational improvements across most operating metrics at site. While I am pleased to see this incremental improvement, there remains much work to be done to ensure that we are able to achieve planned mining and processing rates in a more sustainable way. We are working together with our JV [joint venture] partner to allow for more predictable outcomes.

"On the rough diamond market, we were glad to see our sales performance stay resilient amongst some broader market turbulence."

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 that include 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.