Mountain Province Diamonds is betting on a market rebound with CEO Mark Wall expressing optimism that global economic conditions will improve and lift diamond demand.

“The diamond market remained depressed in the first quarter of 2025, and this was a real challenge from a cashflow perspective,” Wall said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Despite the soft market, he noted “optimism that the turbulence in the global markets will stabilise as we move through 2025 and the diamond market will recover".

The comments come after the Canadian miner reported weaker sales and grades at its Gahcho Kué diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, which it owns in a joint venture with De Beers. Sales dropped significantly from a year earlier, with 426 000 ct sold for C$44-million ($30.7-million), less than half the 938 000 ct sold in the first quarter of 2024. However, the average price edged higher to C$103/ct ($72/ct) from C$95/ct ($70/ct).

Production also declined, with recovered carats falling 40% to 762 978 ct mainly owing to lower grades as the company mined through stockpiles to access the higher-grade NEX orebody. Wall said the grade reduction was expected, but “greater than anticipated” in some pockets. Still, he pointed to confidence in the overall grade of the three-million-tonne stockpile.

Operationally, the company saw several positives, including a 15% year-on-year increase in tonnes treated and a 28% jump in total tonnes mined. Wall credited improvements in “drill and blast efficiency, people efficiency, maintenance efficiency and short-term planning".

As the company continues to mine toward higher-grade ore, Wall expects “earlier access to the high grade NEX ore than was originally anticipated in the plan, which will help us later in the year".

The miner has also taken steps to shore up its financial position. It closed a refinancing transaction in the quarter that addressed reclamation liabilities and pushed the maturity of its second lien notes to December 2027. It is also seeking shareholder approval for a new working capital facility of C$33-million from Dunebridge Worldwide, a related party. Wall expressed gratitude for “the stalwart support of our largest shareholder and debt holder, Mr. Dermot Desmond".