Toronto: Mountain Province Diamonds Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Evans is leaving the firm immediately but will continue as a director and will facilitate the transitional period for his successor.

He is being replaced by David Whittle, currently the Lead Outside Director of the company, who has 25 years of senior executive experience in the mining industry. He has been a director of the company since 1997, and was President of Mountain Province’s joint venture partner, Glenmore Highlands Inc., at the time of the original discovery of Gahcho Kué’s 5034 kimberlite pipe in 1995.

Whittle has extensive experience in corporate finance, transactional negotiation and structuring, and operational management, with a strong background in corporate governance, the miner said in a statement.

Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49 percent participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine located in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Gahcho Kué is the world’s largest new diamond mine and projected to produce an average of 4.5 million carats a year over a 12-year mine life.