Alrosa: New Finds could take Total Reserves to 1.1bn Carats

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa says it expects to find more diamonds in Yakutia and beyond, which could take total reserves to an estimated 1.1bn carats.

It also says rough production for 2022 is expected to total 35.5m carats, an increase on earlier forecasts of 34.3m.

Russia's state-controlled miner, currently sanctioned by the US, says the most promising new territories are the north of Yakutia, in the north west and north east of the country - in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region.

The miner's chief geologist, Konstantin Garanin, told the news channel 1sn.ru there were also small reserves also exist in the Perm Territory.

Yakutia currently accounts for 82 per cent of Russia's diamond output.  Alrosa's main mining and processing operations at the moment are in Yakutia (Republic of Sakha) in the Russian Far East, and the Arkhangelsk region in the north west of the Russian Federation.

Pic shows Alrosa's Udachny mine.