Alrosa Extending Life of Aikhal Mine to 2044
December 31, 24
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is expanding its huge Aikhal mine, in north-eastern Russia, in a move that should extend its life until 2044.
The mine is one of the world's biggest and produced over 8m carats in 2020 and 2021, according to Alrosa's operating results.
Alrosa. the state-controlled miner, has embarked on the fourth phase of an underground expansion at Aikhal, which switched from open-pit to underground mining in 2005.
It will allow the mine, which comprises the Jubilee, Aikhal, Komsomolskaya and Zaria pipes, to maintain an annual output of 500,000 tonnes of ore.
"The project is attractive in that, in fact, it does not require any major re-equipment or much new infrastructure," Evgeny Denisov, director of the Aikhal Mining and Processing Division, told ECOticias, the environmental news platform.
Alrosa is currently sanctioned by the G7 nations because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Pic of Aikhal courtesy Alrosa.