Lucapa Diamond to restart halted Merlin mine
The phased approach will begin with an 18-month initial phase focused on excavating and dredging five existing pits.
Rough diamonds at the Mirny Sorting Center, Republic of Sakha, Russia. Source: ALROSA.
Russia-owned diamond miner Alrosa said Monday its second-quarter output dipped 16% year-on-year, to 8 million carats mainly due to scheduled repair works and lower grade at one of its pipes.
The world’s No.1 diamond company by output also said its diamond production dipped in the first half of 2014 by 7%, standing at 15.9 million carats.
Despite the negative figures, Alrosa noted production went up 2.3 times in the first half of 2014 at Severalmaz, following the launch of the second module of the site’s processing plant.
In terms of sales the firm said it sold 8.4 million carats during the quarter, including 6.1 million carats of gem-quality diamonds at an average price of $200 per carat and 2.3 million carats of industrial diamonds with an average price of $11 per carat.
Revenue from rough diamond sales jumped up 13% year on year during the period to $2.7 billion, while the company sold 21.1 million carats.
Alrosa reiterated its previously announced mining guidance of 36 million carats for the year and noted positive dynamics for the diamond market during the first half, stating that rough prices rose 6% since the beginning of the year.
