Alrosa Increases Rough Diamond Sales in November

Rough Market
10/12/2019 12:41

Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa reported a rise in rough-diamond sales for the second straight month, selling $282.1 million in November, which is a 6% increase over November 2018 ($266.6 million) and an 11% increase over last month ($253.9 million). The miner's polished-diamond sales fell to $5.8 million from $10.4 million last month and $7.4 million in November 2019. Total sales of $287.8 million worth of rough and polished diamonds represent a 5% increase year-over-year.

Alrosa's rough-diamond sales for the first eleven months of the year currently sit at $2.92 billion, which is 29% off the pace of rough sales worth $4.1 billion through November 2018. The company has earned 41% less from its polished-diamond sales so far in 2019, totalling $53 million compared to $90 million a year ago. 

“November sales growth evidence that mid-stream sector, specifically in India, is on track to restore its balance," comments ALROSA Deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev. "Somewhat more active purchasing activity at end-consumers in key regions also provide support to our sales volumes.”

New exploration sites identified

Last week, Alrosa announced it had identified three "promising" new exploration sites at the Malo-Botuobinsky license area that could potentially yield 17.9 million carats of rough across their lifespan, according to preliminary estimates. “Three promising sites have been localized in the studied territory, predicting the presence of kimberlite body clusters and individual kimberlite bodies comparable to the known kimberlite bodies of Malo-Botuobinsky diamondiferous area," said Alrosa Chief Geologist Konstantin Garanin. "Preliminary estimates indicate that forecast diamond resources are 17.9 million carats. It is recommend to continue prospect evaluation survey to access kimberlite rock."

Their prospecting included magnetic and electric exploration, high-frequency seismic surveys and verification of geophysical anomalies using the core drilling method. The geologists studied more than 200 thousand square meters.

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