Russia has halted mining at its largest diamond deposit
The Russian state-owned diamond mining company “Alrosa” will suspend mining operations at the “Severalmaz” facility in the Arkhangelsk Region starting July 1. This facility accounts for about 10% of Russia’s total diamond production.
“The decision was made in accordance with Alrosa’s strategy to maintain operational and financial stability and to ensure discipline in the effective management of rough diamond sales flows in the diamond market,” Reuters quoted Alrosa as saying.
The suspension of operations at the facility, which is developing the M. V. Lomonosov deposit in the Arkhangelsk region, will begin on July 1 and last for three months.
Alrosa, which is 33% owned by Rosminerda and 25% by the government of Yakutia, reduced its production by 10% in 2025, to 29.8 million carats. The company ended the year with a net profit of 36.2 billion rubles but reported a negative free cash flow of 11.2 billion rubles. Outflows from accounts exceeded inflows by that amount.
Last year, Alrosa cut the salaries of employees not directly involved in mining by 10% and suspended operations at less profitable deposits — Verkhniy Muni and two sections of the Anabar Diamond Fields.
As a reminder, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, approximately 60 settlements have been completely or partially left without power as a result of a large-scale accident on the power grids.
