The Russian company Alrosa is mothballing some of its deposits due to the industry crisis

Against the backdrop of planned production cuts in 2026, the Russian diamond mining company Alrosa is preparing to mothball a number of alluvial deposits. The company attributes these steps to the overall deterioration of the situation in the diamond industry and the need to optimize production.

This is reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.

“They conducted an analysis (regarding the mothballing of a number of facilities) of economic efficiency, and we supported them in this. It is clear that closing a mine is quite difficult, but closing alluvial deposits is not difficult,” said Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev.

According to him, as soon as the market stabilizes again and prices rise, the deposits will be reopened.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Finance continues to assess the situation regarding potential diamond purchases by the State Fund this year.

In April, Alrosa, which is subject to U.S. and EU sanctions, postponed wage indexation for its employees to save costs amid the industry crisis, The Moscow Times reported.

Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond producer with a market share of about 30%, reduced production by 10% to 29.8 million carats in 2025.

At the same time, Alrosa plans to reduce production to 25–26 million carats in 2026.

The company’s profit last year rose by 88.3% to 36.2 billion rubles thanks to the sale of assets in Angola, while revenue fell by 1.7% to 235.1 billion rubles.

“In the fall of 2024, the company announced an optimization plan amid the industry crisis, which involves cutting personnel costs and mothballing the least profitable assets,” writes The Moscow Times. — “Last year, Alrosa cut salaries for employees not directly involved in mining by 10%, partly by switching to part-time work. In addition, the diamond miner suspended operations at three less profitable deposits.”

As reported, India reduced its direct diamond imports from Russia by 39% in 2025 compared to 2024, from $664 million to $406 million.

Western sanctions have hit Russian diamond exports to India, which is the world’s largest diamond-processing hub.

The G7 countries banned imports of Russian diamonds effective January 1, 2024, and on March 1, they extended the ban to include stones processed in third countries. At the same time, India is the world’s largest exporter of processed diamonds, with a 26.5% share.