Alrosa to Diversify From Diamonds to Attract Investments

Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa is planning to diversify into natural gas and other commodities as a way of attracting vital foreign investment, according to a senior company official.

Vladimir Nekhaev, head of open-pit mining at Alrosa, made the comments at a mining conference in London. He said Alrosa was eager to expand into other natural resources, “including natural gas production” and not just diamond mining.

“This will enable us to reduce the risk of our single product business,” Nekhaev said, and thus improve the possibility of the firm attracting foreign investors.

Alrosa is expanding in north-west Russia, as well as pursuing projects in Angola but some of these developments have been held back by funding problems.

Producing 20 percent of the world’s diamonds, it is the largest diamond miner in the world after De Beers.

Alrosa reported in August that its rough diamonds sales during the first half of the fiscal year was $1.052 billion while sales of polished diamonds totaled $65.4 million. Net profit fell 9.5 percent to $168.3 million.