Alrosa Output Declines 7% In First Half Of 2014

(IDEX Online News) – Alrosa’s H1 2014 diamond production totaled 15.9 million carats in the first half of this year, a 7 percent decline on the year-earlier period.

The production decrease was mainly due to planned annual maintenance works at Processing Plants No. 8 of Aikhal Division and No.12 of Udachny Division, the diamond mining giant stated in a statement.

The company said production growth rose by a factor of 2.3 in H1 2014 at the Severalmaz mine following the launch of the second module of the site’s processing plant, “and confirms the previously announced mining guidance of 36 million carats for Alrosa in 2014”.

The firm said that preliminary data showed it sold 21.1 million carats of diamonds in the first six months of 2014, and that revenue from rough diamond sales grew by 13 percent on the year and amounted to $2.7 billion.

The international diamond market was positive in the half-year period, with rough diamond prices rising by around 6 percent since the beginning of the year.

In the second quarter, Alrosa sold a total of 8.4 million carats of diamonds, including 6.1 million carats of gem-quality stones, with an average price per carat of $200, and 2.3 million carats of industrial diamonds with an average price of $11 per carat.