Alrosa's Second Biggest Diamond in a Decade
September 11, 24
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa has announced its second largest recovery in a decade - a 262.5-carat stone from its Mayat mine, in Yakutia, northeastern Siberia.
It's a year, almost to the day, since the sanctioned Russian miner announced it had unearthed a 390.7-carat diamond from the same mine. In June 2023 Alrosa announced the recovery of the biggest ever diamond in Russia, weighting 410 carats.
The newly-discovered 262.5-carat stone was found at the Ebelyakh alluvial deposit at Mayat, by workers at Almazy Anabara, an Alrosa subsidiary.
"The Ebelyakh alluvial diamond deposit is famous for its exceptionally rare colored and large diamonds that have gained worldwide fame," said Alrosa CEO Pavel Marinychev.
"In 2017, the most expensive diamond in the history of Russia was mined here - a 27.85-carat pure pink crystal, from which the Phantom of the Rose diamond was subsequently cut.
"The discovery of another record-breaking diamond at the same diamond deposit in less than a year is a rare occurrence and, undoubtedly, a great success for the Russian diamond mining industry."
The diamond was discovered by night shift workers washing diamond-bearing sands. It has been sent for expert assessment.
Pic courtesy Alrosa.