Russian firm Alrosa is planning to commence diamond mining at its new Zarya deposit, located in the Russian federal republic of Sakha (Yakutia), next year.
The company noted that the capital mining operations on the deposit are entering the final stage.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Since 2016, the miner removed ten million cubic metres of overburden from the open pit mine, which reached the depth of 100m.
The deposit is estimated to have aggregate diamond resources of 3.5 million carats of diamonds, valued at more than $1bn.
The development of the Zarya deposit will allow Alrosa to replace the falling-out reserves of Komsomolskaya pipe, which is nearing the end of its mine life.
Komsomolsky open pit mine production deputy head Timofey Baishev said: “The kimberlite ore lies beneath 20m of overburden. The field infrastructure is developed at the same time.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“This year, drainage ditch construction, installation and adjustment of the pumping unit will be completed. The open pit mine construction is planned to be completed in 2019.”
Upon completion in 2021, the open pit mine is anticipated to reach its designed capacity of 1,250 million tonnes of ore annually.
Planned to a depth of 300m, the development of the field costs RUB12bn ($189.95m) and involves the extraction of 12 million tonnes of ore.
According to Alrosa, the average diamond content of the deposit is estimated at 0.28 carats per ton of ore.
Mining operations at the deposit are carried out by Alrosa’s Aikhal Mining and Processing Division, which mines rough diamonds at open-pit mines Yubileyny, Komsomolsky, and underground mine Aikhal.
