Alrosa Diamond – Page 3 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Alrosa achieves good first-quarter sales, maintains diamond output guidance

Russia-based diamond miner Alrosa produced eight-million carats of diamonds and sold 9.4-million carats in the first quarter of the year.

The company generated sales revenues of $904-million from rough and polished diamonds.

This was despite diamond production seasonally declining by 9% quarter-on-quarter, although year-on-year diamond production growth was 2%. The year-on-year growth was supported by increased production at the company’s Jubilee pipe, as well as at the Aikhal and international underground mines.

Alrosa says the average realised prices for gem-quality diamonds in the first quarter was $123/ct, which was down 17% quarter-on-quarter and flat year-on-year.

The company maintains its full-year production guidance of 34.2-million carats, but says sales volumes will depend on the Covid-19 epidemiological situation and respective measures taken globally.

Alrosa says the diamond industry started the year off in good shape as consumer sentiment had improved across key markets for diamond jewellery, while inventories at the midstream had normalised and polished diamond prices began to recover.

However, following closures of markets in China and Hong Kong in February, and then later in Europe and the US, demand started to weaken.

Alrosa says it might need to update its production and prices data during the year, depending on what happens in the market.

Source: miningweekly

Alrosa implements guidance to avoid conflict diamonds

Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond miner by volume, announced that it will start implementing the OECD due diligence guidance for responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

In a press release, the company said that to improve the efficiency of this work and guarantee compliance, it has launched an internal diamond supply chain management system. The mechanism is based on the Regulations on Responsible Diamond Supply Chain Management recently approved by its executive committee.

According to Alrosa, the internal diamond tracking and traceability system applies to all the segments of the diamond supply chain. It allows the firm to provide its clients with the information not only on the country of origin but the region of origin of its rough and polished diamond production.

The system also guarantees that rough diamonds produced by Alrosa in different regions are not mixed in the process of sorting, valuation, cutting and polishing, and trading.

“As part of Alrosa obligations as a certified RJC member, we are very proud to launch our tailored diamond supply chain due diligence system,” Peter Karakchiev, head of international relations, said in the media brief.

“It marks the start of a process which we believe will positively contribute to ensuring that all Alrosa diamonds are produced in compliance with the high standards of responsible business conduct.”

Source: mining.com

Alrosa steps up efforts to brighten fluorescent diamond sales

Russia’s Alrosa the world’s top diamond miner by volume, is betting on a new strategy to boost its sales amid an industry-wide slowdown that has hit small companies the hardest.

The state-owned company is now selling naturally occurring fluorescent diamonds mixed with others. At the same time, it’s holding talks with global jewellery retailers about jointly marketing its ‘Luminous Diamonds’ brand, which uses the glowing stones.

Fluorescence, a bluish glow produced by ultraviolet rays (UV), is a characteristic of 25% to 35% of diamonds, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

The feature has traditionally been seen as a negative attribute as it can make a diamond appear “milky” or “oily” in direct sun or UV light. Alrosa’s marketing efforts are centred on changing those perceptions.

Glowing diamonds are most common in Russia and Canada due to their proximity to the Arctic, where they are usually found.

GfK market research agency recently conducted a study involving over 4,000 jewellery consumers to determine how they perceived fluorescent diamonds.

The survey revealed that 74% of the respondents in the US didn’t know what they were or were poorly informed about them. When educated, however, over 82% of respondents said they would consider buying a diamond with such a feature. And almost 60% of customers, mostly millennials, expressed their willingness to pay as much as 15% more to obtain a fluorescent diamond.

About half of all diamonds produced globally have some fluorescence, but those in which the feature is “strong” — the focus of Alrosa’s campaign — represent as much as 5-10% of global supply.

Global demand for all types of diamonds fell between 2018 and 2019, affecting small stones producers the most, due to an oversupply in that segment that dragged prices down.

Increasing demand for synthetic diamonds also weighed on prices. Man-made stones require less investment than mined ones and can offer more attractive margins.

Big companies have not been immune to the downward trend. De Beers, the world’s No. 1 diamond miner, reported in February its worst set of earnings since Anglo American acquired it in 2012.

Source: Mining.com

Alrosa finds first large coloured diamond at new Yakutia mine

17.44 carat diamond found at the Verkhne-Munskoye deposit

Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond miner by output, has found a 17.4-carat bright yellow gem-quality precious rock at its new Verkhne-Munskoye deposit in Yakutia, which started operations in 2018.

The diamond, recovered in mid-February from the Zapolyarnaya kimberlite pipe, is the first large coloured stone found at the site, the company said.

Alrosa, which did not disclose the estimated value of the diamond, said it would be assessed and evaluated by its experts in coming days.

Diamond miners and traders have been hit hard in the past year by weak market conditions. These factors have taken a major toll on producers of small stones due to an oversupply in that segment.

De Beers reported Thursday its worst set of earnings since Anglo American (LON:AAL) acquired it in 2012.

The world’s No. 1 diamond miner by market cap said demand for rough diamonds from polishers and cutters was weak last year due to the impact of US-China trade tension and the closure of US retail outlets. Many companies in the so-called midstream are struggling to obtain financing, it said.

Alrosa believes the situation is about to change as it’s already seeing the first signs of stabilization in the sector.

Increasing demand for synthetic diamonds has also weighed on prices. Man-made diamonds require less investment than mining natural stones and can offer more attractive margins.

Industry consultant Bain & Co., however, believes that while glut that’s depressing the diamond market will probably be cleared early this year, it will take at least another 12 months for the market to fully recover.

“The industry’s first and strongest opportunity to rebalance and regain growth will be 2021,” said Bain in a report released in December, adding that supply could fall 8% that year.

Source: mining.com

Alrosa finds diamond over 230 carats, largest in three years

The world’s top diamond producer by output, Alrosa , has unearthed a unique rough diamond weighing over 232 carats, the largest gem-quality specimen found in more than three years.

THE GEM nQUALITY OCTAHEDRON WAS FOUND AT THE UDACNHAYA KIMBERLITE, IN THE YAKUTIA REGION OF SIBERIA

Alrosa 232 carat rough diamond at yakutia

The diamond, dug up at the Udacnhaya kimberlite pipe on October 19, is an octahedron of yellowish hue with several chips. Its dimensions are 40х39х23 mm.

“Such large gem-quality crystals are extremely rare,” deputy chief executive, Evgeny Agureev, said in the statement. “We have not seen them since 2016, when two diamonds weighing over 200 carats were mined.”

Discovered in 1955, the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe is one of the largest primary diamond deposits in the Yakutia region of Siberia and globally. Its diamond output reached 2.385 million carats in the first nine months of 2019.

Alrosa produced more than 43 million carats of diamonds in 2018 from its Russian mines, or about 27% of the world’s total. That’s 18% more than its closest competitor, Anglo American’s De Beers.

Alrosa finds diamond over 230 carats, largest in three years

Source: mining.com

Pink Russian Diamond May Rank Among World’s Most Valuable Gems

A 14.83-carat pink gem found and cut by Alrosa PJSC is expected to fetch one of the highest prices ever for a diamond when the Russian company puts it up for sale later this year.

The oval stone, named The Spirit of the Rose, has been certified by the Gemological Institute of America as fancy vivid purple-pink with excellent clarity, excellent polish and very good symmetry, said Alrosa spokeswoman Evgeniya Kozenko. The sale is planned for November, she said.

The Spirit of the Rose diamond.

Colored diamonds, formed by impurities such as boron or nitrogen, are the most expensive and rarest, with pink and red stones fetching the highest prices. The Spirit of the Rose may be one of the most expensive pink stones ever, according to Eden Rachminov, the chairman of the board of the Fancy Color Research Foundation.

He estimates the potential price at between $60 million to $65 million.

Sotheby’s set the record for any gem ever sold at an auction in 2017, with its $71 million sale of the 59.6-carat Pink Star to Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group The stone was mined by De Beers, and dethroned the Oppenheimer Blue, which fetched $58 million in an earlier sale at Christie’s.

Kozenko declined to comment on how much Alrosa hopes to raise from the sale, but said that The Spirit of the Rose will be the most expensive stone ever polished in Russia. The company is still considering how to conduct the sale, with a decision expected next month, she said.

It’s a good time for a sale, as pink stones are about to get even rarer after Rio Tinto Group confirmed earlier this year that it was shutting its giant Argyle operation in Australia. The mine produces about 90% of the world’s pink gems.

Alrosa found the 27.85-carat rough stone at its alluvial mines in Russia’s Far East in 2017 and named it Nijinsky, after ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. The preparation and cutting process, which took a full year, was done at Alrosa’s cutting factory in Moscow.

The Spirit of the Rose was named for the ballet Le Spectre de la Rose, staged by the Ballets Russes company, which premiered in 1911 and in which Nijinsky was a star.

Source: bloomberg

Alrosa Sales Hit Lowest Level on Record

Alrosa’s July sales slumped to their lowest point in three years, as weakness in the rough market continued to impact demand.

The Russian miner’s total sales slid 50% to $170.5 million for the month, it reported Friday. Rough-diamond sales, which account for the bulk of the company’s revenue, dropped 51% to $164.6 million. Polished sales increased 11% to $5.9 million. Previously, the lowest monthly total was $176.3 million in December 2016, according to Rapaport records. Alrosa has released its results every month since August 2016.

The decline resulted from an oversupply in the midstream, as manufacturers were unable to offload stones due to weak demand. “This factor was exacerbated by [the] low availability of credit facilities…in the midstream [and] trade tensions between [the] US and China,” explained Evgeny Agureev, director of Alrosa’s United Selling Organization.

Sales for the first seven months of the year fell 35% to $1.98 billion, with rough sales down 34% to $1.95 billion. Revenue from polished diamonds plunged 40% to $33.1 million for the January-to-July period.

However, Alrosa predicted an improvement in the situation as inventories even out.

“Recent statistics on the net imports of rough diamonds to India and net export of polished diamonds [out of that country] suggest that the diamond market is gradually coming back to supply-demand balance,” Agureev added.

Source: Diamonds.net

Alrosa recovers Fish-Shaped Diamond

Alrosa’s knack for recovering unusually shaped diamonds has scaled new heights with the discovery of a rough stone resembling a fish.

“In the photo, you see a very rare specimen: a rough-diamond crystal which pretends to be a fish,” the Russian miner wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday announcing the find.

As with its other similar hauls, Alrosa hooked the catch to a marketing goal, using the occasion to emphasize the care it takes to preserve sea life around its mines. Alrosa ecologists release “hundreds of thousands” of fish into rivers in Yakutia and its other mining regions every year, the company explained in the post. In October, it plans to introduce “valuable” broad whitefish into Siberian waters.

Last summer, the company unveiled a rough diamond resembling a soccer ball in the middle of the World Cup taking place in Russia, for which it was a sponsor. The company also found a stone that looked like a skull in time for Halloween, and stumbled upon a heart-shaped piece a few weeks before Valentine’s Day this year.

Source: diamonds.net

11 Carat Purple Diamond Expected to Fetch Over $10M

Hong Kong based M&B Diamonds expects to sell a record setting purple diamond for more than $10 million, after buying the stone from Alrosa.

The cushion modified brilliant cut, 11.06 carat diamond is the largest fancy deep purple pink stone the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has examined, according to the August 2018 grading report.

Alrosa originally debuted the gem as part of its “True Colour” collection in September at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. M&B bought it at tender in Moscow about two months ago, Roi Sheinfeld, owner of M&B Diamonds, told Rapaport News Wednesday.

M&B will preview the stone to customers by appointment only at its M&B Private Jewelers retail shops in Hong Kong and Singapore. While Sheinfeld chose not to reveal the stone’s purchase price, he expects the sale to yield more than $10 million, depending on the design.

“As it’s one of a kind…we will exhibit it as [a] polished loose diamond,” Sheinfeld added. “The client who buys it will have the privilege of sitting with our design team and creating a one of a kind bespoke piece.”

Russia’s Alrosa says diamonds sales at $559.5 million in March

Russia’s diamond miner Alrosa said on Tuesday that its sales of rough and polished diamonds totaled $559.5 million in March.

There was a slight seasonal cooling off in demand in March,” Alrosa Deputy CEO Yury Okoemov said, according to a company statement.

Alrosa’s total diamond sales in the first quarter 2018 amounted to $1.606 billion, the company said.