Alrosa has agreed to a joint venture with national miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) for exploring new diamond projects in the country.
The deal, which provides Alrosa with a 70% stake in any new greenfield deposits, encompasses geological exploration, diamond mining and independent sales of rough stones to external markets, the Russian miner said Tuesday.
“We are committed to productive work in the exploration of new, promising areas and subsequent diamond mining,” explained Alrosa deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko. “Our specialists have been working in Zimbabwe for more than three months now, and the national authorities have been of great support to them. We have chosen various projects for the joint venture, and part of [those] will be launched this autumn.”
The company is primarily considering areas located in the Chimanimani region of Zimbabwe, Marchenko noted, stressing that Alrosa did not plan any operations in Marange, despite recent reports indicating it was considering the move. Zimbabwe’s Marange fields were a source of contention, after state security forces killed nearly 200 citizens in 2008 in an effort to clamp down on informal mining, resulting in the country’s removal from the Kimberley Process (KP). The KP reinstated Zimbabwe in 2011, but US sanctions against Marange diamonds remain in place.
“Alrosa only explores and considers the feasibility [in] other parts of the country,” it said. “[The company] has never, and under no circumstances, considered, and won’t consider, the possibility of entering the Marange region.”
In December, the miner established Alrosa Zimbabwe Limited, an affiliate company that will oversee all projects in the country.
Source: Diamonds.net
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 diamond producer Alrosa sold rough and polished diamonds in the amount of $14.6 mln at auctions in Hong Kong, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The company auctioned special size (above 10.8 carats) rough diamonds. Alrosa sold 101 diamonds with the total weight of 1,829 carats. Total revenues after the auction amounted to $10.5 mln, the company said.
“Considering the positive results of the auction, we can note that the demand for diamonds of the size category exceeding 10.8 carats remains stable,” said Evgeny Agureev, Member of the Alrosa’s Management Board.
Alrosa also staged an auction for polished diamonds. “The company sold 56 stones with a total weight of almost 300 carats, most of which are fancy colored diamonds (238 carats). That amount included two fancy yellow diamonds of “cushion” cut, weighing 31 and 30 carats, their total value at the auction amounted to $815,000,” Alrosa noted. Total revenues of the polished diamond auction equaled $4.1 mln.
The Russian company is engaged in exploration, production and sale of diamonds. The company produces diamonds on the territory of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Arkhangelsk Region. The company’s shareholders are the Russian Federation represented by the Federal Property Management Agency (33.02%), the Sakha Region (Yakutia) – 25%, districts of Yakutia – 8%. That being said, 34% of shares are in free float.
Source:http://tass.com
