Indicators of mining operations, carried out mostly in winter, were fully achieved as well - the Company mined and processed about 14 million cubic meters of rock mass.” “The production target was exceeded by 9%.

“According to the Company’s data, over 5.4 million carats of rough diamonds were mined, which is a record mining level throughout the Company’s operation,” ALROSA announced. ALROSA’s subsidiary company Almazy Anabara, has declared a record volume production of diamonds during the “washing season” which covered the – roughly – four-month period from May 20 to September 24, 2018. Paul is an independent board member of Lipari Diamond Mines, a privately-held Canadian company with an operating kimberlite mine in Brazil and a development-stage asset in Angola. ĭisclosure: At the time of writing Paul Zimnisky held a long equity position in Lucara Diamond Corp, Star Diamond Corp, North Arrow Minerals Inc, Brilliant Earth Group and Barrick Gold Corp. He can be reached at and followed on Twitter. in finance and he is a CFA charterholder. Paul is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Also, listen to the Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics Podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

For regular in-depth analysis of the diamond industry please consider subscribing to his State of the Diamond Market, a leading monthly industry report an index of previous editions can be found here. Paul Zimnisky, CFA is an independent diamond industry analyst and consultant based in the New York metro area. In addition, independent producer, Gem Diamonds, just last month said that it has put its “toe in the water in Angola.” (Note: Russian major, ALROSA, has a legacy relationship with Angola via its Catoca mine joint venture – ALROSA is also a partner in Luaxe.)Īfter a generation-long civil war that has hindered foreign investment, in April De Beers noted, “Angola has worked hard in recent years to create a stable and attractive investment environment… (the country) remains highly prospective (for diamonds).” That said, industry stewards, De Beers and Rio Tinto, have both recently acquired mineral exploration licences to explore for diamonds in Angola. However, the start date of Luaxe remains in question as some engineering challenges remain and financing of the project is yet to be formalised.Īs far as the potential for new discoveries, greenfield diamond exploration is active in Angola, Canada, Botswana, Russia, Australia, the DRC, Zimbabwe and Brazil although global exploration investment is estimated to be at multi-decade lows despite the need for new supply. The in-development-stage Luaxe mine in Angola, which remains the only major new diamond mine currently being built, is expected to offset some of the production lost in the coming years. The Koffiefontein mine in South Africa is also scheduled to reach final production within the next three years – the mine has been in operation since 1870. In addition, the Almazy-Anabara placer mines in Russia’s Siberia are on pace to reach natural depletion by 2025 (according to current resource statements), as is the small but iconic Zarnitsa mine – notably the first commercial diamond mine in Russia. (Note: The owner of the Ekati mine, Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, is testing the possibility of extending the mine life with a remote, robotic mining plan this was discussed on the Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics Podcast with CEO Rory Moore in May, listen here – live link.) Over 30 million carats of net annual supply have come out of the market over the last 5 years due to lost supply at mines such as Argyle in Australia, International and Mir in Russia, and Victor in Canada.īeyond 2022, global supply is expected to remain rangebound at 115 to 125 million carats per annum through the end of the decade, according to Paul Zimnisky forecasts.Ĭonventional mining at both the Ekati and Diavik mines in Canada’s Northwest Territories are expected to reach depletion by mid-decade. Consequently, supply at legacy mines has fallen off in recent years while very limited new sources of diamonds have not been sufficient to offset the declines.

This downtrend in supply can mostly be attributed to apathetic diamond prices last decade that in effect hindered appetite for new project exploration and development. Theoretically, the previous supply “floor” of last decade is likely to be the new supply “ceiling” this decade.

Almazy anabara diamond mine