Alrosa (MCX: ALRS) has decided to temporarily suspend operations at its less profitable deposits.
The suspension will affect deposits with an annual production of less than 1 million carats, according to Russia’s state-owned diamond miner. The company still plans to produce 29 million carats of diamonds in 2025.
In November, Alrosa indicated that it might suspend some production this year and reduce staff.
The world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume has been impacted by a ban on Russian diamond sales to G7 and European Union countries as part of Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Western countries agreed to ban direct imports of Russian diamonds starting in January 2024 and to phase in a full ban on Russian-origin stones via third countries from March 2024.
Alrosa’s output fell by 4.6% to 33 million carats in 2024, while net profit declined by 77.3% to 19.3 billion roubles ($216.26 million).
Russia’s government regularly purchases diamonds from Alrosa through a state fund to mitigate the impact of the sanctions.
(With files from Reuters)
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