Today in Yakutia, Zarya, a new diamond deposit, has been ceremonially put into operation. This is a large investment project. Experts say the deposit contains over a million carats. Extraction costs will pay off in a couple of years. It will offer new jobs and budget revenues for many years to come.
Dmitriy Makarov has the details.
This is a historical, global event in western Yakutia. At the annual forum of diamond-miners in Mirny, the Khozaktiv 2019, the industrial development of the new Zarya deposit was launched. The launch was carried out via video conference.
- Allow us to start the first industrial mass explosion of kimberlite ore in the Zarya pipe.
- Start it.
The miners of western Yakutia had been waiting for this moment for three long years. To reach the orebody, crews extracted 176.5 million cubic feet of waste rock annually. The result was a huge open pit.
Pyotr Grigoriev, pit superintendent: "The pit is 2,300 by 2,600 feet on the surface. As you can see, it's oblong in shape. The pit is located on a slope, so the depth may vary".
The exploitation of Zarya is one of the largest investment projects of the Alrosa company. The total investment amounts to 12 billion rubles ($188 million). According to experts, the costs will pay off in the coming years.
Sergey Ivanov, Alrosa CEO: "We are going to produce high-quality raw materials that are in demand on international markets. There are 1.25 million carats of diamonds there. We expect to reach the planned production capacity by 2021".
This is the second deposit that has been launched in Yakutia in the last six months. Representatives of the numerous Alrosa team discussed of all the pressing issues so that tomorrow they could begin fulfilling their goals.
Dmitry Makarov, Vladimir Yermakov, VESTI, Mirny.
