Deputy CEO of Russia's Alrosa responsible for Africa leaves company
MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - The deputy CEO of Alrosa responsible for production activity in African countries, Vladimir Marchenko, has left the company, Alrosa said.
Marchenko joined Alrosa in September 2017. He is moving to a position with a different mining company, Alrosa said.
During his time with Alrosa, Marchenko implemented important diamond industry projects in Africa. In particular, under Marchenko's leadership Alrosa established close cooperation with Zimbabwe in searching for new diamond deposits, it said.
Marchenko's expertise helped Alrosa to expand its project portfolio in Africa, company head Pavel Marinychev was quoted as saying by the company.
According to Alrosa, Marchenko also headed the company's South American division. Information about his activity in this area is unavailable.
Alrosa's most significant asset in Africa was its 41% stake in the Angolan diamond mining company Catoca, which the Russian company founded along with the local state corporation Endiama. Alrosa did not have a stake in production, but received dividends. Alrosa was forced to sell its share in Catoca when the Angolan authorities said they were unwilling to continue cooperating with the company due to sanctions. The sanctions have created problems with withdrawing capital from Angola, in particular in terms of transferring dividends amounting to $185 million, Angolan media previously reported. Paying for foreign equipment and compensating Catoca's Russian workforce in foreign currency was also problematic.
The deal may be completed in December, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev told journalists at the start of the month. Previously, Bloomberg, citing Angolan Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, said that the buyer is the Omani state fund Maaden International. Maaden International, which belongs to a consortium of Omani investors headed by the state fund Mercury Investments International, bought 24% of the shares in the gold company Polymetal in January 2024.
In addition to Catoca, Alrosa was involved in a joint venture with Endiama for developing the large-scale Luaxe diamond project. It is anticipated that Luaxe will reach its planned annual production level of 8 million carats by 2027.