Alrosa could make investment decision on Jubilee deep mine this year, mulling purchase of gold assets
MOSCOW. April 8 (Interfax) - The management of Alrosa will submit an investment decision on the construction of the Jubilee underground mine to the supervisory board during the quarter, the diamond miner's head, Pavel Marinychev, said in an interview with the Yakutia 24 TV channel.
"We need to make an investment decision on Jubilee, on the transition to underground mining after the open pit is depleted. We intend to submit this investment decision to the supreme management bodies during the quarter. This is vitally important for the Aikhal Mining and Processing Plant to keep operating rhythmically. We can't be late with these investment decisions," he said.
Another development project - the restoration of the Mir mine (the Mir Deep Mine project) - has slowed due to the cost-cutting program, but it is ongoing, Marinychev said. Design work should be completed this year. "We hope that we will begin construction as the market recovers," he said.
The optimization also affected the retrofit program, however, "in combination with decisions on optimization of the production process [mothballing low-margin deposits] it will not hit production so hard," he said.
Alrosa's diversification into gold is intended to smooth out the consequences of sector crises on the diamond market, Marinychev said. "We've consulted with our supervisory board and made a decision on the diversification program so that in the future we will get through sectoral diamond crises more smoothly than now, so that when demand or prices for diamond products decrease, we can support the main production and the team at the expense of our other products," he said.
Degdekan, which Alrosa acquired from Polyus last year, meets the diamond miner's requirements for gold assets. "These are a relatively high degree of exploration, proximity to backbone infrastructure and clarity about the design of the entire technological process," he said.
Alrosa does not rule out future purchases of similar mature assets. "Of course, we are looking at similar assets that are up for sale, including in Yakutia. And we are conducting geological exploration for gold, primarily in a zone that is close to our main production facilities. This is Western Yakutia and Northwestern Yakutia," Marinychev said.
The Almazy Anabara subsidiary, which previously only mined gold as a byproduct at alluvial diamond deposits, will begin developing its first small gold deposit this year, where gold is the main product.
Alrosa also continues to deliver energy projects, including a joint project with Sakhatransneftegaz to study two deposits in western Yakutia, the CEO said.
