Alrosa may sell uncut diamonds to Gokhran, details yet to be discussed - Zharkov
MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - Alrosa may sell uncut diamonds to the State Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository (Gokhran), although the sides have yet to discuss the details.
"If sales in 2016 [to Gokhran] do take place, it will be connected to Gokhran's wish to top up the State Fund with certain types of valuables, including uncut or cut diamonds. Naturally, if Gokhran wishes to buy uncut diamonds in such and such amount, we will happily be ready to carry such a transaction out. This year, Gokhran has the opportunity to buy uncut diamonds, even if at the moment it has not yet happened," Alrosa CEO Andrei Zharkov told Interfax in an interview.
Gokhran has not made any significant purchases of uncut diamonds from Alrosa since 2008-2009 when sales from diamond miners practically ground to a halt. At the end of last year, when a drop in demand on the uncut diamond market caused a 30% drop in Alrosa's sales, the company's management started discussing the possibility of shipments of uncut diamonds to Gokhran in 2016. This possibility was confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, the Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District who is responsible in the Cabinet for Alrosa.
Gokhran's purchases would be carried out through funds allotted in the budget for replenishing the State Precious Metals and Gemstones Fund. In 2016, the plan set aside 11.962 billion rubles. For the past few years Gokhran has generally been buying gold and selling uncut diamonds.