OREANDA-NEWS. PJSC ALROSA, the world leader in diamond mining, has announced the start of the development of a new deposit, Zarya pipe at Aikhal Mining and Processing Division.

Today, the first commercial blasting triggered the first stage of the deposit development – surface stripping to remove barren sedimentary rock overlying the ore body. The mine is to reach its design capacity of 1 million tons of ore per year by 2021. The mine life is expected to be 13 years.

“The construction of an open-pit mine on the deposit is a very important investment project,” says Igor Sobolev, ALROSA First Vice President –Executive Director, “the start of mining operations at Zarya pipe will allow us to replace dwindling reserves at Komsomolsky open-pit mine.

The development of Zarya primary diamond deposit is one of ALROSA’s major investment projects. The initial investment is expected to be RUB 9.8 billion.

“The development of Zarya will guarantee stable use of existing capacities and ensure total rough diamond recovery of 3.6 million carats throughout the mine development,” said ALROSA President Andrey Zharkov.

The Aikhal Mining and Processing Division, established in 1986, mines rough diamonds at open-pit mines Yubileyny, Komsomolsky, and underground mine Aikhal. Its share in ALROSA Group’s production totaled 32% in 2015. In Q1 2016, Aikhal Mining and Processing Division mined 2.68 million carats. The division employs more than 4,300 people.