OREANDA-NEWS.  ALROSA reports Q2 and H1 2015 production and preliminary trading performance.

Production performance
ALROSA’s H1 2015 diamond production totalled 18.0 million carats, up 13% y-o-y, driven by progress in the following projects:
- Karpinskogo-1 pipe of Lomonosov deposit (Severalmaz): diamond output increased up to 600 thousand carats after the production launch in October 2014;
- Udachnaya pipe: processing of extra stockpiles of higher grade ore from the open pit;
- Mir underground mine: diamond output increased almost twofold through measures to reduce water inflow;
- Botuobinskaya pipe: the first 481 thousand carats were produced after the launch in March 2015.

Preliminary sales performance
Indicatively, in H1 2015 ALROSA sold 18 million carats of diamonds. H1 2015 revenue from rough diamond sales is set to reach at least USD 2.1 billion. ALROSA sold 9.0 million carats of diamonds in Q2 2015, including 5.6 million carats of gem-quality diamonds at an average price of USD 176 per carat and 3.4 million carats of industrial diamonds at an average price of USD 11 per carat.
In Q2 2015, ALROSA’s rough diamond prices declined by 3%, overall prices were reduced by 6% since the beginning of 2015 affected by a slowdown in the diamond market.