All news

Alrosa ready to participate in diamond mining in Zimbabwe — CEO

Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov said details of joint diamond mining projects will be discussed shortly
Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS
Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov
© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. Alrosa is ready to take part in diamond mining projects in Zimbabwe, with prospects and details of projects to be discussed shortly, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian diamond miner Sergei Ivanov told reporters on Monday.

"I am confident we will be able to discuss in a few days the prospects for participation of our companies in the sphere of exploration and in the sphere of fields’ development with a high degree of exploration maturity. We are ready to share with our colleagues all the technology Alrosa posseses at present in respect to grading, preparation of diamonds for sale, and any know-how available with us, so that Zimbabwe is able to take the position the country had on the global diamond mining market for several years," the top manager said.

Alrosa is not going to focus on specific projects in Zimbabwe and plans to continue exploration of the region, he noted.

"We want to examine what we have in the company, review geological data colleagues will be able to furnish to us. Probably, appraisal will be needed in certain regions, to make narrower the zone for further consideration. Already identified diamond pipes are present in Zimbabwe, conglomerate and placer deposits are also there," Ivanov said.

A subsidiary Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Limited was opened in Zimbabwe on December 6, 2018, Ivanov said. Alrosa has thus started operations in the country, the corporate press service said.

Alrosa is expected to take part in development of the diamond industry of Zimbabwe, the country's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said earlier on Monday when visiting the company’s office.