ST. PETERSBURG, June 8. /TASS/. A joint venture between Alrosa and the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) is conducting geological exploration work in Zimbabwe and expects to receive results this year, Head of Yakutia Aisen Nikolaev told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"We are now carrying out the planned geological exploration work in Zimbabwe. Just now the President of Zimbabwe came to a meeting and the management of Alrosa made a decision. We will continue the work. We hope that this year we will have some results of preliminary geological exploration, after which the investment decision will be made," he said.

In 2023, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZCDC told TASS that the Alrosa joint venture in Zimbabwe continues to operate and plans to complete geological exploration by the end of the year.

At the end of 2019, Alrosa and the Zimbabwean ZCDC completed the creation of a joint venture that is engaged in the search and geological exploration of new primary diamond deposits in the African country. Alrosa's share in the joint venture was 70%, ZCDC's was 30%.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is held on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.