MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. Authorities of the Arkhangelsk Region are going to double diamond mining through implementation of a new subsoil prospecting projects, Governor Alexander Tsybulsky said at the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We are one of seven regions that will participate in the subsoil prospecting project based on the public private partnership principle from the next year. We focus on diamond mining in the first instance. Our experts already say at present that we will be able to double our reserves at the least with a high degree of probability. While the Arkhangelsk Region provides for 20% of Russian diamond mining, we assume to achieve 40%," the governor said.

Jewelry grade diamonds are being mined in the region, the governor noted. "That is why this is a critical sector for us from the budgeting standpoint also," Tsybulsky added.