ST. PETERSBURG, May 23. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian oil company Lukoil will supply diamonds from a field in the northern Arkhangelsk region in its first such venture next month, chief executive Vagit Alekperov told journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

Investment is estimated at $850 million, and the processing plant there will employ about 3,000 workers.

Diamonds will reach the market and export destinations in August-September from a field named after Russian geologist Vladimir Grib, where resources are estimated at 100 million carats.

Some 58 million carats will be open-pit mined 460 metres deep over 16 years. The rest will be dug underground at a location also known as the Verkhotinskoye field.

It is located 130 kilometres northeast of Arkhangelsk city in the largest region of European Russia, larger in territory than France and Spain.

The "pipe" containing the geological structure is one of the world’s major extraction sources.