The Aikhal mine, one of the largest diamond mines in Russia and in the world, is located in the north-eastern part of the country. According to Rough & Polished, the mine has an annual production capacity of 1.3 million carats. A 2012 audit confirmed that the mine contains 14 million carats of stones in total, and may contain up to 54 million more carats.
Mining at Aikhal began in 1961. 36 years later, in 1997, the open-pit mine reached a design depth of 230 meters, at which point the open-pit mine was temporarily closed and an underground mining section was built.
According to Alrosa, the mine owner and operator, the major portion of diamond output of the Aikhal Mining Division today comes from the largest open-pit mine of Alrosa – Jubilee.
