Russian mining giant Alrosa has announced that mining operations on the new diamond deposit Zarya in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) “are entering the final stage” after the open pit has reached a depth of 100 meters. Mining operations at Zarya began in 2016 and diamond mining is expected to begin in 2019.
Alrosa says that the open pit mine construction will reach 300 meters and is planned to be completed in 2019, and that the pit is expected to reach its design capacity of 1,250 million tons of ore annually in 2021. Approximately 130 people are involved in the open pit mine operations, with a total investment of RUB 12 billion ($189,060,000).
The Zarya pipe is located two kilometers away from the settlement of Aikhal in Mirny district of Yakutia. According to Alrosa, the Zarya deposit is estimated “to contain 3.5 million carats of diamonds worth more than $1 billion”.
