ALROSA – Page 10 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Alrosa Profit Soars as Focus Turns to Sanctions

Alrosa has highlighted concerns about the impact of the US’s punitive measures after reporting its strongest annual earnings in five years.

Revenue jumped 51% to RUB 326.97 billion ($2.99 billion) in 2021 as the diamond market recovered from the previous year’s downturn, the Russian miner reported Wednesday. This drove net profit to RUB 91.32 billion ($834 million), almost triple 2020’s figure of RUB 32.25 billion ($297.3 million).

However, the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become the most pressing issue for the company, with the US imposing sanctions on Alrosa and its CEO, Sergey Ivanov. This blocks American firms from extending credit to the miner. An alliance of Western governments has also excluded several Russian banks from the Swift international payment system.

“These sanctions are preventing the group from obtaining financing from persons and entities connected to US and from effecting payments through sanctioned banks,” Alrosa said in its results statement.

Management said it was continuing to run the business as usual and “service its obligations,” but noted that the impact of the actions was unpredictable.

In the fourth quarter of last year, revenue fell 28% year on year to RUB 70.73 billion ($642.7 million), reflecting an unfavorable comparison with the sharp market rebound a year earlier as well as scarcities of goods for the company to sell. Profit slid 43% to RUB 12.14 billion ($111.1 million).

With rough in short supply globally, Alrosa made a slight increase to its 2022 production plan, forecasting output of 34.3 million carats, compared with earlier guidance of 33 million to 34 million carats.

Source: Diamonds.net

US Places Sanctions on Russian Miner Alrosa

The US has imposed sanctions on Alrosa and its CEO, Sergey S. Ivanov, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The diamond miner is one of 11 entities the Department of the Treasury has identified as being owned by or connected to the Russian government, according to a Thursday statement. The measures restrict American companies’ ability to engage in debt and equity transactions with Alrosa after Russia launched military action in Ukraine last week.

“Effectively, this action bans US businesses and persons from entering into debt transactions longer than 14 days with Alrosa but does not impose the harsher sanctions of an asset freeze and outright prohibition of all business,” the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), a source of legal guidance for the industry, said in an alert to members. “For the jewelry industry, any open memo agreements previously entered into with terms longer than 14 days should immediately be amended to shorten the terms, and/or closed.”

US companies should also evaluate any current transactions with Alrosa or its stateside affiliate, Alrosa USA, to ensure they do not violate the sanctions, the JVC added. The executive order does not apply to goods acquired from Alrosa or Alrosa USA before February 24, the organization pointed out.

Alrosa, a third of which is owned by the Russian state, is responsible for 90% of Russia’s diamond-mining capacity, the Treasury noted. The sanctions include Ivanov because the US counts him among the “leaders, officials, senior executive officers, or members of the board of directors” of the Russian government, and because he is the son of sanctioned official Sergei B. Ivanov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the statement continued.

“Treasury is taking serious and unprecedented action to deliver swift and severe consequences to the Kremlin and significantly impair their ability to use the Russian economy and financial system to further their malign activity,” said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “Our actions, taken in coordination with partners and allies, will degrade Russia’s ability to project power and threaten the peace and stability of Europe.”

Alrosa said its interactions with international partners would continue and that it was working to avoid any impact.

“Alrosa is carefully studying new working conditions in connection with the imposed sanctions,” a spokesperson for the miner told Rapaport News Sunday. “We intend to offer all our stakeholders the best possible service. We do our best to fulfil our obligations so that their businesses would continue to operate as usual.”

Source: Diamonds.net

ALROSA Takes Steps to Offer the Market Additional Supplies of Rough Diamonds

In line with its approach of fostering long-term sustainable development of the diamond market, ALROSA gives its customers an opportunity to adjust their diamond purchase schedules under trading sessions.

The demand for rough diamonds in early 2022 as well as in the second half of 2021 was outstripping supply, as cutters were actively buying rough to restock and fulfill the orders placed by jewelers and retailers.

Given the primary importance of a balanced market and the need to meet the real-backed demand, ALROSA offers its long-term customers a new option to adjust supply schedules between trading sessions. As a result, holders of long-term contracts can buy rough diamonds from their allocations ahead of the schedule by shifting booked volumes to an earlier date.

“The first quarter of the year is traditionally a period of active rough diamond purchases, as cutters seek to stock up after a holiday season in retail. The high season of 2021 was one of the most successful ones in the entire history, as we see robust demand from our customers underpinned by real orders. By reaffirming its commitment to a prudent and balanced policy aimed at sustainable progressive growth of the industry, ALROSA offers its customers a new option of adjusting diamond purchase schedules within their allocations by requesting the part of the booked rough diamond volumes to be moved to an earlier date. We believe that this innovation, together with the Gokhran auction slated for late February 2022, will speed up progress in addressing current market deficit. With the same goal in mind, we will hold an additional tender between trading sessions. We will offer the rough diamonds highly sought-after by cutters as soon as these goods leave the work-in-progress,” said Evgeny Agureev.

Long-term contracts for a 3-year period with major jewelry holdings, cutters, traders, and consumers of industrial diamonds make up the core of ALROSA’s sales system and traditionally account for the largest part of the company’s turnover. ALROSA makes special efforts to guarantee responsible business practices across the diamond production chain.

Source: instoremag

Alrosa Rough Prices Hit Three-Year High

*Nyurbinsky open-pit mine in Yakutia, Russia*

Alrosa’s rough-diamond prices have reached their highest level since late 2018, as scarcities have prevented the Russian miner from meeting strong demand.

The company’s rough-price index, which tracks like-for-like valuations, jumped 22% year on year in the third quarter and rose 10% versus the previous three months, it reported Friday.

While the diamond market’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis eased during the period, sales were still well above 2020 figures. Total diamond revenue climbed 59% year on year to $938.1 million for the quarter, with rough sales gaining 63% to $903.8 million. The average selling price dropped 10% to $99 per carat.

“Jewelry demand is strong in all the key markets,” the company explained. “At the same time, rough-diamond stocks at miners are at minimal levels, as supply structurally dropped.”

The rough market began to recover in the third quarter of 2020 as consumer sentiment returned following the initial coronavirus-induced lockdowns. This led to a strong holiday season for retailers and a buoyant restocking period in the first quarter of 2021, leaving miners with minimal inventory from the second quarter onward.

This lower availability of goods contributed to a decline in sales in the third quarter relative to the second quarter, the miner pointed out.

The price index has advanced 25% since the beginning of the year, hitting a level the company last saw in the fourth quarter of 2018. Its stockpiles increased slightly to 8.6 million carats in the third quarter — up from an almost unprecedented low of 8.4 million carats in the second quarter — but were still down 72% year on year.

This also reflected a 5% year-on-year drop in production to 8.8 million carats. Although sales volume exceeded this, rising 83% to 9.2 million carats, inventories still grew because Alrosa was able to sell some 696,500 carats that it bought from Russian state gem depository Gokhran.

Meanwhile, sales from the miner’s polished-diamond division slipped 4% to $34.3 million.

In the first nine months of 2021, total diamond sales more than doubled to $3.27 billion versus $1.58 billion in the same period of 2020, reflecting the global market rebound. Rough revenues came to $3.13 billion, compared with $1.51 billion a year earlier.

Source: Diamonds.net

Alrosa Raises Rough Prices Again

Alrosa has increased prices for the third consecutive contract sale, fueling concerns about unsustainable growth and tight manufacturing profits.

The adjustments were 4% to 5% on average, with a focus on 1-carat rough and larger, insiders told Rapaport News this week. Prices of that category are now higher than pre-pandemic levels, a customer noted.

Alrosa declined to comment on its “commercial strategy,” but a spokesperson said the Russian miner “assures that prices for its goods follow the real, confirmed demand from the midstream sector.”

The sale, which took place this week, came amid strong rough demand following positive holiday seasons in the US and China. But there were warnings of a slowdown as the quiet season approaches.

“Since the rough market is so strong, everyone accepts the [prices], but it’s becoming a bubble that might explode,” a source cautioned.

Industry members highlighted possible challenges for manufacturers. Rough prices have outpaced polished, they claimed, with the upcoming slow months raising concerns about end demand.

“[The miners have] taken away all the profit margin from the manufacturing pipeline, because…when the polished is ready, the polished market will be slightly weaker than today,” an Alrosa customer explained. “Probably, we will all lose some money, and not even make the costs.”

Alrosa maintained its policy of allowing customers to refuse any unwanted goods — a concession that has been in place since the start of the pandemic.

However, some clients felt compelled to buy to ensure they retain their allocations in the new contract period, which begins April 1, one customer pointed out. Even so, rough sales at the trading session will likely be lower than the $421 million it reported for January and the $361 million it garnered in February, reflecting a drop in the miner’s supply, he added.

De Beers: Less availability

De Beers will also offer limited supply at its sight next week as its reduced production plan for 2021 has affected availability. Sources expect sales of around $400 million, compared with $663 million in January and $550 million in February. The company lowered its full-year production forecast in January because of operational issues at some of its mines.

“We continue to take a prudent approach with our mine plans given the ongoing pandemic and associated uncertainty,” a De Beers spokesperson said Wednesday.

With fewer goods on the table, further price increases by De Beers are unlikely at next week’s sale, a sightholder predicted. The miner already increased prices in December, January and February, reversing a sharp price cut it implemented in August.

“There was a major pushback on the goods last month,” the sightholder commented. “In anything that [produces] pointers and large [polished goods], they went way too far, and everybody said so. There were also refusals. If [prices] go up now, everyone will just leave the goods.”

Source: Diamonds.net

Alrosa to Sell 242ct. Rough Diamond

Alrosa will auction a 242.31-carat diamond in Dubai later this month, one of the largest gem-quality rough stones the Russian miner has unearthed in the past decade, it said Friday. The opening price will be in excess of $2 million.

The March 22 sale will mark Alrosa’s 100th large-diamond auction. The company rarely trades Russian-mined rough diamonds of this magnitude — those that can produce a 100-carat polished stone or larger — because the law grants the state the right to examine and buy them.

“Even when it is possible to put them on sale on the market, we prefer to cut and polish the diamond[s] in-house,” said Evgeny Agureev, Alrosa’s head of sales. “Thus, today we are especially pleased to present this exceptional lot as part of our 100th international auction.”

Viewings will take place at Alrosa’s sales office in Dubai from March 14 to 21. Rough diamonds weighing 190.74 and 136.21 carats will also be available, as will several other stones above 10.8 carats.

Source: Diamonds.net

De Beers and Alrosa Raise Rough Prices

The two largest diamond miners increased prices at this week’s rough sales as demand improved due to post-holiday restocking and strong trading ahead of the Chinese New Year.

De Beers raised prices by an average of 4% to 5% at its first sight of 2021, while Alrosa’s increases were around 6% to 7%, industry insiders told Rapaport News Monday. Both companies implemented steeper hikes in larger categories than for smaller goods, sources said.

“Alrosa makes sure that prices reflect the actual market trends and a confirmed real demand,” a spokesperson for the Russian miner said. De Beers declined to comment.

The miners have steadily been reversing the prices cuts they made in the second half of last year. De Beers’ price rise was its second in a row, with January prices almost back to pre-pandemic levels, sightholders noted.

The rough market showed momentum in January following a better 2020 holiday season than many had feared earlier in the year. Cutting factories in India raised polished production to full capacity as shortages emerged and retailers restocked, prompting manufacturers to buy rough in large quantities.

Demand rose on the secondary market, with De Beers clients able to make profits of 5% to 7% by reselling goods ahead of the sight. Those premiums declined slightly following the price increase.

“[Polished] inventory levels are the lowest for at least the past seven or eight years,” an executive at a sightholder said. “That’s the reason people are going to be more aggressive in their purchasing,” he continued, adding that some traders foresaw a spike in consumer demand due to government stimulus packages.

Prices at smaller miners’ tenders were higher still — in contrast to mid-2020, when manufacturers could get goods up to 25% cheaper on the open market compared with De Beers and Alrosa boxes. Tender prices fluctuate with the market conditions more than contract-sale prices do, as the smaller rough producers have greater liquidity needs.

Some traders expressed concern that the surge in rough purchases could lead to an oversupply, as Chinese retailers have almost finished preparing their inventories for the upcoming lunar festival on February 12.

“It’s time to go back to business, but it’s no time to push your production to the max and buy rough at any price with the excuse that your factory needs it,” another sightholder argued. “The end of year has been OK, including in the States. There are great expectations for a fantastic Chinese New Year, but the reality is that any Chinese retailer has stopped buying as from this week.”

Amid the uncertainty, Alrosa kept its policy of allowing customers to defer 100% of their allocations in January, noting that it wished to uphold the balance between supply and demand.

De Beers also allowed sightholders to refuse a proportion of their allocations for goods up to around 0.75 carats, while maintaining its standard flexibility — including 10% buybacks — in larger categories.

De Beers’ sight began on Monday in Botswana and runs until Friday, with viewings also taking place in Antwerp and Dubai. Alrosa’s sale started last Friday and continues for a week.

Source: Diamonds.net

Alrosa’s July diamond sales drop 79%, state help may be on its way

Russian diamond producer Alrosa said on Monday that its rough and polished diamond sales totalled $35.8 million in July, down 79% from a year earlier after the coronavirus pandemic hit demand and the supply chain.

It marked a fourth consecutive month of weak sales as falling demand and supply chain disruptions since March have prompted Alrosa and other producers to reduce output and relax payment terms for clients.

Alrosa’s sales rose from $31.3 million in June but still were only a fraction of the usual sales of the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds. Its sales in July 2019 totalled $170.5 million.

The state-controlled firm has previously said that it was prepared for months of weak sales and that in coming months it will discuss with Russia’s finance ministry whether state precious metals and gems repository Gokhran could buy $0.5 billion-$1 billion of the firm’s rough diamonds.

The finance ministry is yet to take the final decision but is positive about the possibility of such a deal, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing an unnamed source at the ministry.

Such a deal would help to improve the situation in the market, as it did in 2008-2009 when Gokhran bought diamonds worth $1 billion from Alrosa during the global financial crisis, the source told Kommersant.

Reporting by Polina Devitt – reuters

Russia unearths its largest ever colour 236-carat rough diamond

The stunning gem aged from 120 to 230 million years was mined in Arctic Yakutia.

The rough diamond is of deep amber colour, its dimensions are 47x24x22 mm.

The precious discovery was made by workers of remote Ebelyakh mine on river Anabar in the extreme north of Yakutia, not far from shores of Laptev Sea and some 1,211km north west from Yakutsk.

The mine belongs to Diamonds of Anabar, part of ALROSA Group.

The rough diamond is of deep amber colour, its dimensions are 47x24x22 mm.

The decision hasn’t yet been made as to whether it’ll be sent to Alrosa’s in-house cutting and polishing division, or sold rough.

Russia unearths its largest ever colour 236-carat diamond

‘Such a large natural color rough diamond is a unique discovery.

‘Now, the stone is at ALROSA’s United Selling Organization being studied and evaluated by our specialists.

‘After that, we will decide whether to give it to our manufacturers for cutting or sell it as a rough.

‘Of course, cutters in any country will be interested in such a diamond, as it has the potential to give several high quality polished diamonds,’ said Pavel Vinikhin, head of ALROSA’s cutting and polishing division.

The Ebelyakh mine has produced several brightly-coloured rough diamonds in the past several years.

In summer 2017 alone a crimson, a pink and an intense yellow stones were found within a month.

Pictured below are the intense yellow and pink diamonds cut and polished from rough stones mined at Ebelyakh. Pictures: ALROSA

Source: siberiantimes

Alrosa, ZCDC JV starts prospecting for diamonds in Zimbabwe

Alrosa Zimbabwe (Alrosa Zim), a joint venture (JV) between Russian diamond miner Alrosa and Zimbabwe State-owned miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), has started prospecting and preliminary exploration works for primary diamond deposits.

After getting special grants from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Alrosa Zim had the environmental-impact assessment (EIA) approved by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), and is set to begin prospecting and exploration in the Masvingo, Matebeleland South and Matebeleland North provinces of Zimbabwe.

In July, Alrosa Zim’s geologists started geochemical sampling, trenching and pitting in Malipati zone, with ground geophysical surveys to follow.

The same prospecting work, including airborne geophysical surveys, is set to be conducted in the Maitengwe area towards the end of year.

Bulk sampling and drilling are set to begin in 2021.

“Following the signing of a JV agreement with ZCDC to develop diamond deposits in Zimbabwe in December 2019, we are progressing well towards the initiation of the full-scale prospecting works this year.

“Being a member of Responsible Jewellery Council, the World Diamond Council and the Natural Diamond Council, Alrosa complies in full with all industry commitments on responsible business practices and its own corporate standards.

“Alrosa is committed to follow these principles strictly while working in Zimbabwe, minimising adverse environmental impact in all areas of activities and using mineral resources comprehensively and rationally,” says Alrosa deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko.

Alrosa expects to investment $12-million in Zimbabwe from 2020 to 2022.

Alrosa holds 70% of Alrosa Zimbabwe, and ZCDC the balance. The JV focuses on prospecting, exploration and mining of primary diamond deposits in Zimbabwe.

Source: miningweekly