Vladivostok, September 2, 2016 – PJSC ALROSA, the world leader in diamond mining, has announced that an Investment Agreement on the project “Diamond mining plant based on Verkhne-Munskoe ore field” was signed with the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East during the Second Eastern Economic Forum.
The investment agreement provides for the state infrastructural support of ALROSA amounting to RUB 8.5 billion for the creation of a 150 km long provisional service lane from the town of Udachny to Verkhne-Munskoe deposit.

The created service lane will contribute to the implementation of the best option for the development assuming the creation on the deposit of a diamond mining plant with the production capacity of 3 million tons of ore per year, where ore will be processed at the existing facilities of the Processing Plant No. 12 of the Mining and Processing Division and transported to the plant by road trains on the year-round motorway.

ALROSA is planning to build infrastructure facilities using its own resources until 2018, and compensate for the expenses using the subsidy, which is stipulated by the rules of paying the subsidy approved by the Decree of the Russian Government of July 9, 2015, No. 693.

The diamond mining plant on the deposit of Verkhne-Munskoe kimberlite filed is one of ALROSA’s major investment projects. The investment is RUB 62.98 billion. The project is being implemented at ALROSA’s own expense with the state support in the form of a subsidy to compensate for the expenses for the creation of transport infrastructure facilities of the Project in the scope of the target program “Development of the Far East and Baikal Region up to 2018”.
The estimated ore reserves on the deposit of Verkhne-Munskoe kimberlite filed are 65 million tons with the average grade of ore 0.6 carats per ton or 38 million carats in total. The development period is until 2043. Launch of the mining plant and start of mining operations at the open pit mine are planned for 2018. Once the design capacity is reached in 2019, the division will produce 3 million tons of ore per year.
Estimated budgetary receipts in the framework of the project amount to RUB 187.5 billion. The project will create more than 700 new jobs in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).