Russia’s biggest diamond producer ALROSA Co. Ltd. has been awarded the main national public award Russian National Olympus.

ALROSA is the Prize winner in the nomination “Industry. Production”. The award has been assigned “For the Outstanding Contribution into Russia’s Social and Economic Development”. A statuette of “Golden Olympus” and diploma have been presented to ALROSA Vice-President Serguei Oulin who received the Prize on behalf of the company at a special ceremony in the Olympiisky Sports Complex in Moscow on May 11. ALROSA President Vladimir Kalitin was also awarded the Order “For Honour and Dignity”.

The Prize founders are the Government of the Russian Federation, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Development, Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and Third Millennium Social Development Centre and Foundation.

The Russian National Olympus Prize is designed to promote the best of Russian products and services, as well as the most efficient financial, scientific research and social projects contributing to the economic development of Russia. The winners in a number of nominations are chosen by a representative jury on the basis of expert analyses by economic and social research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

ALROSA is a world’s major diamond mining company accounting for about 25 per cent of the world diamond output. In 2002 it produced $1.466 billion worth of rough diamonds, its sales volume amounting to $1.557 billion, with $106 million from polished diamond sales. ALROSA’s production target for 2003 is $1.560 billion. The company’s biggest shareholders are the Russian Ministry of State Property (37%), and the Yakutian Ministry for the Management of State Property (32%).