Zarya has dispatched its first ore to a stockpile ahead of further processing since it was shuttered in May 2020 as part of a pandemic management action plan.
The company cited a regulatory approval to resume mining operations at Zarya, which it had sought due to a "diamond market recovery [that] started in the second half of 2020".
In 2021, the company plans to produce over 1.2 million tonnes of ore from Zarya.
Located 2 km from Aikhal deposit, Zarya pipe was discovered in 1973. ALROSA started developing the Zarya deposit in 2016, with the first ore mined in April 2019. In 2019, Zarya's diamond production was 38,000 carats, in 2020 - 257,000 carats.
Alrosa restated its Lomonosov mining and processing division, Severalmaz, on March 1, a month earlier than previously planned. The plant was suspended last October.
