ALROSA diamond mining company has begun preparing construction sites at its Mir-Glubokiy underground mine, the press service of the government of the Republic of Yakutia reports.
Investments into the construction of underground project will amount to 121.5 billion rubles. The total volume of diamond reserves at the project is 173.5 million carats, diamond mining is expected to begin in 2032.
The production capacity of the mine will amount to 2 million tons of ore and 3 million carats of diamonds annually for more than 30 years. The first diamond sales from the mine are scheduled to start in 2033.
The Mir mine has been mothballed after the accident that occurred on August 4, 2017, when the underground mine was flooded as a result of a water breakthrough from the quarry, several miners died.
After the accident, ALROSA planned to restore the mine. In June 2019, when the first preliminary calculations of capital investments in this project were published, the estimate was at the level of 73 billion rubles. In March 2019, ALROSA reported that it did not see an opportunity to start restoring the mine before 2024.
In September 2021, ALROSA announced a request for proposals for engineering and environmental surveys to prepare design documentation for the sinking of two shafts at the Mir mine.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
