Diamond mining company ALROSA may develop gold projects in Chukotka, as well as conduct exploration for polymetals and extract hydrocarbons in Yakutia as part of a joint venture (JV).
In Chukotka, the company intends to develop gold deposits together with Rosatom, but the company's CEO Pavel Marinychev emphasized that ALROSA "is not switching to gold."
"ALROSA was, is and will remain a diamond company, this is our main product for many years to come. Moreover, we are trying to make sure that the planning horizons in the diamond [market] increase. This is why we are advancing geological exploration, looking for new technologies that allow us to process not only rich deposits, but also low-grade ones. We work in our communities, the quality of life greatly depends on our work," Interfax quotes him as saying.
Meanwhile, ALROSA discovered "good" occurence of polymetals during diamond exploration in Yakutia.
"At our licensed sites in Mirny and neighboring areas, where we are conducting geological exploration for diamonds, we saw good signs of polymetals. We decided to allocate additional funding to study what kind of polymetals these are along with the diamonds. To try to put them on the balance sheet in order to increase our value on the market," Marinychev continued.
Finally, ALROSA has recently announced the creation of a JV with the national oil and gas company Sakhatransneftegaz for geological exploration of the Ulugur and Ergedzhey hydrocarbon deposits in Yakutia. To date, field seismic exploration work has already been carried out at each of the sites over 300 linear kilometers.
According to ALROSA representatives, participation in the joint venture will create opportunities for the development of gasification in Western Yakutia and meet the growing demand for hydrocarbons in the region.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
