The announcement coincided with its full-year results, with growth driven by its jewelry brands.
Alrosa To Cut Production Up to 18% This Year
The company said it will mine 28 -31 million carats of diamonds in 2020, down from its initial projection of 34 million carats.
Moscow—Alrosa is temporarily suspending production at another diamond deposit as it lowers its production target for 2020 by as much as 18 percent.
The diamond miner announced Friday that output is projected to decrease to 28-31 million carats this year, down from the original guidance of 34 million carats, noting the toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken on demand for diamond jewelry worldwide.
That drop in demand has trickled up the pipeline, with producers like Alrosa and De Beers Group—which also has announced it’s cutting production this year—allowing contracted clients to purchase less rough to response to lower demand.
RELATED CONTENT: 10 Questions With De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver“Major diamond producers allowed cutters not to purchase the volumes contracted before in an attempt to pull all players across the value chain out of the crisis while also maintaining the stability of prices in the diamond market,” Alrosa said.
“This step requires that the company show … financial resilience, with cost-cutting and proactive production management viewed as the key tools for achieving this objective amid the slump in sales.”
Alrosa said it’s cutting production specifically at operations that produce lower-quality diamonds, which have weaker margins and are the least sought-after in the market.
Earlier this month, the company announced it was temporarily closing the Aikhal underground mine and the Zarya open pit mine beginning May 15. Together, the two operations produced 2.6 million carats of rough diamonds in 2019.
On Friday, it added the Verkhne-Munskoye deposit (1.5 million carats produced in 2019) to that list.
All operations there are set to be closed by early June, with mining expected to resume Oct. 1.
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