PJSC Alrosa announced yesterday that its Udachny Mining and Processing Division has recovered a 207.29-carat rough diamond from the Zarnitsa pipe – the largest ever diamond to be mined at Zarnista.

The gem-quality rough diamond measuring 38.0mm Ñ… 37.0 mm Ñ… 18.0 mm has a “transparent transitional crystal form with a slightly grooved surface”, Alrosa revealed, adding that thus far it had not been named. 

Open-pit mining at Zarnitsa started in 1999 and summarising the mines prospects Alrosa said: “Identified reserves of the deposit under JORC as of 01.01.2015 amounted to 7.49 million carats. In Q1 this year, as part of increase in the open-pit mine capacity, diamond output exceeded 2.3 times the volume of diamonds extracted during the same period in 2015.”

“The modern mining and processing technologies ensure high degree of diamond preservation,” noted Gleb Shmarov, Chief Geologist of the Udachny Mining and Processing Division.  This is a major division within the Alrosa Group and includes within its fold  the Udachny underground mine named after Fedor Andreev, the Zarnitsa pipe, and the Piropovy Ruchey alluvial deposit. The Division started the development of Verkhne-Munskoe deposit that comprises the Deimos, Zapolyarnaya, Komsomolsko-Magnitnaya, and Novinka pipes.

“In Q1 2016, Udachny Mining and Processing Division mined 1.09 million carats,” Alrosa said.