On August 4, according to TASS news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Alrosa diamond mining group currently holds about 50% of the world's total diamond reserves, and accounts for nearly 30% of global diamond mining production.
The information was released by Mr. Putin during a meeting with General Director of Alrosa Pavel Marinychev in Moscow, in the context that the world diamond market is still affected by reduced consumer demand, competition from artificial diamonds and sanctions targeting Russia's mining industry.
In the exchange, the Russian President asked if Alrosa currently possesses about 1 billion carats of diamond reserves. After Mr. Marinychev confirmed, Mr. Putin said that this number is equivalent to about half of the total global diamond reserves.
In addition, the Russian leader also said that Alrosa currently contributes about 30% of the world's diamond exploitation output. General Director Pavel Marinychev confirmed that this rate is calculated based on the exploitation output in carats.
Alrosa is Russia's largest diamond mining enterprise and is in the group of leading diamond producers in the world. Most of the group's mines are concentrated in the Yakutia region in Eastern Siberia - which is considered one of the regions with the largest diamond resources in the world.
According to observers, Russia's continued maintenance of large-scale reserves and production helps this country maintain an important role in the global diamond supply chain, despite market fluctuations as well as trade restrictions from the West.
In recent years, the world diamond market has been under a lot of pressure as consumption demand in the US and China has weakened, while artificial diamonds are increasingly expanding market share. However, experts believe that large reserves still bring long-term strategic advantages to countries that own this resource.
With the latest statement from President Vladimir Putin, Russia continues to affirm its position as one of the leading powers in the diamond mining industry, while maintaining significant influence on the diamond market, diamond reserves and global diamond supply.
