Alrosa Unit Wins Mining License in Yakutia

(IDEX Online News) – Alrosa subsidiary OJSC Nizhne-Lenskoye has won an auction for the right to carry out exploration and mining at the Molodo river placer diamond deposit located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

After an opening bid of $800,000 (RUB 43.147 million), Alrosa won with an offer of $966,000 (RUB 51.776 million) for the right to mine the underground resources of the deposit.

In accordance with the bidding rules the auction results are subject to approval by the government of the Russian Federation.

The Molodo river deposit is located near the operating capacities of OJSC Nizhne-Lenskoye. Obtaining the right to develop the deposit is in line with the Alrosa’s development strategy and will allow the group to expand its resource base in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the mining firm said in a statement.

The commercial reserves of the Molodo riverbed deposit (С1+С2 categories) amount to 905,300 carats of rough diamonds, with the non-commercial reserves of the same categories amounting to 188,800 carats. The accounted forecast rough diamond resources (Р1 category) on the site amount to 712,600 carats.