Alrosa Sees October Rise in Rough Demand

RAPAPORT… Alrosa sold $337.6 million worth of diamonds in October
as the rough market improved, the Russian miner reported.




The figure was 9% higher than September, when factories were
preparing to close for Diwali. That month, Alrosa allowed its contract-sales
clients to reject up to 50% of allocated goods, instead of the usual cap of 30%,
in response to the slowdown. Trading levels improved in October, with demand
for smaller rough diamonds increasing toward the end of the month, Alrosa
explained.



However, proceeds were still 23% below the same month a year
ago, when the company sold off a larger volume of goods from its stockpiles, it
added.



Rough-diamond sales fell to $326.7 million in
October, from the $430.8 million the company reported a year earlier. Polished sales jumped 33% year on year to $10.9 million.



In the first 10 months, sales amounted to $3.7 billion, of which $3.62 billion came from rough and $79 million from polished, Alrosa said. It did not provide a comparison with last year.



During October, Alrosa also found three large rough diamonds at its Jubilee mine in Yakutia. Two of them, weighing 108.34 carats and 82.82
carats, were yellow-tinted stones with small inclusions. The third diamond, at
161.11 carats, had a yellow hue and inclusions near its surface.



“Simultaneous extraction of three large rough diamonds, two
of which are over 100 carats, within such a short period of time, is a one-off
event, especially when it comes to gem-quality diamonds,” said Evgeny Agureev,
director of the miner’s United Selling Organization, which will assess the
stones.