Alrosa Expects Big Pay Day from Pink Diamond

RAPAPORT… Alrosa has recovered the largest pink rough diamond in its
history, and said it could fetch a record selling price for the Russian miner.



Alrosa’s United Selling Organization (USO) and polishing
division Diamonds Alrosa are examining the 27.85-carat stone to decide whether
to auction it in its original rough form, or to cut and polish it, the company said in a statement
Thursday. The diamond is gem-quality with almost no inclusions, it added.


Alrosa’s previous record for a pink rough diamond was 3.86
carats for a stone it found in 2012. The company has only found three other
pink diamonds of 2 carats or higher in the past eight years.


“Large stones, especially colored, are always in demand at
auctions,” said Evgeny Agureev, the head of the USO. “But if the company
decided to cut it, it would become the most expensive diamond in the entire
history of Alrosa.”


Both of Alrosa’s two largest pink diamonds were discovered
by its subsidiary Almazy Anabara, whose deposits are responsible for most of
the miner’s colored diamonds. Alrosa finds a colored diamond over 10 carats
about once a year, it said.