Alrosa Sees Upturn in Small-Stone Demand

RAPAPORT… Alrosa noted an improvement in demand for lower-value rough
in November, even as total diamond sales dropped.

Proceeds slid 18% year on year to $274 million for the
month, the miner said Monday. However, sales value and volume were higher than
in October, which “may be indicative of strengthening demand for low-cost,
small-sized rough diamonds, which has been declining over the past few months,”
Alrosa deputy CEO Yury Okoemov said.

“We still see a lot of potential for the increase in demand
for rough diamonds from the Indian diamond-cutting sector, which is still
having trouble with access to credit,” Okoemov added.

Rough-diamond sales fell 18% to $266.6 million for the
month, according to Rapaport calculations, while polished revenue slipped 12%
to $8.4 million.

Alrosa sells about 70% of its rough diamonds through its Alrosa
Alliance contract sales, with auctions and private sales accounting for the
rest. Proceeds from its large-stone auctions in November included $17 million from
a sale in Israel, $10.3 million at an auction in Vladivostok, Russia, and $9.5
million from an event in Dubai. Meanwhile, a polished auction in Israel during
the month grossed $2.9 million.

Total sales rose 3.7% to $4.2 billion for the first 11
months of the year, Alrosa said. Revenue from rough diamonds grew 4% to $4.1
billion, while polished sales climbed 3.4% to $90.4 million, according to
Rapaport calculations.

Image: Diamond sorting. (Alrosa)