Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output in carats, says its fourth-quarter output climbed 8% to 10.6 million carats. The company attributed the production increase to completion of planned maintenance at the plants that process ore from its International, Aikhal and Mir underground mines. It also began underground operations at its massive Udachny project in northeast Russia last year, which is expected to become the country’s largest diamond mine and one of the world’s gest. Overall in 2014, however, Alrosa’s diamond production fell slightly, to 36.2 million from 36.9 million the previous year.
The miner aims to increase sales by 1% in 2015, taking advantage of rising production and using offtake from its stock. Alrosa anticipates moderate growth of the diamond market this year, driven by positive macroeconomic indicators dynamic in major diamond jewellery consuming countries.