Alrosa's diamond output increased by 6 percent on the year to 8.4 million carats in the first calendar quarter that ended on March 31.
The rise was a result of expanded production at the company's Mir underground mine, the Botuobinskaya pipe and the Arkhangelskaya and Karpinskogo-1 pipes at the Lomonosov deposit , Rapaport reported .
Alrosa reported that it sold 9 million carats during the quarter, 29 percent less than the same quarter last year. Sales included 7 million carats of gem-quality diamonds at an average price of $161 per carat and 2 million carats of industrial diamonds with an average price of only $8 per carat. The company expects that its first-quarter revenue from rough sales will reach $1.1 billion, compared with $1.5 billion reported in the first quarter of 2014 , according to the report .
Alrosa noted that rough diamond prices during the quarter slipped by 3 percent, impacted by weaker diamond demand. Still, the company expects market conditions to improve as key diamond jewelry markets in the U.S., China and India pick up.
The miner reported that it processed 5.5 million tonnes of ore during the quarter, 2 percent more than the same period one year ago, while the average grade achieved rose 3 percent to 1.52 carats per tonne.
Production at the Aikhal division, which consists of the Jubilee pipe, Aikhal underground mine and Komsomolskaya pipe, dropped by 13 percent to almost 2.6 million carats. The Mirny division, which includes the International and Mir underground mines and various alluvial deposits, reported a production increase of 31 percent to 1.94 million carats.
The Udachny division, including the Udachnaya and Zarnitsa pipes and the Udachanay underground mine, reported production grew 21 percent to nearly 1.3 5 million carats, while the Nyurba division's production declined 1 percent to nearly 2.0 5 million carats.
Meanwhile, p roduction at the Lomonosov division jumped 93 percent to 450,000 carats, while production at Almazy Anabara and Nizhne-Lenskoye ceased during the period due to the seasonality of gravel mining.
