Alrosa Sells $10M at New York Auction

RAPAPORT... Russian miner Alrosa has reopened its New York office,holding its first auction in two years at the branch.The company sold 1,040 carats for $10.4 millionat the auction of rough diamonds weighing 10.8 carats or more, it reported Tuesday. A total of 50 companies took part in the sale from April23 to May 11, including firms from the US, Belgium, India, Israel and theUnited Arab Emirates."We are glad to reopen Alrosa's office in New York, and noware forming its team," said Evgeny Agureev, director of Alrosa's United SellingOrganization. "We brought [a] standard color assortment to the auction inNew York, and sold it with a good premium [over] the starting price. We sawstrong interest, primarily from American diamond manufacturers."Alrosa plans to hold a second auction of rough diamonds weighing 10.8 carats or more, as wellas a large-scale tender for its polished diamonds, at the New York base inOctober.Alrosa originally opened the New York office in 2006, butshut it down in 2016 for organizational reasons, it said.Outside its home country, the miner also has trading officesin Antwerp, Hong Kong, Dubai and Ramat Gan, as well as a representative officein Mumbai, which it opened last month.Image: Alrosa