Alrosa to Maintain Production Plan: Report

RAPAPORT... Alrosa plans to stick with its production guidance of 34 million to 35 million carats this year despite Western sanctions on the Russian miner, according to a local news report."I think we are on track and so far, despite certain difficulties, we are working exactly according to plan in the first half of the year, somewhere in this range," Interfax quoted Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov as saying last Friday. "We do not plan to lower production in the second half of the year."An Alrosa spokesperson declined to comment to Rapaport News Wednesday. The company has not issued any financial reports since March, shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to a partial US ban on imports of diamonds from the country. Earlier this month, the miner announced it was not paying shareholders a dividend for 2021.Plans to restore the Mir mine after a fatal 2017 flood are still in place, while deposits across the company are working at full capacity, Ivanov continued.Rough demand is good, although "a number of clients are concerned about sanctions and restrictions," Ivanov added in his remarks, which reportedly took place on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.The company has not adjusted prices since February, while interest in Alrosa's products is high, according to the executive.Image: The Jubilee open-pit mine. (Alrosa)