MINE SITES
to last for the next 50 years .
The first phase of the Udachny underground mine was put into operation in summer 2014 . The mine will reach its design capacity of four million tons of ore in several steps by 2019 . After that it will become the largest diamond mine of ALROSA bringing the company more than five million carats of diamonds annually . In the meantime , the company ’ s miners are focused on construction and preparatory works planning to produce a total of about 480,000 tons of ore in 2015 . ALROSA has currently performed
Video : A view into the depths of Udachny Mine the final series of blasting works at Udachny but will detonate one final explosion at the end of the year in order to destroy the spiral road leading to the bottom of the ore cushion , which will now take up the production baton .
With the closure of Udachny , ALROSA aims to build new quarries at more complicated deposits nearby . The long-term program intends to boost diamond production to more than 41 million carats a year with Udachny Mining and Processing Division playing an important role .
Lucky future One of the primary deposits for ALROSA to develop in the future is the Zarnitsa pipe , the very first diamond deposit discovered by the company . According to the company , the development of Zarnitsa has long been delayed because the Udachny mine was much larger with richer diamond grades .
In comparison with Udachny , the Zarnitsa open-pit mine is small , measuring only 80 meters in depth . However , it has potential to grow upwards of 800 meters in diameter and at least 200 meters in depth .
18 October 2015