Historic 468‑carat diamond found at Russia's revived Mir mine
Alrosa has discovered the largest diamond in Russian history. The 468-carat stone was named "80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War." The discovery was made at the Mir mine, which recently resumed operations after being closed in 2017 due to flooding.
The Russian mining giant Alrosa announced the discovery of the largest diamond in the country's history. The 468-carat, amber stone was named "80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War," referring to the USSR's victory in World War II, reports "The Moscow Times."
This is the second significant discovery in recent Russia. Just a week earlier, Alrosa announced the discovery of a diamond called "New Sun." The yellow diamond weighed 100 carats and was formed from raw stone extracted in Yakutia.
Revived mine
The Mir mine, where the diamond was found, is one of the largest in Russia and is located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
The mine resumed operations after being closed in 2017 due to flooding that killed eight workers. Alrosa plans to increase diamond production to 2 million carats annually.
Alrosa holds a 99.6% share of Russian diamond extraction and is responsible for nearly 30% of the global supply. The company is investing 70 billion rubles in modernizing the Mir mine, which is expected to reach full capacity by 2030 and operate until 2048.
Challenges for the Russian industry
Last month, Alrosa announced a temporary suspension of operations at several less profitable locations, reducing annual production by less than 1 million carats. Nevertheless, the company still plans to produce 29 million carats of diamonds in 2025.
Production data from recent years show a downward trend. In 2023, the company reduced production by 2.8% to 34.6 million carats, and in 2024 by an additional 4.6% to 33 million carats.
