Diamonds in Russia

PostBy Avi Paz Group At 25.08.2010

In the years following World War II, diamonds were crucial to rebuilding the war-ravaged Soviet economy. Historian Edward Jay Epstein explains that the Soviet Union needed industrial-grade diamonds to drill for the country's rich oil and natural gas reserves

In the years following World War II, diamonds were crucial to rebuilding the war-ravaged Soviet economy. Historian Edward Jay Epstein explains that the Soviet Union needed industrial-grade diamonds to drill for the country's rich oil and natural gas reserves and manufacture tools, machinery, and armaments. The Soviets' only source of diamonds was De Beers and was at risk of being cut off by an embargo. The Soviets would be forced to either find diamonds or make them.
Russian geologists had noticed that the plateau between the Lena and Yenisei rivers in the Siberian province of Yakutia resembled the kimberlite-bearing shield of South Africa, and the government issued a mandate to explore the area starting in 1947.

In 1953, Leningrad-based geologist Larissa Popugaieva detected in the Yakutia samples garnets called pyropes, which she knew to be present in South Africa's diamond-bearing kimberlites. Popugaieva later joined the prospectors and tracked the garnets to a volcanic pipe in the Vilyul River Basin. The pipe was found to contain too few diamonds for production. But in 1955, geologist Yuri Khabardin discovered a diamond-rich kimberlite pipe and sent out the prearranged radio code: "I am smoking the pipe of peace." The pipe was named Mirny, or Peace.

In the 1960s, the Mirny (or Mir) Mine produced 10 million carats of rough diamonds annually. The upper layers contained 4 carats of diamond per ton of ore, but diamond occurrence decreased with the mine's depth. In later years, Mir's production had dropped to 2 million carats per year. In 1999, underground mining commenced at Mir, and in June 2001, surface mining shut down entirely. Mir Mine is operated by Alrosa, the largest diamond producer in Russia.

In addition to the Mir Mine, Alrosa also controls two mines in the Sakha Republic. One is the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe, discovered a mere two days after the Mir pipe. Originally an open-pit mine, Udachnaya is set to change over to underground mining. Alrosa's second Sakha Republic Mine is Jubilee Diamond Mine, which began production in 1986.

Another diamond mine, Anabar, is located farther north in the Sakha Republic, in the Arctic Circle. Production at Anabar is mainly conducted on the surface level during the few months a year when weather conditions permit operations. 

Russia is the largest producer of diamonds in the world today. The Kimberley Process Annual Global Summary for 2009 cites production volume at 34.75 million carats and a total dollar value of $2.34 billion. But Russia might prove to have yet-untapped diamond resources. Recent diamond exploration in the country has focused on western Russia, with Alrosa conducting feasibility studies on a series of five kimberlite pipes discovered at the Lomonosov deposit near Arkhangel'sk. The new company JSC Permgeologodobycha is exploring for diamonds in the Ural Mountains, and the Vancouver-based Archangel Diamond Corporation – named after Arkhangel'sk – is studying the diamond content of the area's Grib Pipe.