By John Helmer in Moscow Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who also chairs the supervisory board of state diamond miner Alrosa, is considering selling rough diamonds from the state stockpile more than a year earlier than has been forecast by the stockpile agency, Gokhran. It is unclear whether Kudrin is trying to lower the price […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow In the last three months of 2009, according to the federal Ministry of Finance in Moscow, Russia exported about 250,000 carats of rough diamonds, produced by Alrosa, to the west African republic of Guinea. There is no known diamond cutting or polishing facility in Guinea, and Russia has never exported […]

by John Helmer - Friday, July 30th, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – chapter 7 – A Mad Tea-Party

by John Helmer - Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Fyodor Andreyev was appointed chief executive of Alrosa, the state-owned Russian diamond monopoly and world’s second diamond miner after De Beers, a year ago, after the Kremlin decided to change the diamond concession. Ousted were the chief executive Sergei Vybornov and Otar Marganya, mediator and fixer between the company, the […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, July 11th, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Even if you had all the kit you need – auditor’s green eyeshade, diamantaire’s magnifying loupe – it is not easy to find what is news in yesterday’s release of Alrosa’s financial report for 2009, audited according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

by John Helmer - Thursday, June 24th, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Alrosa’s chief executive Fyodor Andreyev (right image) briefed Moscow investment banks last week on the company’s strategy in an attempt to raise demand for a domestic bond issue, to be followed by a eurobond issue in November. Alrosa’s target for the two issues is $1.84 billion.

by John Helmer - Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow The last of the titans who have dominated Alrosa, Russia’s diamond monopoly, since its founding in 1993 has handed in his resignation, and had it accepted by the Kremlin. Vyacheslav Shtirov (also spelled Shtyrov, right image) has left for “personal reasons”, announced an aide to President Dmitri Medvedev. The reasons […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Alrosa chief executive Fyodor Andreyev has attempted to persuade the Sakha region to lift its veto on restructuring the shareholding of the company, and then selling shares in a public privatization or initial public offering (IPO).

by John Helmer - Thursday, May 27th, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Alrosa has referred to the criminal prosecutors and the Russian courts the investigation of a case of substitution of low-value synthetic stones in a batch of Alrosa rough that was sold to a foreign client. Andrei Polyakov, the company spokesman, told PolishedPrices.com that a case of substitution had been discovered […]

by John Helmer - Monday, April 19th, 2010
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Russia’s dominant diamond miner, state-owned Alrosa, has grabbed the crown from De Beers as the world’s largest diamond producer – and most profitable one, too. According to a press release, reporting what was said at the executive board meeting of Alrosa in Mirny, early this week, a draft annual report […]

by John Helmer - Friday, March 19th, 2010
No Comments »