By John Helmer in Moscow Alrosa appears to be selling all of its rough diamond production this year to the state stockpile agency, Gokhran, exceeding earlier estimates of the state budget funds previously allocated to sustain the state-owned company’s mining operations. Both Alrosa and Gokhran are under the control of Russia’s Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow No sooner had De Beers and Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) revived last Friday, September 4, their US litigation plan of attack against LUKoil and its senior management, headed by Vagit Alekperov, than Alekperov issued an unprecedented statement saying he is thinking of selling out of diamonds altogether. Until now,Alekperov has […]

by John Helmer - Monday, September 7th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow De Beers has accepted a new plan which makes litigation in a Denver, Colorado, courtroom against LUKoil the centrepiece of the diamond-miner’s survival strategy; and the prospect of multi-million dollar compensation the Toronto-listed company’s most valuable asset. A new document, filed this week in the US Bankrupty Court in Denver […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Pressure on the new head of Alrosa, Fyodor Andreyev, to boost rough diamond sales by discounting the price made a prompt appearance in the Russian press — within hours of Andreyev taking his seat on July 15. “The new president of Alrosa has decided to increase sales using discounts”, claimed […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Sergei Stepashin, the head of the Accounting Chamber, Russia’s state auditor, has issued a press leak, claiming he was responsible for the firing of Alrosa chief executive, Sergei Vybornov, after a Chamber audit of Alrosa earlier this year had identified multiple problems, and what Stepashin is publicly quoted as calling […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Responding to a request from PolishedPrices.com for clarification of the June 20 election of a new Alrosa board of directors, without chief executive Sergei Vybornov, Alrosa spokesman, Yelena Nikiforova, has provided the following company statement. “The largest shareholder of the company in the name of the government of the Russian […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Sergei Vybornov, chief executive of Alrosa, has been omitted from the new board of directors, known as the Supervisory Board, according to a company announcement posted after the annual general shareholders meeting on June 20: http://www.alrosa.ru/press/releases/detail.php?ID=4338 Other changes in board membership have also been disclosed in the new board listing; […]

by John Helmer - Monday, June 22nd, 2009
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Alrosa has issued the following statement, dated June 8, through a Russian internet publication, www.rough-polished.com: “ALROSA intends to bring a case before the Court of the United Kingdom claiming damage to the company’s commercial interests due to the publications by John Helmer posted on the PolishedPrices website. The Russian diamond mining company has already engaged […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow A new ratings report by Fitch has declared Alrosa, the state-owned Russian diamond miner, to be twice as profitable — as measured by Ebitda margin — than global leader, De Beers. Alrosa doesn’t issue production figures for its mines by carat, but claims a 25% share of global diamond mine […]

by John Helmer - Monday, June 8th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow De Beers has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) to a North American investment fund which aims to intensify the litigation campaign in the US and Europe against LUKoil and Archangelskgeoldobycha (AGD), the two Russian companies charged with raiding the Grib diamond pipe. At a […]

by John Helmer - Monday, June 1st, 2009
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