Russian diamond mining company Alrosa has commenced the extraction of rough diamonds from a new kimberlite pipe, Karpinsky-2, located within the vast Lomonosov deposit in the Arkhangelsk region of northwestern Russia, approximately 150 kilometers from the White Sea. The company estimates the pipe contains over 40 million tonnes of diamond-bearing ore. This is the third of six identified kimberlite bodies in the area.

Alrosa initially tested Karpinsky-2 in 2018 to assess its economic and industrial viability. Commercial mining officially began earlier this year. The expansion comes at a time when the company has temporarily halted operations at several smaller and less profitable sites to cut costs amid a weakening global diamond market.

Alrosa CEO Pavel Marinychev also reported progress at the nearby Severalmaz operation, also located in the Arkhangelsk region. In the first five months of 2025, the mine exceeded its production targets. Improved ore processing led to a 9% increase in output, resulting in more than 1.2 million carats of rough diamonds being produced during that period.

The launch of this new production source is backed by state support. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev recently stated that the state-owned precious metals and gems repository Gokhran may purchase up to $985 million worth of rough diamonds from Alrosa over the next three years. This measure aims to stabilize the market and support the company during the downturn.

Despite these developments, Alrosa’s financial performance in Q1 2025 remained under pressure. Revenue dropped 42% year-on-year to RUB 58.13 billion (approximately $709.4 million), while net profit fell 29% to RUB 14.48 billion (about $176.7 million).