At the beginning of 2016 Alrosa Group’s total reserves by the Russian State classification standards amounted to 1.108 billion carats. The Group’s geologic exploration in 2015 results were summarised and discussed at Alrosa’s meeting held on February 26 in Aikhal, by a company Executive Committee led by the company President Andrey Zharkov.

The bulk of geologic exploration was carried out in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In particular, in 2015 the reserves of Mayskoe deposit, pipes Dalnyaya, Nyurbinskaya and Botuobinskaya were calculated and approved. Exploration was carried out at Verkhne-Munskoe deposit, Zarya pipe and deep layers of Internatsionalnaya pipe. The exploration was completed on Pionerskaya and Pomorskaya pipes in the Arkhangelsk region (PJSC Severalmaz).

Following the results of 2015, geologic exploration allowed the reserves in categories С1+С2 to go 43.57 million carats up. The total finance for the geologic exploration amounted to RUB 6.3 billion, with the major part thereof (some RUB 6.1 billion) allocated to the operations in Yakutia.

Alrosa also undertook prospecting and geologic exploration in Africa in the scope of its joint ventures.

Andrey Zharkov noted in his address, in 2016-2017 that the Alrosa Group will proceed with increasing the investments in prospecting and geologic exploration of diamond deposits in Yakutia, and will concentrate on the implementation of remote sensing technologies for prospecting of diamond deposits.