RUSSIAN DIAMOND GIANT TO MAINTAN OUTPUT AT $2BLN FOR ANOTHER DECADE

MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian diamond giant Alrosa will maintain its output at $2 billion at least till the end of 2015. A press release quotes the company's Chief Geologist, Sergei Mityukhin, as announcing the intention at a meeting with representatives of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources.

The company will be able to maintain high production levels in the coming decade thanks primarily to the launch of a new mine, Mir, in 2008.

Alrosa is one of the world's major diamond producers, accounting for as much as 20 percent of the global supply of rough diamonds. Its key production units are based in Yakutia, a Russian autonomy in eastern Siberia. According to a preliminary review of last year's performance, Alrosa produced 2.154 billion dollars' worth of rough diamonds and $130.4 million worth of gems; the annual sales totaled $2.346 billion.

Alrosa's major shareholders include the Russian Agency for Managing Federal Property (a 37 percent stake), the Ministry for Managing Public Property of the Republic of Yakutia (32 percent), and the staff (23 percent).