Alrosa’s First-Half Diamond Sales Top $2B

Moscow—Alrosa’s diamond sales continue to pace ahead of both 2020 and 2019 as the demand for diamond jewelry remains strong in the United States and China, and begins to rebound in Europe as restrictions are lifted.

The diamond miner reported earlier this week that it sold 11.4 million carats of rough diamonds in the second quarter. 

That is down from 15.5 million carats in a busy first quarter but up exponentially when compared with 634,000 carats in the second quarter 2020, when COVID-19 brought the diamond market to a halt. 

Year-to-date, rough diamond sales have totaled 27 million carats, nearly three times what Alrosa had sold by this point last year and ahead of 2019 as well, when sales at the halfway point of the year totaled 18.9 million carats. 

Proceeds from rough and polished diamond sales in Q2 reached $1.18 billion, up 1 percent quarter-over-quarter and 14 percent year-over-year. 

Year-to-date, rough and polished diamond sales have hit $2.34 billion, more than twice what they were at this point last year and up 31 percent compared with $1.79 billion in 2019. 

Production in the second quarter totaled 7 million carats, down 8 percent quarter-over-quarter, due mainly to the seasonal processing of low-grade gravels, but up 22 percent year-over-year. 

Year-to-date, production is up 6 percent year-over-year to 14.5 million carats, as Alrosa was cutting diamond output last year. 

Compared to 2019, however, production so far this year is down. 

Alrosa mined 17.6 million carats in the first half of 2019, with the launch of production at the V. Munskoye deposit, increased output at Udachny underground, and increased ore processing at the Botuobinskaya pipe all helping to boost diamond output.

“Jewelry demand remains strong in all key markets,” Alrosa said in a release announcing its Q2 results. 

“At the same time, miners’ rough diamond inventories hit rock-bottom levels as supply structurally dropped [and] … [the] midstream is also witnessing a decline in the inventories of rough and polished diamonds.” 

Demand for rough diamonds outpaced supply in Q2 amid the recovery in India—where factories are humming again following the surge of COVID cases in the spring—and continued demand from the United States and China.

Alrosa said the supply-demand imbalance is driving up rough diamond prices.