Siberia is not just an empty frozen tundra, but home to some of the largest diamond deposits in the world. Russia is the largest rough diamond producer in the world by volume and second largest by value. Mining of rough diamonds has existed on a small scale in Russia since the 18th century, but it was not until 1954 that the first commercial diamond deposit was discovered. Russian diamonds have made their way across the globe since. The world’s largest diamond mining company by production is not De Beers, but Russian diamond miner, Alrosa. Alrosa accounts for 28% of global production and generated over USD 5bn in revenue in 2014.
Rough Diamond Production (2013, by volume)
Source: Kimberley Process companies' data, Alrosa
About the Author:
David I. Feygenson (MS, Finance and Economics, London School of Economics; BS, Economics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) is a Senior Emerging Markets Equity Analyst at VanEck. Mr. Feygenson has over a decade of buy-side investment experience and previously held positions at Wellington Management Co and Mirae Asset Global Investments.
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