Diamond production to start in Arkhangelsk region

The first bucket of rock at the Lomonosov diamond field in the Arkhangelsk region will be extracted on September 4, 2003, the press service of the region's administration reported citing Arkhangelsk regional governor Anatoly Yefremov.

As reported earlier, the commercial production of diamonds on the Lomonosov field is expected to start in 2004. The annual production volume is to amount to about $300m to $350m. Experts estimate the total exploration costs of the field at $400m at least. The field's reserves amount to $12bn.