Moscow: ALROSA has started developing the Zarya pipe, a new deposit in its Aikhal Mining and Processing Division, forking out an estimated initial investment of $149 million (RUB 9.8 billion).

The mine is expected to reach a targeted capacity of 1 million tons of ore per year by 2021 and have a lifespan of 13 years, ALROSA said.

“The construction of an open-pit mine on the deposit is a very important investment project,” said Igor Sobolev, ALROSA’s first vice president and executive director. “The start of mining operations at Zarya pipe will allow us to replace dwindling reserves at Komsomolsky open-pit mine.”

The miner also said it signed an agreement with JSC Alfa-Bank to extend the maturity date of a $720 million loan from April 2017 to July 2019.