Moscow: The world’s leading diamond mining company ALROSA is not going to increase its capex or dramatically change its sales policy in 2015, ALROSA’s Vice President Ilya Ryaschin said in a conference call on Monday.

According to him, the investment program currently under development envisages that capex in 2015 will not exceed the level of 2014 and will stay at the present level of “approximately RUB 37-38 billion”.

At the moment, the company’s major investments are made in the construction of underground mines. For example, on June 27, 2014 ALROSA Group commissioned the Udachny underground mine located on a kimberlite diamond filed. The project aimed at commissioning the second phase of the concentration factory at the Lomonosov Mine is currently under way.

“These two largest projects will be the basis for the company’s growth in the coming years and we are planning to drive the company’s output to 40 million carats,” Ryaschin explained.

The Vice President added that in general ALROSA has no plans for dramatic changes in its sales policy in the nearest future. Still, there are plans allowing for some increase in the number of long-term agreements with Chinese and Indian partners. Ryaschin noted that there won’t be a significant increase of clients and that this will be “isolated cases.”

As of the end of 2013, 15% of ALROSA’s revenues came from India and 3% from China. The main export market of the company is Belgium (about 49% of sales).

Commenting on the possible EU sanctions targeting the company and depriving it from the main market, he said that ALROSA is mulling “different ways” of selling its production and how to refund its debt.

The company’s gross debt as of August 29 was estimated at $4.177 billion. The major shareholders of ALROSA are the Russian Federation holding 44% and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) holding 25%.