Largest-ever diamond extracted at Lomonosov deposit near Arkhangelsk.

ARKHANGELSK, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- At the Lomonosov deposit in the
Arkhangelsk Region a 50.1-carat diamond has been extracted - the largest
ever since the deposit's commercial development began, CEO Sergei
Gerasimov, of the Severalmaz company said this week.
As a rule, such unique crystals weighing over 50 carats are registered
and given a proper name.
The M.V. Lomonosov diamond deposit, Europe's largest, is estimated at
12 billion dollars. It was discovered in 1980, about 100 kilometers away
from Arkhangelsk. Its industrial development has been carried out since
June 2005, when the first unit of the Lomonosov mining and processing
combine with a capacity of 1 million tonnes of ore per year was put into
operation. The company Severalmaz is a subsidiary of Russia's diamond
mining giant ALROSA.
The second unit of the Lomonosov combine with a capacity 5.6 million
tonnes of ore per year is under construction. Gerasimov believes it will
go operational in 2014. Now the company employs a staff of 750. With the
introduction of the second unit its personnel will reach 2,500.

-0-str