The Severodvinsk-based SpetsFundamentStroy company will construct the main ore processing plant for the Grib field, a project, which has been heavily criticized by environmentalists and also the object of a decade-long corporate feud.
Commenting on the contract between SpetsFundamentStroy and license holder Arkhangelskgeoldobycha, regional Governor Igor Orlov underlined that this is “a landmark event in the economy of Arkhangelsk Oblast”.
When ready for production in late 2013, the Grib diamond field – also called the Verkhotina project – will create 1400 new jobs. Governor Orlov indicates that the 1400 new jobs could be the basis for the formation of “a new regional municipality”.
SpetsFundamentStroy will get 3.3 billion RUB (€ 86 million) for the construction of the field processing plant, a key unit in the development of the huge diamond field. The contract was signed last week, a press release from the regional administration reads. The construction of the plant is to be completed by late 2013.
SpetsFundamentStroy is from before engaged in the project as contractor on the construction of housing adjacent to the project site, the company informs on its website.
The Grib field has diamond reserves estimated to 100 million carats. The field is not the only major diamond resource in Arkhangelsk Oblast. From before, the Severalmaz company, a subsidiary of Alrosa, is extracting diamonds at its Lomonosov field. The two fields are located only 30 km apart in the Mezen region of Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 130 km north of Arkhangelsk city.
Meanwhile, environmentalists protest against the diamond plans. As previously reported, environmentalists believe the development of the project will lead to “irreversible damage on nature”. The local population fears for the worst and has sent a public letter to both President Dmitri Medvedev and the Russian State Prosecutor Yuri Chaika with warnings against the project.
Lukoil long looked for a partner for the project. Already in 1993 it established a joint venture with De Beers and its Archangel Diamond Corporation in the project. That initiative however failed and was declared all dead in 2009. Lukoil later attempted to get Russian diamond major Alrosa onboard in the project, but also that failed.
