Sergey Pushkin, Vice-President of Russian diamond company Alrosa, made a presentation to the 8th International China Iron Ore Conference 2010 in Beijing, on the prospects of a cluster of iron ore deposits in South Yakutia.

Currently diamond giant Alrosa holds licenses for the development of the Tayozhnoye, Desovskoye, Tarynnakhskoye and Gorkitskoye deposits. The total commercial reserves of the 4 deposits are assessed at 4.8 billion tons of iron ore. According to experts, iron ore resources in South Yakutia have been underexplored and may be in excess of 20 billion tons, which would make this region one of the largest iron ore producing centers in the world.

The development of the four deposits is a part of a government program aimed at creating a large industrial region with well-developed infrastructure.

Alrosa, assisted by independent Russian and international experts, has begun work to prepare a detailed feasibility study with a view to develop the deposits and build mining and processing facilities there.

Alrosa is looking for a well-established international or Russian company with experience in the development of iron ore assets and free steel making capacities that might be interested in becoming a strategic investor into the equity of OJSC MMC Timir.