Another large gem-quality diamond was obtained at the Vladimir Grib Mining and Processing Plant. The 56-carat stone is the second this year and the 53rd since the start of industrial development of the deposit. Its dimensions: 23.7 by 22.7 by 16.4 millimeters. The find was a continuation of the February record, when a crystal weighing 228.62 carats was recovered – the 52nd in the collection and the largest in recent times.
Both diamonds were discovered thanks to modern extraction methods, allowing you to maintain the integrity of even fragile large crystals. The plant annually produces about 4 million carats, and in February 2026 it surpassed the 50 million carat mark since the start of production.
The Arkhangelsk region remains the only region outside of Yakutia where industrial diamond mining is carried out. The Grib deposit, located in the Primorsky region, is called the main diamond pearl of Pomorie. A diamond museum has been operating here for several years, where you can see unique samples from the depths of the region.
This year is an anniversary for the company AGD Diamonds, which is developing the deposit. Its history begins in 1931, when the Northern Geological Exploration Trust was created on April 22. Geologists of the trust then discovered deposits of pyrite, copper, lead, zinc, asbestos, gypsum, fluorite, phosphorites, sulfur pyrite, iodine and medicinal waters in the region. Among the major successes is the discovery of North Onega bauxite, the main aluminum ore, the extraction of which continues to this day.
Search for diamonds became more active in the 1960s. The turning point was 1975, when the first kimberlites were found in the upper reaches of the Mela River, near the village of Zimnyaya Zolotitsa. This is how the Arkhangelsk diamondiferous province was discovered. In 1996, a diamond-bearing pipe was discovered, named after the Arkhangelsk geologist Vladimir Pavlovich Grib. Industrial production started in 2014, and by 2018, enterprises with ancestry from the Northern Geological Exploration Trust merged into AGD Diamonds.
95 years ago they started here with copper pyrites and bauxites. Today, geological exploration of the North brings precious stones that add to the collection of unique diamonds. Each new discovery is not an accident, but the result of the continuity of generations and modern technologies.
Source: AGD Diamonds
Image: AGD Diamonds
