Alrosa's production fell by 17% in the first three months of the year mainly due to the halt of its Mir underground mine and lower-grade ores processed from the Jubilee pipe.
With Russian aluminium producer Rusal imploding in the wake of U.S. sanctions against its oligarch owner Oleg Deripaska, attention is now turning to the status of another Russian industrial powerhouse, Norilsk Nickel.
The South American nation hopes to sign a deal with a foreign partner after a decade of state-led development left output far short of goals for the metal.