Mining giant Alrosa is slashing its diamond production guidance for 2020 in response to market uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. 

In a statement, the miner said it is looking at a reduced output of 28 to 31 million carats from 34 million carats, which it hopes to attain by temporarily shutting down mines that yield lower-quality diamonds and weaker margins.

As such, all operations at the Verkhne-Munskoye deposit will be closed by early June until October 1, 2020. Alrosa earlier suspended mining at Zarya and Aikhal.

Alrosa said Aikhal and Zarya produced approximately 2.6 million carats in 2019 while Verkhne-Munskoye’s output was 1.5 million carats with an average diamond grade of 0.6 carats per tonne.

The global outbreak of Covid-19 has severely affected demand for diamond jewellery, which saw strong growth at the start of the year, according to the miner. Alrosa earlier allowed its clients to defer contracted purchases to help sustain price and supply stability in the diamond market. 

Evgeny Agureev, deputy CEO of Alrosa, recently said demand for diamonds could pick up by the third quarter of the year, thanks to consumers’ strong affinity for natural diamonds amid the crisis.