Russian diamond giant Alrosa has unveiled an artificial intelligence system designed to speed up the search for diamond deposits in geologically challenging regions. The innovation is expected to cut exploration timelines dramatically and deliver economic gains worth hundreds of millions of roubles per project.
Traditional exploration has slowed in recent decades, as most major kimberlite pipes were discovered in the 20th century. Future deposits are expected to lie much deeper underground, demanding advanced technologies. Alrosa’s AI platform—powered by large language models and neural networks—processes vast geological datasets to pinpoint promising areas with greater precision.
“This is a fully Russian-developed system, already undergoing trials. Once completed, we plan to implement it across all Alrosa operations,” stated CEO Pavel Marinychev.
The system, developed by Alrosa’s Digital Laboratory, leverages more than 50 years of the company’s geological and geophysical archives, now digitised and integrated into its geodata bank and corporate GIS. By quickly analysing this information, the AI provides geologists with focused recommendations and supports better exploration decisions.
Global diamond reserves are currently estimated at 1.7–1.9 billion carats, enough to last only a few decades at current production rates, with more than half located in Russia.