Alrosa has appointed Vladimir Marchenko (pictured) as vice president responsible for the Russian miner’s operations in Africa.

  The company has a 33% stake in Catoca, a diamond-mining project in Angola, and plans to increase its share, it said last week. The miner also intends to participate in developing the new Luaxe diamond asset in the southern African country, and is involved in exploration work in Angola and Botswana.

  “The countries of southern Africa have a great potential for discovering new deposits, said Alrosa president Sergey Ivanov. “I am sure that Vladimir Marchenko’s experience and professionalism will help the company to achieve its goal.