Reuters reported that Russian state owned diamond miner Alrosa may invite steel maker Evraz HJ1q.L to participate in the development of its USD 10 billion Timir iron ore project in the Russian Far East.

Alrosa said in a statement its supervisory board had approved inviting a strategic investor to the project.

Alrosa's spokesman said "The talk is about Evraz."

Evraz could not be reached for comment.

Alrosa bought the rights to develop four deposits of iron ore in the south of Yakutiya region in Eastern Siberia for USD 173 million in 2008 and united them into the Timir project. The company valued the project at USD 10 billion saying it would require USD 3 billion in investments at the initial stage. It has said it was in talks with another Russian steelmaker Mechel and foreign firms on joint development of Timir.

Alrosa believes that Timir could become a major supplier of iron ore to China.

(Sourced from Reuters)