The mining cooperative of Muquita, in north-eastern Lunda Norte Province, plans to produce, in the initial phase, 5000 carats of diamonds per month, in three exploration blocks, said last Thursday the director of operations of the company, António Ferreira.
Speaking to the press, on the sidelines of a working visit made by governor Ernesto Muangala, to the aforementioned mine, António Ferreira said that currently the research and prospecting of the three blocks are in the concluding phase, which within two months will begin to be explored.
Without disclosing figures, he stated that, while prospecting is in progress, an area of the concession is in production, with a view to supporting the operating costs of the mineralogical research activity.
He said that the indicators, in terms of diamond production and quality, are promising and ambitious, adding that “the mine designed in a special context, with the creation of mining cooperatives, in 2015, with a concession of 195 square kilometres, will have a 15-year duration”.
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He informed that the economic and financial crisis, which the country has experienced since 2014, due to the significant drop in the price of oil, has slowed down the prospecting work, hence the delay in the start of production definitively.
“But with the three blocks, already with studies on diamonds prospecting and quality at an advanced stage, we’ll able to start the exploration”, he underlined.
Currently, 120 direct and indirect jobs have been generated and by the end of the year it is expected to create another 150 jobs.
Source: Angop
