Angola traded 35 million carats of diamonds in the three-year period of 2017/2020, which resulted in US$4.6 billion in revenue for the country, informed the country’s minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas.
The data was put forward by Diamantino de Azevedo at the opening of the 6th Consultative Council of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, held in Ndalatando, capital of the province of Cuanza Norte, which ended yesterday.
According to the minister, production in 2017 was 9.1 million carats, 9.4 million carats in 2018, 9.1 million carats in 2019, and 7.9 million carats in 2020.
The minister highlighted that, in order to make the marketing and export of rough diamonds more transparent, an online platform was implemented for sales in the form of tenders/auctions.
The minister stressed that during this period the activity of processing Angolan diamonds was increased, with the inauguration of three new precious stone cutting factories in Luanda, a fact that contributes to the expansion of the diamond value chain, such as increasing installed production capacity to 360,000 carats annually.
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According to the minister, the construction of the Diamondiferous Development Hub in Saurimo, in the province of Lunda Sul, is underway, and is expected to be inaugurated this year.
The infrastructure, valued at US$77 million, aims to bring together in that strategic location of the country, suitable and necessary undertakings for the promotion and dynamization of companies linked to the mining sector, with a focus on the diamond value chain.
“With the start of operations of this project, the opening of four more cutting factories with a global production capacity of 341,000 carats per year is expected, as well as training centers for the cutting segment and for supporting the mining industry”, he stressed.
Still on the development of the diamond sector, the Angolan government official highlighted the significant steps towards the implementation of the Angola Diamond Exchange, namely the identification of the provisional operating space, the place for the construction of the definitive structure, the beginning of the selection competitions of companies to carry out tenders and the implementation of a diamond acidification unit.
