Multinational diamond mining and trading company, De Beers, has signed two investment contracts with the government of Angola to operate in that country.
The license, which lasts for thirty-five years, is to explore and mine in the northeast of the country and will be carried out as a joint venture with Angola’s state diamond company, Endiama.
Angola has worked hard in recent years to create a stable and attractive business environment and we are delighted to be returning to active prospecting in the country.
Angola remains highly promising and we are committed to being part of this new phase of development of Angola’s diamond sector,” Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers said in a statement.
Under the agreement, De Beers will carry out prospecting for primary diamond deposits in the municipalities of Saurimo, Dala and Muconda, all in the province of Lunda-Sul as well as in the municipalities of Chitato, Lucapa and Cambulo, in Lunda-Norte.
In December 2021, De Beers announced that it had applied to carry out exploration activities in Angola, marking a return to the country twenty-two years after its contracts were terminated by the dos Santos administration in 2000.
Angola is the sixth-largest producer of diamond in the world but its estimated 300 million carat reserves have been largely untapped.
In 2020, the country produced 8 million carats, 15.% less than its output in the previous year.
