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Angola: De Beers Identifies Eight New Possible Diamond Producing Sites

Angola: De Beers Identifies Eight New Possible Diamond Producing Sites

The multinational De Beers has identified eight new kimberlites (rocks associated with diamond production) in Angola, in the province of Lunda Sul, and has joined state-owned Endiama to explore six more areas in the country, the company’s president told Lusa.

Al Cook, who is in Angola to take part in the 2nd International Diamond Conference in Angola, was satisfied with the company’s return to the African country in 2022, praising the reforms of the executive led by João Lourenço and the improvement in transparency that allowed the multinational to return.

The company currently has two mining licences in Angola and is still in the prospecting phase, using aerial means to carry out electromagnetic surveys before starting the excavation phase, said the head of De Beers, on the sidelines of the conference taking place between Wednesday and Thursday in Saurimo, the capital of Lunda Sul, the region where most of Angola’s diamonds are produced.

De Beers has also been working with the Angolan government on policy development, cutting and marketing, so that it can not only produce the diamonds, but also market them as ‘some of the best diamonds in the world’.

Asked about the duration of this prospecting phase, he said that there is no set period, since exploration will only begin if a kimberlite (the stone that contains the diamonds) with commercial and economic viability is found.

“Then we’ll start our projects and, if we’re successful, this will lead to first production around 2030,” he told Lusa in an interview.

Al Coook also refrained from mentioning the investment amounts, assuring that they are large, and gave as an example the diamond mine that De Beers is developing in South Africa and where it has already invested US$2.5 billion (€2 billion).

This activity with research aircraft, supported by a helicopter, also made it possible to identify eight new high-potential kimberlites that De Beers is working on in the diamond province of Lunda Sul, as well as six other projects, in conjunction with Angolan state diamond company Endiama, throughout the country.

Al Cook also addressed the issue of diamond traceability in Angola, following the announcement made on Monday by the Angolan secretary of state for Mineral Resources, who announced the acquisition of a machine by Sodiam (the Angolan state diamond trading company) to trace diamonds and certify their origin.

“For the first time in history we have this technology, which allows us to trace the history of each diamond. Today we can tell if it’s a diamond from Namibia or Botswana and we’ll be able to tell people that these diamonds come from Angola. We have to make Angola’s diamonds really be seen as something valuable,” he emphasised.

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