2023-11-27 23:37:57
Angola has officially started diamond mining at its new Luele project, the largest in the country and one of the largest in the world in terms of estimated resources.
Angola’s state-controlled diamond mining company Catoca found the Luele diamond deposit in the project formerly known as Luaxe in 2013, in one of the biggest discoveries in the diamond industry in more than half a century.
This is the only major new diamond mine in the world that will begin production this decade.
Luele’s resources contain about 628 million carats of diamonds with a lifespan of 60 years, according to the project presentation, seen by Reuters.
The presentation did not disclose the project’s production plans for 2024. De Beers, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume, estimates global rough diamond production in 2022 at 121 million carats.
The project plant has an initial annual processing capacity of 4 million metric tons of ore per year, with gradual increase to 12 million tons over several years. During the pilot phase, Luele has already extracted 5 million carats of diamonds, according to the presentation.
The $600 million project is starting at a challenging time for the industry.
The project could attract additional budgetary resources to the country, which has been struggling with high inflation and currency devaluation, and support future investments in the country.
“It is fair to say that Angola is the nation with the greatest potential for diamonds,” said an analyst familiar with the market.
According to the Angolan Government, it is estimated that at least three thousand direct jobs will be created by 2026, thus contributing to family income and consequently to the country’s social development.
The Company has the following shareholding: Catoca, with 50.5%, Endiama (25%), Falcon (19.5%), Reform (4.0%) and IGEO (1%).
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