Angola earns over 550 million Kz from diamond sales.

A report on diamond activity in the country, presented in Luanda, shows that the production of this mineral, in the period in question, represented an increase of 36% compared to the same period in 2023, which recorded 4.1 million carats.

The sale of 5.66 million carats of rough diamonds generated a total revenue of 608.84 million dollars, equivalent to 555.540 million kwanzas, during the first half of this year.

During the first half of this year, diamonds from Angola were sold at an average price of 191 US dollars per carat, with the United Arab Emirates as their destination, accounting for 86.4%, followed by Belgium, 13.5%, and Botswana, with 0.05%.

There was a 3% increase in tax contributions compared to the same period last year, with a total of US$45.55 million collected in royalties and taxes.

Diamond production in the first six months of the year in question recorded a 20% decrease compared to the National Development Plan (PDN), which predicted a figure of 6.98 million carats.

The Director of Mining Operations and Management of Shareholdings at ENDIAMA, Miguel Vemba, who presented the document, stated that of the 5.6 million carats, 88% came from primary deposits, corresponding to 4.9 million carats, and around 12% were secondary deposits, corresponding to 659 thousand carats.

It is worth remembering that Angola is the fourth largest producer of rough diamonds in the world, with an industrial output of 9.8 million carats per year, produced in the provinces of Lunda-Norte, Lunda-Sul, Bié, Cuanza-Sul and Malanje, he stressed. 

Of this amount, the Catoca mine contributed 54% and Luele 33%, while the remaining 13% resulted from the contribution of 21 projects distributed throughout the country.

 In terms of employability, this subsector has 22,927 workers.