The agreement's priorities are "the increase in diamond production, the growth of alluvial diamond mining and the improvement of opportunities for social development, for the benefit of national citizens", adds the statement sent to Lusa.
In the document, these entities state that the memorandum covers four main areas, starting with "the review of a number of existing kimberlite deposits to reassess their economic attractiveness through the potential application of new technologies, and the identification of opportunities to grow the alluvial diamond mining sector in Angola, considering the application of De Beers' solutions and learnings in promoting transparency and traceability of diamond production in this sector".
Furthermore, it is also an objective to implement "joint work to promote Angolan diamonds and an environment that will allow all parts of the diamond value chain to be established or strengthened in Angola; and identify opportunities to develop local community capacity in adopting improved approaches to sustainability and social development, leveraging the De Beers Group's Building Forever sustainability framework wherever possible."
Quoted in the statement, the chairman of the Executive Board of De Beers, Al Cook, stated that "Angola continues to set an example as a country that has reformed its perspectives through greater transparency, the adoption of internationally recognized best practices and an environment of business-friendly investment”.
Endiama's PCA, Ganga Júnior, considered, for his part, that "this is a strategic partnership with the aim of increasing diamond production in Angola and contributing to the socio-economic development of our country".
The signing took place on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba 2024 business forum, in Cape Town, South Africa, and comes after two mineral investment contracts in 2022 for licensed areas in northeast Angola, where exploration activities are underway, is also added in the statement.
