The investment contracts, for prospecting primary deposits in the provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul, were signed in Luanda, between De Beers and the executive.
In a brief review of the negotiation process, Mara Oliveira, a member of the commission that negotiated the contracts, said that it took 30 meetings, between October 2021 and April 2022, to reach the end of the process.
Endiama, a state-owned diamond company, will have a 10 percent stake in each mining project, with the intention of increasing this to a maximum of 20 percent.
The exploration areas cover almost 20,000 square kilometers in total, with a 35-year concession period.
For the Muconda (Lunda Sul) project, an initial investment of US$26 million is expected and the granting of exploration rights for primary and secondary deposits, with an estimated prospecting phase of five years.
For Lumboma (Lunda Norte), the initial investment is US$7.2 million, with existing rights relating to primary and secondary deposits pre-reserved upon request.
Angola has been negotiating for several years the return of De Beers to the country in a process of regaining confidence in the South African diamond company, which the government itself has recognized as "difficult".
The diamond company abandoned mining in Angola in 2012 due to conflicts with the government, led, at the time, by José Eduardo dos Santos.
Responding to questions from journalists, after signing the contracts, De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said that the company "has always seen Angola as highly promising from the diamond industry's point of view" and even when it decided to cease exploration, it maintained an office in Luanda.
The official, who did not mention the previous disputes, pointed out that the decision coincided with the period of financial crisis that was experienced at the time, stressing that the company continued to maintain interest in the country.
Bruce Cleaver praised the reforms, in the meantime undertaken by the executive led by João Lourenço, and which he considered to have created more attractive conditions for foreign investors.
"The environment is getting more and more inviting for foreign investors," he said.
On the other hand, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, stated that, "instead of looking at the past, we should look at the present and the future", since "the past serves to learn and avoid repeating the same mistakes".
Diamantino Azevedo welcomed the return to the country "of one of the largest diamond companies in the world", a "clear message to the world that the political and legislative measures taken by the Angolan executive are effectively effective, transparent and attractive" and that Angola is "choice of choice for the world diamond industry".
