"The work on the gold refinery, in terms of physical execution, is at 50 percent and it is expected to be completed and begin operations at the end of this year, but officially it could be opened in the first half of 2025," said Domingos Kimba Baptista, on the sidelines of the workshop on Mineral Resources and the Gold Value Chain in Angola, taking place in Huambo.
Quoted in a statement from the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, to which VerAngola had access, the general director of Geongol said that the project will have 23 technicians "for the start-up and operation, trained in a specialized center in Portugal", in which used the same equipment and technologies that will be used in the refinery.
"Our technicians worked on the same equipment that we will use in our refinery. Therefore, these technicians are now undergoing other training and will also deserve 'on the job' training, at the time we are assembling the equipment. We will have the conditions to create the economy locally so we can manufacture gold bars", he said.
The person in charge also stated that "for the work in progress they count on assistance from countries with some tradition of mining, especially precious metals, such as Portugal, Tanzania and Ghana as well", the note reads.
The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, when speaking at the opening of the workshop, highlighted the construction of the gold refinery in the capital as a "priority action" of the Executive for the mining sector.
At the time, the minister considered that "refining gold locally will add value to it, allowing this 'commodity' to be used in the jewelry industry, as well as in the international liquidity reserve".
Quoted in another statement from the authority, to which VerAngolta had access, Diamantino Azevedo also took the opportunity to summarize other ongoing projects in the sector he manages, having called for more private investment and financing from banking institutions, ensuring institutional support from the sector.
In turn, Lotti Nolica, governor of Huambo, said that there are "16 mining prospecting projects in the province (gold, diamond, copper, ferrous metals and rare earths) and two gold and rare earths production projects", adding that, although there are projects, if illegal exploration has been registered "causing various adverse effects, from financial, human, environmental aspects and obstacles to the development of the mining sector", the note reads.
Thus, she assured that they continue to collaborate with the authorities to combat this problem. "We remain, in close collaboration with the defense and security forces and traditional authorities, committed to implementing appropriate strategies and measures to combat the illegal exploitation of minerals", said the governor, who also called for "greater participation from companies in the sector for the development of communities surrounding mining projects".
It should be noted that the workshop takes place within the framework of days related to the celebration of April 27th, Mining Workers' Day.
