According to a note to which Lusa news agency had access this Thursday, the third auction of rough diamonds in Luanda, whose appraisal sessions took place between the 9th and 23rd of this month, at the SODIAM premises, included the presentation of bids, submitted electronically, until 11am this Thursday.
In addition to the diverse set of special stones, a batch of run-of-mine composition varied in all sizes of the Luele kimberlite production, from the Luaxe region, was also up for bidding, the note said.
In total, the volume of diamonds auctioned was 115,879.08 carats, according to the company.
More than 50 companies from the world's main diamond markets participated in the auction, with a bidding base estimated at between US$27 million and US$30 million.
The first diamond auction was held in February 2019, in light of the new diamond trading policy, and in December of the same year, SODIAM E.P held the second event.
In 2020, the covid-19 pandemic prevented auctions from being held, and for this auction all precautionary and biosecurity measures required by the competent authorities to control and combat the disease were taken.
"In the current auction format, for the act of buying diamonds, participating companies submit their bids remotely, in a closed model, on the online electronic platform created for this purpose, a model that generates greater transparency in the process and allows a greater commercial value to be obtained for the stones available," the document explains.
Despite the restrictions of covid-19, the third diamond auction was confirmed as the largest so far, in terms of participation and value raised.
The note reports that in 2020, SODIAM E.P sold over 7.7 million carats of rough for a total value of $1013 billion, corresponding to an average price of $130.90, positioning Angola as the world's third largest producer of rough diamonds in terms of value.
The productions marketed by SODIAM E.P. come from 12 productions, kimberlite and alluvial, and cover the whole spectrum of qualities in terms of sizes, models, purities and colors.
