In addition to production, the new treatment center will also make it possible to increase sales from 350 to 400 dollars for a carat of diamonds, said Amilton Carvalho, deputy director of mining operations, quoted by Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA).
Thus, the Bula zone – which will, from now on, be the new production front – will add between 6000 and 7000 carats to the company's balance of payments. "From the point of view and projection, the Bula will bring to us an aggregate of something like 6000/7000 carats in our balance of payments", stated the person in charge.
According to Amilton Carvalho, in terms of dollars, the value per carat will be around 350 to 400 dollars: "In the order of 350 to 400 dollars per carat, this means that, going by numbers quickly, if we have 125 cubic meters of gravel, either say that at Bula we will have a daily recovery (...), daily at Bula we will be able to recover between 200 and 250 carats/day".
"At this point, we are leaving the company with the other fronts, starting in the second half of this year, taking what the partners want to a production level of around 25,000 carats/month", he added, quoted by RNA.
Amilton Carvalho also said that they are maintaining their employees' salaries and that they have "done everything they can" in compliance with the "revenue collection plan".
It should be noted that Sociedade Mineira do Cuango is located in Lunda Norte. Endiama, ITM and Lumanhe are the shareholders of this company, which began operations in 2004.
