"In fact, the situation in the diamond market is not very satisfactory. Today, sales are practically 30% to 55% below the planned price. If current price levels are maintained, we will probably experience some difficulties until the end of the year", said ENDIAMA's executive director, Laureano Receado Paulo, this Wednesday.
The director, who was speaking at the opening of the workshop on the half-yearly balance of diamond production this year and prospects for the future, also highlighted a series of challenges that the diamond subsector currently faces.
According to the manager, the diamond production segment in Angola can only improve with geological knowledge for the discovery of new mines, highlighting that work is already underway to improve the system for dismantling, loading, transporting and processing diamonds.
"We also continue to emphasize the issue related to economic issues, we will always have to work towards reducing environmental costs and the issue of social responsibility is also a major mission for us", he stressed.
He also pointed out the need to increase the production and research capacity at the Catoca mine, one of the largest mines in the country, in order to maintain its production for the next 20 years, mentioning that the Luele mine is in the consolidation phase.
"At the moment, we have two ENDIAMA projects at a very advanced stage, namely Chambacanda and Luaximba, which could, in the near future, increase the production cycle at the level of the diamond subsector", he concluded.
According to the Minas de Angola portal, at least 4.2 million carats of diamonds were produced in the first five months of 2024 in the country, a period in which Angola raised 288 million dollars.
The Catoca and Luele mines produced the majority of diamonds during this period, with 88 percent of production coming from primary deposits and 12 percent from secondary deposits.
