The data was released this Monday in Luanda by the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, during the 1st edition of Conversations without Makas, an event promoted by economist Carlos Rosado de Carvalho.
“We are building [a] gold refinery in Luanda. Production is still very small, but [the] potential is great in several provinces”, stressed the minister.
Located in the Viana Industrial Park, in Luanda, in an investment of seven million dollars, carried out by Geoangol (belonging to the state-owned diamond company Endiama), the complex will have a refining capacity of around 25 kilograms of gold per day.
Diamantino Azevedo also said that the National Geology Plan (Planageo) has made it possible to observe more than 300 points of occurrence of critical minerals in Angola, the demand for which has been increasing significantly.
At the end of last year, 87 prospecting projects and 25 exploration projects for this type of mineral had been licensed.
Regarding the Diamond Exchange, an initiative set up by the public companies Sodiam and Endiama to ensure diamond auctions nationwide, the minister said he believes it will be operational in 2026.
Angola, which in 2023 was the fourth largest diamond producer in the world, also expects production to increase from the current 9.77 million carats to 17.6 million carats in 2027, with the start-up of the diamond projects in Yetwene, in the province of Lunda Norte, and Luele (Luaxe), in the province of Lunda Sul.
The country currently has two diamond cutting factories installed in the Saurimo Diamond Development Hub (Lunda Sul), and a new Diamond Cutting Hub is due to be built in Dundo (Lunda Norte).
In total, according to Diamantino Azevedo, 588 mining titles have been registered, mainly related to the exploration of diamonds, marble, limestone and gold, of which around 50 percent are related to prospecting.
The same official pointed out that large mining companies such as Angloamerican, Rio Tinto (the third largest mining company in the world), De Beers, Pensana Metals, Minbos and Ivanhoe, as well as the Russian company Alrosa, which will be leaving the Catoca mining company due to the sanctions imposed on Russia, are currently operating on Angolan soil.
The official considered that mining activity should be carried out mainly by companies, to the detriment of cooperatives, stressing, however, that it is necessary to improve the system to allow more Angolans to enter the semi-industrial activity, as provided for in the legislation.
Regarding mining, he stressed that it is illegal and “not a profitable activity”, and therefore must be combated, adding that it has several associated risks, including the increase in illegal immigration and prostitution.
