"The Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas (Mirempet), representing the Angolan State, signed a Mining Investment Contract with Endiama-EP and the company Rio Tinto, on 8 October 2021, in Lisbon (Portugal), concerning the Chiri diamond concession, in the province of Lunda Norte", can be read in a note made available on the tutela's Facebook.
According to the note, the investment contract initially presupposes "participating interests of 75 percent for Rio Tinto Angola and 25 percent for Endiama E.P. and the constitution of a joint venture".
In addition, the document also cautions against the "possibility of the Angolan party increasing its stake to 49 percent".
The statement also mentions that, as established in Presidential Decree No. 298/18 of 5 December, the exploration zone "which was the object of the agreements reached in the various negotiation rounds held with Rio Tinto, since April 2019, it has an extension of 108 square kilometers, with an exploration period of 35 years".
Rio Tinto is an Anglo-Australian multinational. It is headquartered in London and Melbourne, being represented in over 20 countries.
