The president of the multinational, Al Cook, told Lusa that De Beers identified eight new kimberlites (rocks associated with diamond production) in Angola, in Lunda Sul and joined forces with Endiama to explore six more areas in the country.
Al Cook, who is in Angola to participate in the 2nd International Diamond Conference of Angola, was pleased with the company's return to the country in 2022, praising the reforms of the executive led by João Lourenço and the improvement in transparency that allowed the multinational returned.
Currently, the company has two mining licenses in Angola, and is still in the prospecting phase, using aerial means to carry out electromagnetic surveys before starting the excavation phase, said the head of De Beers, on the sidelines of the conference that takes place on Wednesday and Quinta in Saurimo, capital of Lunda Sul, the region where most of the country's diamonds are produced.
De Beers has also worked with the Government in the area of policy development, cutting and marketing, so that it can not only produce diamonds, but also market them as "some of the best diamonds in the world".
Asked about the duration of this prospecting phase, he said that there is no defined period, as exploration only begins if a kimberlite (the stone that contains diamonds) with commercial and economic viability is found.
"Then we will begin our projects, and, if we are successful, this will lead to first production around 2030," he said, in an interview with Lusa.
Al Cook also refused to mention the investment values, guaranteeing that they are of great value, and gave as an example the diamond mine that De Beers is developing in South Africa and where it has already invested 2.5 billion dollars.
This activity with research aircraft, supported by a helicopter, also made it possible to identify eight new high-potential kimberlites that De Beers is working on, in the diamond province of Lunda Sul, as well as six other projects, together with Endiama, throughout the country.
Al Cook also addressed the issue of diamond traceability in Angola, following the announcement made on Monday by the Secretary of State for Mineral Resources who announced the acquisition of a machine by Sodiam to track diamonds and certify their origin.
"For the first time in history we have this technology, which allows us to trace the history of each diamond. Currently we can say whether it is a diamond from Namibia or Botswana and we can tell people that these diamonds come from Angola. We have to make the diamonds from Angola are really seen as something valuable", he highlighted.
