In a press release, the National Diamond Trading Company (Sodiam) stated that special diamond productions from the Lulo, Somiluana, Chitotolo and Uari Mining Companies had been tendered.
The company highlighted that, of the 20 stones initially announced on November 22, only 12 were put out to bid, with eight stones from Sociedade Mineira do Uari being removed by decision of the mine.
The public company highlighted that this auction was held at a time when macroeconomic conditions and demand in the international diamond market are still recovering.
The evaluation sessions took place between the 4th and 7th of this month, at Sodiam's facilities, in Luanda, with proposals being submitted electronically by 10am on Friday.
Of the 12 diamonds auctioned, eight special stones were sold, corresponding to 646.52 carats, of which four from Sociedade Mineira do Lulo, which yielded around 17 million dollars, two from Sociedade Mineira do Somiluana, which yielded 843, 3 thousand dollars and two from Sociedade Mineira do Uari, which yielded 289.5 thousand dollars.
According to the note, the remaining four stones up for bid were withdrawn on the initiative of Sociedades Mineiras do Chitotolo and Uari, because the offers were far below the reserve price, in compliance with the Technical Regulations for Diamond Marketing in force.
“If the reserve prices had been reached, it would have represented an additional revenue of 1.6 million dollars”, highlighted Sodiam in the statement.
The chairman of the Board of Directors of Sodiam, Eugénio Bravo da Rosa, quoted in the statement, said that “the market and the global diamond industry continue to be in a climate of recovery in demand, with the main diamond markets having started to react more positively”.
“However, Angola is making regular sales despite low prices. This auction effectively allows us to gauge market sentiment, which presents a slight improvement in the average price per carat, for certain categories of stones with exceptional value and characteristics”, he highlighted.
About three months ago, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Endiama predicted 2023 for the Angolan diamond sector as a "very bad" year, with the Indian market, receiving more than 90 percent of national production, closed until the month in course.
“This is our reality, we are producing, we have not stopped, we are not selling as we should, but we have to be resilient and hold on, that is why the results this year will not be very good”, he stressed.
