Luanda: Angola has a stock of diamonds for sale valued at more than 15 million US dollars, produced in the first five months of 2025, the executive director of the country's state diamond company ENDIAMA, Domingos Margarido said Thursday. Margarido disclosed these figures to the press while discussing the current state of the diamond market and the Lunhinga mine operation in eastern Lunda Norte province.
According to Angola Press News Agency, Margarido said that, due to the crisis in the global market and the significant drop in diamond prices, mining companies prefer to keep a large portion of their production in stock until the market stabilizes. He explained that the mines are trading only a percentage of their production to cover salaries and other costs, aiming to avoid bankruptcy or layoffs.
Margarido noted, "The world market is still unstable, which has significantly affected companies in the sector. However, we are hopeful that things will improve in the near future." Production forecasts for this year predict 14.8 million carats of diamonds and expected revenue of 2.1 billion US dollars. In comparison, Angola produced around 14 million carats of diamonds in 2024, earning over 1.5 billion dollars.
Expressing concerns over the Lunhinga mine, Margarido stated that falling production levels have impacted profits and forced the company to lay off workers. While he did not disclose the number of workers laid off, Margarido mentioned that employees currently receiving 50 percent of their salaries are those who are at home. "These workers have not been dismissed; their jobs are secure. However, for technical and financial reasons, they have been laid off with the guarantee of 50 percent of their salaries until the situation improves," he said.
Margarido revealed that ENDIAMA and its shareholders are working to improve the situation by carrying out prospecting to discover new reserves and increase production levels.
Margarido expressed regret that the former managers of the mine did not invest in prospecting to discover new reserves. As a result, the current shareholders have inherited this problem and are investing profits in revitalizing the mine through geological prospecting to secure salaries and avoid bankruptcy.
