Luanda – Angolan mining company Sociedade Mineira de Catoca (SMC) now has an improved system to control mining production, which allows it to control the activity in real time, the head of the company’s Operational Control sector, Benedito de Oliveira said today in Luanda.
The new system, called “Wencos”, controls the three phases of production, namely preparation, loading and transport, explained the manager, who was speaking to ANGOP on his participation in the Luanda International Fair (FILDA2022).
According to him, the aim of including Wencos is to optimize and monitor productivity, in real time, in order to reduce operational losses.
He said that the system replaced the “Smart Mine,” after 19 years of use at Sociedade Mineira de Catoca.
According to the mining company’s report, this technological advance is already reflected in the results.
Catoca earned in 2021 the highest net profit in its history by reaching 217.9 million USD, which represents an increase of 49.1% compared to 146.1 million USD in 2018, a year in which the company was managed by a manager appointed by the Russian partner Alrosa.
According to the indicators released, profits exceeded the average of the last five years, a period in which results stood at US$140 million, particularly between 2015 and 2018, when management was not yet Angolan.
In this period under review, Catoca produced 5, 6 million carats, 5% less than the expected quota.
These more than 5 million carats represented 67% of the total diamonds produced in 2021.
Catoca’s diamond production accounted for 89.7 percent of the total mined the previous year, when the country produced 9.1 million carats, while, in terms of sales, the diamond mining company had a 61 percent share of the USD 1,263.1 million, sold by the country in 2020.
Located in the province of Lunda-Sul, Sociedade Mineira de Catoca has the world’s fourth biggest open pit mine, responsible for over 75 percent of the country’s diamond production.
Currently, with 27 years of existence, Catoca is the company that generates most jobs in the private sector in the province of Lunda-Sul, having already promoted more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Source: Angola Press News Agency