Saurimo – The ENDIAMA – EP ´s CEO, Ganga Júnior said Monday that Diamond production in Angola will not be affected by the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Alrosa, a Russian multinational company, owns 41 percent of the shares of Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, which is responsible for almost 80 percent of diamond production in Angola.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the opening of the training cycle of the ENDIAMA Technical and Professional Training Centre (CEFOPE), Ganga Júnior said that the situation was under control and that it was well structured, which would make it possible to work and ensure production rates, which are expected to be around 10 million carats of diamonds.
He also said that Angola was not exclusively dependent on the Russian market or the Ukraine and that equipment from those countries was now being manufactured in other parts of the world.
Luaxe
At the time, Ganga Júnior announced that the Angolan National Diamond Company (ENDIAMA – EP) was working so that by the end of this year or the beginning of 2023 industrial diamond mining could begin at the Luaxe mine.
The Luaxe project is located in the eastern region of the country, between the provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.
It covers about 1,195 square kilometres and its shareholders are Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, Endiama and Alrosa.
The mine, which is 25 kilometres from Catoca, will be 400 metres deep and have a lifespan of 30 years. It could produce 350 million carats and provide over 2,000 jobs, 600 of which in the first phase.
If forecasts prove to be correct, the mine’s maximum production will be over 8 million carats per year, which is more than the over 9 million carats currently generated across the country.
Endiama’s Technical Professional Training Centre, inaugurated Monday in Saurimo, Lunda Sul province, started this first phase with four courses, namely Surveying and Cartography, Mining Prospecting, Mining and Electromechanics.
It aims to mitigate the need for qualified human resources for mining companies, the promotion and development of employability and contribute to the exponential reduction of unemployment in the region.
Source: Angola Press News Agency