First Mining Zambia Sept/Oct edition | Page 8

EVENT

EVENT

Angola to host an international forum on the diamond industry

Angola is set to host an international

forum on the diamond industry .
The initiative by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Oil is for purposes of attracting direct foreign investments .
Minister Diamantino Azevedo will reportedly take part in the international conference to inform about the new governance model for the country ’ s mining sector and the impact of Covid-19 on the diamond subsector . The officials from the Geological Institute of Angola , the National Agency of Mineral Resources and the sector ’ s major companies will be in attendance .
According to media reports , the president of the board of directors of the National Diamond Enterprise , Ganga Junior , will be one of the keynote speakers at the forum , which will take place under the slogan ‘ Leading the world of diamonds in the new era ’.
Angola is one of the region ’ s major diamond producers , and it ranks fourth
in terms of karats and fifth regarding value . Earlier on in the year , Sodiam , the Angolan state diamond marketing company , announced the opening of its online registration process to participate in its future competitive sales of rough diamonds . This was following through on Angolan president Joao Lourenço ’ s intention to fully reform the country ’ s diamond industry .
Last year , the country approved new diamond marketing laws , with Lucapa Diamond Co . holding the first international tender under the new diamond marketing policy at the end of January 2019 , marking the beginning of a new era for the Angolan diamond mining industry .
This latest piece of legislation , called another milestone of the new strategy set out by the Angolan Government , allows Angola-based diamond mining companies to directly sell up to 60 % of their production , with Sodiam acting as the exclusive single channel for contract sales , competitive sales ( i . e . tenders or auctions ), and beneficiation manufacturing .
The third diamond cutting factory in Angola also opened in September las year . It has a capacity to process 5,000 carats per month and required an investment of US $ 5 million .
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