Lubango - The Association of Producers, Processors, Traders and Exporters of Ornamental Rocks in Southern Angola (APEPA) has invested roughly 300,000 US dollars in the last 12 months in research to assess the quality of quartz in Quilengues municipality.
Speaking to ANGOP, APEPA’s chairperson, Marcelo Siku, said Huíla currently has a company in Dinde commune studying the mineral for exploration and that the investment made so far has been in machinery, while the analyses carried out show the quality of the extracted material, which is expected to be explored between seven and eight thousand tons per month.
“The big investment we'll have to make is the construction of the silica area production plant, which will be in another part of the project in an area with power from the public grid, as they intend to export the block, the gravel and then the silica sand,” announced the businessman.
He said that the investment has made it possible to open 20 kilometers of road to access the quarry, whose license dates back to 2022, although drilling only began in 2023.
Quartz is considered one of the most resistant common minerals, with a high degree of hardness, second only to rare minerals such as diamond and topaz.
It is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth and its best-known form is quartz crystals, like pieces of broken glass. EM/MS/AMP
