The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, on Monday said that the 36 critical minerals identified in Angola will ensure greater foreign investment and contribute to expanding the country tax revenue.
Speaking at the seminar on “Environmental sustainability in oil activities in an energy transition scenario”, the official highlighted, among the 36 most critical minerals in the world, chromium, cobalt, copper, graphite, iron ore, lead, lithium, manganese, neodymium, praseodymium, nickel and silver.
Diamantino Azevedo said that significant part of exploration value chain of these resources must be developed in Angola to allow for economic growth and job creation.
He underlined that minerals are indispensable for electric car batteries, mobile phones, construction of wind turbines, planes, spacecraft and solar panels, hence the dedication of the Government in attracting investors to these resources, taking into account the challenge of not depending on the oil sector.
The official stressed that oil and natural gas continue to be the main pillars of the national economy, contributing with 24 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 96 percent of exports, a reality that is intended to be reversed.
The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas challenged universities to implement courses in the areas of renewable energies, with the aim of having young people willing to leverage the country's economy.
Diamantino Azevedo mentioned that the universities can also invest in partnerships with national and international companies for the development of scientific and technological innovation projects.
“Here is the challenge and all the institutional support for the development and promotion of such initiatives that could start with the holding of national conferences, with the involvement of universities, in order to discuss and frame the matters of renewable energies and energy transition in their academic programs”, he said.
On the other hand, he made it known that the Executive, through the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, is implementing measures and actions that lead to the mitigation of climate change and the reduction of the carbon footprint, complying with the requirements of the Paris Agreement, to which Angola is a signatory.
Diamantino Azevedo said that the strategy involves strengthening environmental protection and governance that ensures the environmental and social sustainability of oil exploration in Angola for many years.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, in partnership with the Catholic University of Angola, the seminar focused on “Sonangol's Environmental Responsibility, “The Diversification of the Energy Matrix in Angola, “The Impact of Biofuels”, “ The energy transition and decarbonization”, among other subjects.
