Muscat - - The Angolan and Omani authorities on Thursday finalized the work for the appointment of Madem Investiment Group, a subsidiary of the Omani Sovereign Fund, to prospect, exploit and market diamonds from the Luele and Catoca projects in the eastern Lunda Sul province.
The Omani company replaces Russia's Alrosa, with which Angola recently terminated its contract due to sanctions imposed on the company as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Speaking to the press in Muscat during talks between the governments of both nations as part of the agenda for the state visit of Angolan President João Lourenço to Oman, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino de Azevedo, said that "soon we will effectively have a new partner in these two operating companies.
The minister said that Angola also wanted to improve the quality of management of these projects in order to reach new heights in the diamond sector.
Regarding oil, Diamantino de Azevedo said that Angola and Oman will sign a memorandum that will define possible business opportunities in the various segments of this industry, from oil exploration, production, storage, refining to marketing.
The minister said that the parties are discussing opportunities related to other mineral resources that Angola and Oman have.
About the projects
The Luele diamond project, inaugurated in 2023 in Lunda-Sul province, is an example of the scale of Angolan investment in the diamond sector.
Conceived as a result of geological research carried out by the Catoca Mining Company with the aim of increasing Angola's mineral resource base, the Luele mine is expected to produce 8.6 million carats of diamonds annually over the next three years.
The data indicates significant growth in diamond production over the three-year period 2024/2026, with production figures expected to reach 5.4 million carats in 2024, with further growth expected in the years to come.
This significant production is expected to reposition Angola in the world diamond production rankings.
The Luale diamond project required an investment of approximately 637.5 million US dollars. 65 percent of this was spent on mining, 25 percent on the processing plant and technological equipment, and another 10 percent on related infrastructure.
A total of 59 million US dollars was spent on geological work, which began prior to the mining phase.
The total estimated capital expenditure for the diamond mining and production project is 843 million US dollars, with total expenditures for the three-year period 2024/2026, and gross revenues expected to be in the range of 1.9 billion US dollars over three years.
The Catoca project began mining operations on February 11, 1997 as a processing plant.
Today, with the commissioning of the third mill, Catoca is producing approximately eight million carats per year, mining an average of 10 million tons of ore and 11 million cubic meters of waste, and processing nearly 18 million cubic meters of ore. ART/TED/AMP
