Angola to Prioritize Diamond Polishing
February 11, 15
(IDEX Online News) – Angola is to prioritize diamond polishing in a bid to increase revenues from its diamond resources.
Endiama CEO Antonio Carlos Sumbula told journalists at the African Mining Indaba, which is taking place in Cape Town, that the company is prioritizing the establishment of diamond polishing facilities as it seeks to move from only trading in rough diamonds to becoming a seller of finished products, reported bernama.com.my
Sumbula pointed to the better profits that polishing diamonds will bring to the country.
Last week, the Angola Polishing Diamonds factory re-opened after a $7 million restructuring process.
According to macauhub.com, the country will now polish 100 percent of its diamonds, compared to the 40 percent it polished previously.
The factory was created in a partnership between Sodiam, a state-owned company established in December 1999, LLD Diamonds and an Angolan consortium with exclusive rights on the sale of diamonds produced in the country, reported macauhub.com.
Angola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa by volume and value, with a production of eight million carats, behind Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.