A dialogue on Angola’s diamond value chain
Yesterday, Rubel & Ménasché (Dali Diamond Group) organized a unique event in Paris dedicated to Angolan diamonds on July 3. With the country’s major mining companies and international experts in attendance, the meeting highlighted the challenges facing this major market, the world’s third-largest diamond producer, at a time when Angola is seeing a revival and becoming more economically open.
Rubel & Ménasché invited each speaker to share their vision, experience and expertise on topics organized around three panels:
- National framework for extraction and export: Inside Angola’s diamond governance model
- With Endiama and Sodiam, the national operators in the diamond sector
- Angola’s key mining operations: Balancing performance and responsibility
- With the managers of Angola’s main mines, Catoca and Luele, as well as the Lipari mining company
- Expectations of downstream actors: Raising the bar for traceability and global best practices
- With an OECD expert on extractive industries, the CEOs of the AWDC, and the NDC
At the end of the panels, there was time for discussion between speakers and participants.
Although they are not among the most publicized, Angola’s mines nevertheless occupy a major place in the diamond market.
The Catoca mine is one of the four largest diamond mines in the world. Together with Luele, the second-largest mine in the country, it accounts for 85% of Angola’s production in volume and 54% in value. According to expert Paul Zimnisky, the Luele mine could reach an annual production of 3.5 to 4 million carats, with estimated resources of 628 million carats and a projected lifespan of 60 years. The mining and marketing of Angolan diamonds are controlled by two national companies, Endiama and Sodiam.
The country is not only the world’s third-largest diamond producer behind Russia and Botswana, but it also holds the largest untapped diamond reserves on the planet. This development potential justifies renewed interest from all players in the industry. A member of the Kimberley Process, of which it was President in 2015, the country is now attracting many investors and has major exploration projects underway.
Angola recently returned to the forefront at the WFDB congress in New York in June, announcing its plans to join the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the Angola Diamond Exchange, and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the GIA to establish cooperation in training and traceability. During a meeting with Martin Rapaport, the Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Diamantino Azevedo also discussed collaboration to promote Angolan diamonds, emphasizing transparency, ethics and Angola’s positioning among other producing countries. A few days later, a summit in Luanda brought together the major players in the diamond industry to revitalize the sector and align strategies in a difficult international context.
The July 3 event in Paris marked an important step in highlighting Angola’s growing role in the diamond industry. It allowed local players to present their progress in terms of transparency, traceability, and sustainable development, and to discuss their expectations on these matters with the downstream value chain.