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Angola launches tender for extraordinary diamond discoveries
Australian-based mining firm, Lucapa Diamond Company, has announced that its Angola-based arm, Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML), will be monetizing various extraordinary diamonds discovered at Lulo Diamond Mine in Angola via an international tender.
The tender, which will conclude on November, 15, 2022, will be conducted by state-owned diamond trading company, Sodiam E.P, will comprise seven diamonds including a 170-carat pink diamond entitled Lulo Rose – the largest rough diamond discovered globally and pink diamond to be recovered in 300 years – which Lucapa Diamond Company found in July, 2022.
Three +100 carat white diamonds and three large sized white stones will also be sold as part of the international tender. With the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions disrupting the mining sector, the international tender is aimed at revitalizing the financial stability of the Angolan mining industry whilst promoting opportunities and growth potential of the country’s diamond sector.
Commenting on exceptional diamond discoveries recently made in Angola, Dr. Ganga Júnior, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ENDIAMA – the national diamond company of Angola – stated that his company and its partners “will continue to work so that these results translate into establishing a world-class mine for the socio-economic development of the region.”
Diamantino Azevedo, Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Angola, added that “Angola has proven, yet again, its enormous diamond potential. I am absolutely convinced that with discoveries of this nature we will be, in the near future, among the biggest diamond producers in the world.”
The launch of the international tender follows Angola joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as part of the government’s commitment to adopt transparency practices regarding the monetization and management of revenues generated from the country’s vast extractive resources including oil, gas and diamonds.
