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Diamantino Azevedo calls for persistence work for semi-industrial diamond exploration in Angola
The Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas held on Friday (22), in Luanda, a meeting on semi-industrial diamond activities in the country, with the aim of evaluating the guidelines recently issued to Cooperatives operating in the sector, for transform them into commercial companies and improve their activities.
Minister Diamantino de Azevedo, who chaired the meeting, announced on the occasion, the implementation of the regulation for the exploration of semi-industrial activity, recently approved, and which will allow the existence of diamond activity on a small and medium scale in the country.
As far as the assessment is concerned, the minister acknowledged, on the other hand, that the Covid-19 pandemic will have negatively influenced the fulfillment of the guidelines set out previously. “But we have to be persistent, working, in order to see cooperatives evolve to comply with the semi-industrial regulation of diamond exploration, because this alone will bring more benefits to the State, more benefits to communities, more respect for the environment and better compliance with national and international legislation on the sustainable exploitation of mineral resources”.
Diamantino Azevedo also referred that there were, in the sector, several challenges, which he considered significant, for the cooperatives, technical and administrative organization, as well as the observance of the principles of development of mining projects. The fight against mining, better support for cooperatives were also identified as challenges.
Regarding the guidelines that had been left at the previous meeting, the minister said that responsibilities should not be attributed only to cooperatives or government bodies, calling for joint dialogue to find “the best way for our people, our country, to benefit more and more of our mineral resources and may they be effectively a blessing to our people”.
