Africa Mining: Angola’s Endiama negotiates financing for another diamond project

Angolan state diamond company Endiama is negotiating the financing of the Luaxe project with its partners and does not require additional investors, said the company’s chairman on Wednesday in Cape Town.

Antonio Carlos Sumbula said at the end of the “Angola Business” forum held at this year’s Mining Indaba international mining conference that the Luaxe project was a discovery made by Endiama in partnership with Russian company Alrosa, and “does not need investors.”

The chairman also said that until this project starts operating, Endiama will choose to slightly reduce production to improve revenue, according to Angolan news agency Angop.

“When the company was producing 8 million carats revenue was US$1.2 billion, but in 2016, with production of 9 million carats, revenue fell to US$1.07 billion,” said Sumbula.

The chairman of the Angolan state company said Endiama will negotiate with major world producers, such as De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto, a slight reduction in production in order to allow the price of diamonds to rise.

“Our intention is to work towards more revenue, based on a drop in production,” he said.

The 2017 edition of Mining Indaba began on Monday in Cape Town. It is attended by investors, lenders, banks, companies related to the mining sector, consultants and insurance companies, and seeks to attract investment to the sector and contribute to the growth and development of the African continent. (macauhub)