Angola readies to launch diamond exchange in 2021

Mining and oil minister Diamantino Azevedo said its office is currently focused on setting up a gemological academy and a technological research centre within the same free-trade zone the Angolan Diamond Bourse (ADB) will be located, African Intelligence reported.

Angola, the world’s fifth diamond producer by value and no.6 by volume, appointed in June Belgian expert Peter Meeus as an adviser. The former chief of HRD Antwerp, Europe’s leading authority in grading of diamonds, is assisting authorities with the creation of a diamond hub to streamline sales and marketing of the rough the country produces.

Minister Azevedo says having trade centre within the country will enable the entire flow and marketing of Angolan diamonds to be monitored through a single channel.

Changing industry
Angola’s diamond industry, which emerged a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully being liberalized.

Last year, the country held its first public diamond auction and since then, producers no longer have to sell at below-market prices to a handful of buyers favoured by the state.

The national diamond company (Endiama) recently revealed it was seeking international partners in an attempt to place Angola among the world’s top-three diamond producer and diversify the economy away from oil.

Angola expects to produce eight million carats of diamonds this year, two million short of the original targets set by Endiama, because of disruptions caused by covid-19.

Last year, the country’s total output was 9.1 million carats, a figure the government expects to increase to almost 14 million carats by 2022.