Angola Diamond Mining
Diamond mining in Angola dates back to 1917, when a consortium of Belgian, British, and Portuguese investors created the 'Companhia de Diamantes de Angola,' or Diamang.
Angola's civil war against Portuguese colonialism started in 1961. After a socialist-backed military coup in 1975, Angola gained independence. In 1981, the state-owned diamond company of Angola, Endiama (Empresa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola) was formed. Endiama is based in Angola's capital city of Luanda.
Photo (right) Attribution - Unknown/Public Domain
UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) rebels and the socialist PMLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) have fought a bloody civil war against Angola's Marxist regime ever since its inception. In 1992, UNITA seized control of Cuango mining operations in Lunda Norte, canceling the CSO's purchasing agreements by force majeure [4]. De Beers/CSO continued back-channel purchasing of Cuango diamonds through CODIAM, but by 1999, they had totally withdrawn from the Angolan market due to the negative publicity form conflict diamonds.
The 'Society of Diamond Commercialization of Angola' (SODIAM) was established by governmental decree on 1999, to create a single marketing channel for all of Angola's raw diamond production, including the underground artisanal (garimpo) diamond market.
In February of 2002 the leader of UNITA was assassinated and a cease-fire was reached by the two waring factions. UNITA disarmed and assumed the role of a political opposition party. The political situation in Angola has begun to normalize, but president José Eduardo dos Santos is preventing democratic elections from taking place, only hinting at their possibility in 2007 or 2008. The last democratic election in Angola was in 1992.
Rio Cuango River (left) - diamang.com
The Luzamba project, located in Cuango Valley, is Angola's largest alluvial mining operation, run by the Sociedade de Desenvolvimento Mineiro (SDM), Endiama and Odebrecht of São Paulo, Brazil.
Kimberlite Mining in Angola
Angola's first non-alluvial mine was the Catoca mine, was owned by Sociedade Mineira de Catoca Ltda. (SMC), which was a joint venture between Endiama and
ALROSA, which is a partnership between the Angolan government and Israeli diamantaire, Lev Leviev of the Leviev Group. The mine is now owned by 'International Diamond Industries of Israel.' The Catoca mine, with an estimated reserve of 190 million carats, employs nearly 2,000 Angolans, and is located near Saurimo, in Lunda Sul.
Angola's kimberlite diamond fields are located in Lunda Norte, in the northeastern corner of Angola. Other kimberlite operations in the region are the Fucauma, and Luarica mines, operated by Endiama in cooperation with ALROSA, ITM, Odebrecht, Petra Diamonds, and Trans Hex [3]. There are also several ongoing exploration projects such as the Alto Cuilo kimberlite and alluvial projects, and the Luo diamond concession's kimberlite pipes. The Camafuca Camazomba Project is over one of the world's largest kimberlite pipes, with estimated reserves of up to 23 million carats [4].
