De Beers says it has identified eight new high-potential kimberlite sites in Angola, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
It resumed explorations in the country in 2022, after a 10-year gap, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in February with Angola’s National Mineral Resource Agency, and its state-owned mining and trading companies, Endiama and Sodiam.
Aerial surveys by De Beers have so far identified eight sites in Lunda Sul, the northeastern province that is home to the huge Catoca mine. De Beers is now exploring six more areas, together with Endiama.
Angola has yet to explore 60 per cent of its diamond-rich territories. It opened its new Luele diamond mine last November, in a move that is forecast to increase annual production from 9.7m carats in 2023 to 14.6m carats this year.
Under the terms of the MoU there will be a review of kimberlite deposits to be explored and the transparency and traceability of diamond production will be promoted.
Source: IDEX