Diamond polishing carried out in Angola

The diamonds mined in Angola will now be fully polished in the Angola Diamonds Polishing factory, which was re-opened Monday following a restructuring process that cost USD7 million, the Angolan press reported.
The Angola Diamonds Polishing factory, Sodiam, a subsidiary of Angolan state diamond company Empresa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola (Endiama), represented an initial investment of USD10 million, which when it was set up involved a partnership with foreign investors.
Following the project’s restructuring process, the investment made in the unit around Luanda will polish 100 percent of a nationally-produced diamond, compared to 40 percent previously.
With this measure, the Angolan government plans to increase revenues from the sale of diamonds.
The creation of this factory involved Sodiam, a state-owned company established in December 1999 with exclusive rights on the sale of diamonds produced in the country, LLD Diamonds and an Angolan consortium, to form the Angola Polishing Diamonds company.
Angola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa by volume and value, with a production of eight million carats, only surpassed by Botswana, the world’s largest producer with about 38 million carats, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 30 million carats.
Figures point to production of around 8.3 million carats, with gross revenues of around US$1.100 billion per year. MDT/Macauhub