Endiama Wants to Spread its Wings, Mine on Its Own

In what is a reversal of its current role, Angola’s Endiama wants to mine diamonds without partnering with a foreign mining firm, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Until now, diamond exploration companies operating in Angola were required by law to partner with Endiama, the National Diamond Company of Angola. The Angolan company, however, was never directly involved in the exploration or mining operations.

“We need to produce our diamonds ourselves,” Endiama’s new chairman, Antonio Carlos Sumbula, said in a statement on the company’s web site.

Endiama also aims to “make profits for the state” and is now “classifying” its staff to see “what each can offer the company,” the Luanda-based company said.

Sumbula’s declaration is somewhat surprising. Endiama never had to pay for getting a large share in the diamond companies. It did, however, get its proportional share of income generated by diamond sells, as any other shareholder.

The role Endiama played was, essentially, to ensure that the country got a hefty part of revenues.