Angola Opens Luele, Its Biggest Diamond Mine
November 28, 23
(IDEX Online) - Angola officially opened its new Luele diamond mine yesterday (Monday 27 November), in a move that is likely to double the country's annual production.
The deposit, formerly known as Luaxe, has already produced 5m carats during its pilot stage and is expected to produce 6m carats annually.
That would eclipse Catoca, until now the the country's biggest mine, which reported a 2021 output of 5.7m carats.
The 600m deep Luele mine is expected to yield a total of 628m over a projected 60-year lifetime.
"Today, we are carrying out this act that marks the start of operations of the Luele Mining Company," said Angola's minister of mineral resources, oil and gas, Diamantino Azevedo at a ceremony attended by President Joao Lourenco.
"The production of this mine will contribute to a significant increase in diamond production in Angola."
Angola exported 8.75m carats in 2022, well down on its original forecast of 13.8m.
Total revenue was $1.95bn. In the first half of 2023 it sold 2.93m carats for $594m, a 37 per cent drop year on year.
File pic of Catoca mine.