Luanda, Angola – Officials in Angola on Monday announced the opening of a major new diamond mine, a project that marks a milestone in natural diamond production that will be unmatched this decade.
The Luele mine is located in northeastern Angola, adjacent to the country’s other major diamond mine, Catoca.
The government announced the opening of the mine on Monday, according to a Reuters report published on Tuesday.
According to the news agency, the government’s presentation on the mine did not disclose its projected production for 2024.
However, diamond industry analyst Paul Zimnisky said his estimates are that Luele will produce 3.5 to 4 million carats annually, with production gradually ramping up in 2024 and the mine reaching full commercial capacity in 2025.
He noted that there is an option to expand the mine’s processing plant, which could double production.
The ramp-up of production at Luele will be enough to eventually make Angola the world’s third-largest diamond producer by volume and value, overtaking Canada, especially since the Renard mine in northern Quebec has just been mothballed.
(Russia is the world’s number one diamond producer by volume, followed by Botswana. Botswana is No. 1 in value, followed by Russia).
“It’s a huge deposit,” Zimnisky said in an interview with National Jeweler on Tuesday.
“This is the only diamond mine of significance that’s going to come into production this decade. From that point of view, it’s a big deal.”
Luele was previously known as Luaxe.
In the past, numerous reports have described the development of the deposit as a joint venture between Sociedade Mineira de Catoca – the joint venture that operates the neighbouring Catoca mine – and Russian diamond miner Alrosa, which remains under US sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In the January 2022 issue of Rapaport, the publication’s then senior editor and news analyst Avi Krawitz, who had travelled to Angola in late 2021, broke down the ownership of the mine as follows: Catoca, 50.5 per cent; Endiama, 13 per cent; Alrosa, 13 per cent; Cecadiam, 9 per cent; Chela Group, 6 per cent; Kamen, 4 per cent; and Reform, 4 per cent.
However, Alrosa’s name was conspicuously absent from the presentation given on Luele when it was officially launched on Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the presentation.
It listed Catoca as having a 50.5 per cent stake, as previously reported, while state-owned mining company Endiama’s stake in the project has increased to 25 per cent.
Reform’s stake remains at 4 per cent, while the Geological Institute of Angola now holds 1 per cent.
According to the presentation, a company called Falcan, which was not previously listed as one of the mine’s owners, holds the remaining 19.5 per cent stake in Luele.
It is unclear who owns Falcan and the presentation did not mention that Alrosa, although no longer listed as one of the owners of Luele, has a 41 per cent stake in Catoca.
Neither Catoca nor Alrosa responded to an email request for comment overnight on the ownership of the Luele mine.
