Press Release: Endiama, the National Diamond Company of the Republic of Angola, is organizing the Angolan Diamond Centenary Conference 2013 in Luanda on June 20 and 21. The participation of a broad forum of speakers has been confirmed including Fyodor Andreev, the president and CEO of ALROSA, Eli Izhakoff, the president of the World Diamond Council, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the executive chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Vipul Shah, the chairman of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Abbey Chikane, the Kimberley Process monitor, Peter Meeus, the chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange, Lin Qiang, the president of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, Reuven Kaufman, the president of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York and Mark Van Bockstael, the chair of the working group of diamond experts for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
Diamond mining in Angola has a long history, dating as far back as the first part of the 20th century. The first rough diamonds were discovered in 1912. For the next 60 years, the industry was exclusively based on alluvial diamond mining (mining that extracts diamonds from deposits of sand, gravel and clay, which have been naturally transported by water erosion and deposited along either the banks of a river, the shoreline or on the bed of the ocean) and was operated as a monopoly by the Diamantes de Angola, Diamang, a joint Portuguese - Belgian producer.
Before the discovery of oil reserves when coffee displaced diamonds as the country’s principal export commodity, diamonds remained the country’s second main export item with production reaching up to 8 million carats or approximately $1.1 billion dollars annually.
Carlos Sumbula, Endiama’s chairman, said, “The conference aims to highlight the accomplishments of Angola in the diamond industry. At the same time it will emphasize the potential of Angola’s territory that still yet to be prospected at 60 percent. The infrastructure investments made by the Angola government enabled a substantial reduction in operational costs of the mining production chain value. It will state the new Mining Law incentives for investors such as the reduction of tax burden on mining companies from 35 percent to 25 percent. At this Centenary Conference investors will be able to explore the dynamics and opportunities for the next decades of Angola’s diamond business.”
During the second day of the conference, representatives from several African mining companies will address the international guests.
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