Angola is currently undertaking 38 gold prospecting projects worth $120 million and is developing a refinery expected to be operational by 2025, according to the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil, and Gas.
The announcement was made during the 1st edition of “Conversations without Makas,” an event promoted by economist Carlos Rosado de Carvalho.
“We are building a gold refinery in Luanda. Production is still very small, but the potential is great in several provinces,” the minister emphasized.
The refinery, located in the Viana Industrial Park in Luanda, is a $7 million investment by Geoangol, a subsidiary of the state-owned diamond company Endiama.
The facility will have a refining capacity of around 25 kilograms of gold per day.
Minister Diamantino Azevedo also highlighted that the National Geology Plan (Planageo) has identified more than 300 points of occurrence of critical minerals in Angola, which are in increasing demand. By the end of last year, 87 prospecting projects and 25 exploration projects for these minerals had been licensed.
Regarding the Diamond Exchange, an initiative by the public companies Sodiam and Endiama to facilitate nationwide diamond auctions, Azevedo believes it will be operational by 2026.
In 2023, Angola was the world’s fourth-largest diamond producer and expects production to rise from 9.77 million carats to 17.6 million carats by 2027, with new projects starting in Yetwene (Lunda Norte) and Luele (Luaxe, Lunda Sul).
Currently, Angola has two diamond cutting factories in the Saurimo Diamond Development Hub (Lunda Sul), with plans to build a new hub in Dundo (Lunda Norte).
Overall, 588 mining titles have been registered, primarily for diamonds, marble, limestone, and gold, with about 50% related to prospecting.
Large mining companies such as Anglo American, Rio Tinto, De Beers, Pensana Metals, Minbos, and Ivanhoe, along with the Russian company Alrosa—which is exiting the Catoca mining company due to sanctions—are currently operating in Angola.
The minister stressed that mining activities should primarily be conducted by companies rather than cooperatives.
However, he noted the need to improve systems to allow more Angolans to engage in semi-industrial activities as outlined in legislation.
Illegal mining, he warned, is “not a profitable activity” and must be combated due to its associated risks, including increased illegal immigration and prostitution.
