Luanda — Diamond miner De Beers said it signed two mineral investment contracts with the Angolan government, in a return to the southern African country it left in 2012.
De Beers will hold 90% of the new joint ventures initially and Endiama 10% but can increase its stake, Angola’s oil and natural resources minister Diamantino Azevedo said at a ceremony in the capital, Luanda. De Beers previously explored for diamonds in Angola between 2005 and 2012, but concluded that a stand-alone deposit in the area was not economic and relinquished its concession.
De Beers expects to start exploration activities in the licence areas this year, pending regulatory approvals. The company announced in December last year that it had applied to conduct exploration activities in the country.