Luanda, Aug. 14, 2025 (Lusa) - The Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas said today that diamond activity in the province of Lunda Norte faces "a serious and complex challenge", with the largest number of critical diamond mining centres.
Diamantino Azevedo, who was speaking today at the inauguration ceremony of a university campus in Lunda Norte, an investment of $60 million (€50.9 million) by Angolan President João Lourenço, said that children and women were involved in the mining "and with a strong presence of foreigners".
"The situation is aggravated by the existence of several illegal diamond buying houses, located in mining and border areas, which operate outside the law, making payments in foreign currency and feeding organised illicit trading networks," he denounced.
According to Diamantino Azevedo, these acts jeopardise sovereignty and the international image of Angola and its diamond sector, and the very sustainability of this industry.
The minister stressed that the illegal exploitation and sale of diamonds promotes illegal immigration, money laundering, environmental degradation, the spread of disease, child labour and other "profoundly negative" social consequences.
Faced with this situation, the minister said the government would continue "to take the necessary measures to combat these evils and hold their financiers, promoters and active participants criminally responsible".
Diamantino Azevedo argued that it was necessary to "strengthen mining supervision and control of concession areas, while also promoting non-concession areas for formal mining activities under the semi-industrial and industrial regime, creating the conditions to employ many of the young Angolans who today dedicate themselves to mining".
For the minister, it is important to replicate in other concessions the successful examples of combating garimpo, such as those seen in other projects, to protect resources and ensure that Angolan diamonds are traceable, as well as preserving Angola's credibility in international markets, "ensuring that the diamond sector continues to be a legitimate and sustainable source of national development".
The minister emphasised the important role of the province of Lunda Norte in national diamond production, with 21 mining projects currently in production, employing more than 8,000 workers directly.
'In the last two years, the province's average annual production has been around 1.4 million carats of rough diamonds, which represents approximately 12% of Angola's total production in this period,' he said.
The Lueji-a-Nkonde university campus, located in the city of Dundo and built on an area of around 19,000 square kilometres, has 87 classrooms and a capacity for 3,200 students, from the Faculties of Economics and Law, and was funded by Endiama, a state-owned diamond company.
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