Catoca starts up Angola’s largest diamond mine

Angola’s state-owned Catoca Mining Society has started production from the country’s largest diamond mine, the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas announced on Monday.

The USD 600-million Luele mine’s resources are estimated at 628 million carats and its launch could double Angola’s diamond production.

Read our latest interview with Catoca here.

Its plant was commissioned with an ore processing capacity of 4 million tonnes per year, anticipated to grow to 12 million tonnes in the mid-term.

President João Lourenço led Monday’s inauguration of the project, which has an expected lifetime of 60 years.

The mine is operated by Luele Mining Company, in which Catoca holds a 50.5% stake. Other partners in the project include Endima, Falcon, Reform and the Geological Institute of Angola.

Catoca produces and markets diamonds from its two mining operations in Angola, Catoca and Luele (formerly known as Luaxe). Prior to the launch of Luele, Catoca was the country’s largest diamond mine.