Angola, Russia eye deal to mine diamonds

Angola and Russia are to forge a jointly owned company that will prospect for diamonds in the vast southern African country, which is already the world’s fifth largest producer, an official said Thursday.

Angola’s state-held diamond firm Endiama will partner with Russia’s Alrosa to search for new reserves, Endiama president Antonio Carlos Sumbula said.

“Today we will sign an agreement with Alrosa to launch a vast prospection campaign,” Sumbula told an industry conference in the capital Luanda.

Diamond exploration is not being done in 55 percent of the country’s territory, he said.

The mines in operation are concentrated in the northern region bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are tensions between diamond companies, artisanal local and immigrant miners.

Angola’s economy has marked ten percent growth on average in the past decade, though most of its people live below the poverty line.