Africa-Press – Angola. At least 19 of the 35 mineral resources on Angola’s geological map are being explored, others in the final stages of prospecting in Huila province.
Located in the south of Angola, with a territorial area of 79,022 km2 and a population of approximately 3 million, Huila province stands out for the extraction of iron, mineral water, diamonds, gold, and ornamental rocks, with prospecting for kaolin, manganese, mica, cobalt, niobium, and other minerals.
According to Domingos Kalumana, director of the integrated economic development office, the largest local mining concessions are for ornamental rocks, with 147 licenses. However, there are another 20 authorizations for the exploration of other minerals, such as mineral water, copper, diamonds, cobalt, and niobium.
These last two, according to the manager, are in the Quilengues region, whose extraction process is coming soon and will generate more than two thousand jobs.
The history of mining in Huíla province includes the Cassinga mining complex, a series of iron and gold mines in operation since 1967.Another focus is now on the exploration of niobium, a rare superconducting material used in the space industry, which will be mined for the first time in this part of the country.
Niobium is one of the rarest minerals in the world, used in the manufacture of turbines, spacecraft, aircraft, missiles, the electronics industry, and power plants. It is also used to produce steel alloys and superconductors.
To develop it, a mining company with Chinese capital invested 100 million US dollars in the Quilengues concession, covering 160 square kilometers in the Bonga and Tchivira Carbonatite complex.
Mining in Angola has vast potential, focusing on diamonds, iron ore, copper, and other ornamental stones, but it still faces challenges such as a lack of infrastructure and illegal mining.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
