Africa-Press – Angola. The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, highlights that the institutional reforms developed in the mineral resources sector are generating an increase in investor confidence, allowing the entry into the country of large mining companies from around the world.
The presence of these companies in the country aims to develop prospecting and exploration activities for mineral resources.
In his Message on the State of the Nation, on the occasion of the Solemn Opening Session of the 2023-2024 Parliamentary Year of the Fifth Legislature, he highlighted that Anglo-American is developing prospecting for copper in the province of Moxico and for nickel, copper and cobalt , in the provinces of Cunene and Cuando Cubango.
He also mentioned Rio Tinto, which is developing diamond and copper prospecting in the provinces of Lunda Sul and Moxico, respectively, and De Beers is carrying out diamond prospecting in the provinces of Lunda Sul and Lunda Norte.
He also highlighted that Pensana Metals is developing the prospecting and exploration of rare earth elements in the province of Huambo, as well as Minbos, which is in the mining development phase for the exploration of phosphates in the province of Cabinda.
He highlighted that in April this year the Yetwene diamond project was completed and later this year the Luaxe Project will be inaugurated, in the province of Lunda Sul, which will become the largest diamond project in the country to date.
The president says that the country will now have the capacity to create a strategic fuel reserve to supply the national market and create the export chain for surplus production.
He assured that between 2024 and 2025 it is also planned to increase storage capacity, with the Lucapa Fuel Installation project, in Lunda Norte, with the expansion of the Lobito Ocean Terminal, in Benguela, and with the Cabinda Ocean Terminal.
The implementation of projects continues, he continued, which aim to monetize natural gas, with emphasis on the New Gas Consortium that will promote the production of non-associated gas and consequently increase the supply of this resource, guarantee the generation of electrical energy, enable the implementation of fertilizer factories and to feed the future steel industry that is intended to be developed in the province of Namibe.
According to the president, the completion of the Sanha Lean Conection project is scheduled for 2024, which will allow the production, treatment and supply of around 480 million cubic feet of gas to the Angola LNG plant and for 2026 the Quiluma and Maboqueiro project , new Gas Consortium, which is expected to produce, at its peak, around 364 million cubic feet per day.
He made it known that the Falcão 2 Project is being created in the province of Zaire, which will increase the volume of natural gas supplied to the Soyo Combined Cycle Plant, with a capacity of 50 million cubic feet per day.
On the other hand, he made it known that the diamond cutting industry is not only a reality, but also continues to demonstrate its capacity for growth.
With the recent opening of another cutting factory, with capacity to cut 5 thousand carats of rough diamonds per month and providing 120 jobs, the country now has 7 cutting factories.
He reiterated that the construction of another 29 diamond cutting factories is underway, 25 of which are in the Saurimo Diamond Pole and 4 in the Dundo Diamond Pole, thus adding value to the raw mineral and ensuring greater employment, in an industry high technology.
He stressed that the exploration of mining potential is also reaching gold, highlighting the Lufu gold project in the province of Cabinda and the construction project of the Gold Refinery, in the province of Luanda, with capacity to initially refine 10 kg of raw gold, per day, and transform it into bars, with completion scheduled for 2025.
In his opinion, the exploitation of pig iron is already a reality, with the start of the Cutato-Cuchi Mining-Steel project, in the province of Cuando Cubango.
He said that the Kassinga Mining-Siderúrgic project is being implemented in the municipality of Jamba, in the province of Huíla, which will produce around 4.1 million tons of iron concentrate for export and to feed the future Namibe Steel Plant, which will produce steel for the national industry and for export.
In Cuanza Norte, the Kassala Kitungo iron ore project is underway.
Expected to be completed in 2024, the Mavoio-Tetelo Copper exploration project, covering the municipalities of Maquela do Zombo and Damba, in the province of Uíge, and the municipality of Cuimba, in the province of Zaire, aims to explore copper and of associated minerals, namely cobalt, lead and zinc, with a capacity to produce around 4 thousand tons of copper concentrate per day.
“We are also dedicated to the exploration of non-metallic mineral resources, namely phosphates, potassium and limestone. Examples of this are the Cácata phosphate rock exploration project, in the province of Cabinda, which aims to explore 50 thousand tons of phosphate per year in its initial phase, increasing from the fifth year to 300 thousand tons per year”, he said.
Still in Cabinda, he highlighted, the phosphate fertilizer production project is being implemented, through the construction of the Subantando factory.
According to the President, in the municipality of Soyo, Zaire province, the ammonia and urea production project is underway, which will produce 1 million and 200 thousand tons per year of granulated urea to boost the development of agricultural activity, contributing to the improvement food safety.
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