Africa-Press – Angola. Huíla province plans to set up 35 new companies in the mining sector over the next 10 years, whose legalization processes are underway and should generate more than 3,000 jobs.
These are candidates for the exploration and transformation of 26 ornamental rocks, one quartz, one niobium, five gold, one jackhammer and one iron, companies that are in the equipment mobilization phase.
These mining industries are yet to be implemented in the municipalities of Chibia, Gambos, Humpata, Jamba, Lubango, Chipindo, Quilengues, Cuvango and Caluquembe.
There are currently 32 companies in the sector, 18 of which are in ornamental stones, five in mineral water, four in gold, two crushers, a sandpit, one in ceramics and one in agro-minerals.
The director of the Provincial Office for the Integrated Economic Development of Huíla, Manuel Machado Quilende, referred that the said industries, once implemented, in addition to increasing local production, will expand job posts.
He explained that ornamental stone companies, which produce the most in the mining sector, already have prospecting titles, which gives them authorization to start their work, and are in the process of implementing their bases and assembling equipment.
Among the main resources and mineral extraction centers, Manuel Machado Quilende highlighted the black granites, the blue in the night , cohiba, gray and black coral , located in the municipality of Chibia, as well as the brown granite of the Gambos and the pink- Huila, from Lubango.
As for gold, he continued, the main resources are found in the municipalities of Chipindo and Jamba, while agro-minerals and mineral water are found in Humpata and Lubango.
Among the concerns of producers in the sector, the question of energy, the source said that the Government is trying to bring electrification to the quarries of Tchikuatiti, in Chibia, in a perspective of partnership with companies in the sector, in order to reduce production costs. .
He added that this location could branch out to other areas and at the moment a meeting has already been held with the business class to assess the costs and the companies will analyze what they can contribute to spreading the electricity network.
As for the water issue, he made it known that all the quarries already have holes and the State is currently supporting with the exemption of fees for some equipment costs to alleviate the expenses of operators in the sector.
In 2022, the main products exploited are ornamental stones with 174 thousand 215 cubic meters, crushers (16 thousand 084 tons), sandbox (14 thousand 861 tons) and agro-minerals (409 tons).
From the production of ornamental stones, 147,819 cubic meters were exported, a subsector that created 1,036 new jobs in 2022.
A total of 717 million 641 thousand 351 kwanzas were collected from taxes and fees for the Single Treasury Account (CUT), a value that came mainly from ornamental stones.
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