ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov and Angolan national diamond company Endiama President Antonio Carlos Sumbula signed and agreement giving ALROSA a 50.5 percent stake in Angola’s Luaxe diamond deposit. The deposit is the largest in Angola and Ivanov estimated it holds diamonds worth $35 billion.

ALROSA has already been exploring for diamonds in the area and in 2013, a kimberlite pipe called Luele was found. The pipe is said to be the largest to have been discovered in 60 years. The joint-venture agreement now brings ALROSA’s mining and commercial expertise to bear in the development of the pipe, which is seen as being of considerable economic significance.

Ivanov, who is part of an official delegation to Angola headed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, observed, “The Luele pipe is the largest of all those discovered worldwide over the past 60 years, since the discovery of deposits in Yakutia. As a specialised investor in the Luaxe project, ALROSA, which has relevant professional competence, will assume obligations for the new company’s project solutions and technical policy. The total commercial value of the deposit is assessed as over $35 billion.”

ALROSA’s involvement will be through the already-existing Catoca in Angola, in which it owns a 32.8 percent stake. The Russian miner will hold a majority 50.5 percent share in the new venture through its Catoca holdings and has now submitted a proposal to its supervisory board to directly acquire another 8 percent in Luaxe.

https://www.gemkonnect.com/news/alrosa-gets-majority-stake-angola-diamond-deposit-estimated-35b