Production at Alrosa's Angola Mine to Begin in 2020

RAPAPORT... After six years of development, production is due to begin at Alrosa's Luaxe diamond deposit in Angola next year, the nation's government said. Output will come to around 1 million carats valued at $90 million in the first year, according to a Reuters report. The initial stages of production will be a "pilot project," Endiama strategic planning andmining operations administrator Laureano Receado Paulo said last week in a Facebook post.  Alrosa discovered the Luele pipe in the Luaxe region in 2013 duringexploration work it carried out together with local experts. The company jointlyowns the site with state-controlled diamond-mining companies Catoca andEndiama. The project could be one of the largest discoveries in the diamondindustry in 60 years, worth more than $35 billion, Alrosa said in 2017. The additional rough from Luaxe will help boost Angola's diamond production in the next few years. Total output for the country is expected to reach 13.8 millioncarats by 2022. Production for 2019 will be approximately 9.5 million carats,Paulo added on the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Oil Angola (MIREMPET) Facebook page.  Image: Rough diamonds. (Alrosa)