Angola’s Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, the country’s leading diamond producer, is expected to produce 8 million carats of diamonds in 2017. In 2016, Catoca produced 7.2 million carats. Angola earned $988.36 million from 8.7 million carats sold last year.
Catoca’s CEO Sergei Amelin was quoted by Angolan news agency Angop as saying that the company expects to make “more than $138 million from the sale of the 8 million carats”.
The Catoca Diamond Mine is listed as the fourth-largest kimberlite mine in the world. It is located in central-western Angola in the Lunda Sol province, some 55 kilometers from the city of Saurimo. It is the country’s largest diamond mine, covering some 64 hectares. Studies predict that the mine contains around 300 million tons of ore. Geological testing expects that work can continue at the mine for more than 40 years.
