Angola Aiming for 2006 Output of 10 Million Carats

The chairman of Angola’s state-owned diamond producing firm ENDIAMA said the firm is seeking to reach a production level of 10 million carats in 2006 from the current annual level of 6.1 million carats.

Arnaldo Calado said the target was possible, particularly with the investment it is making in new facilities and improvements in the second module of the Catoca project.

Calado said the firm’s target was to achieve an annual output of 19 million carats from 2009.

Angola exported 6.64 million carats of diamonds in 2004 worth $763.7 million, a tiny rise in production of just 0.04 percent on 2003 but an increase of 3.1 percent in revenue terms.