Angola’s Catoca to Start Operation in Zimbabwe in 2014

(IDEX Online News) – Angolan diamond miner, Sociedade Mineira de Catoca (SMC), plans to begin operations in Zimbabwe in 2014 in areas near the border with Mozambique, said the company’s general manager, José Ganga Júnior.

The areas to be prospected include the controversial Marange region and the Limpopo River Basin.

The announcement follows the signing of a cooperation agreement between Angola and Zimbabwe on mining activity relating to research, prospecting, exploitation and technical and technological support.

“First the contract for the areas to be exploited has to be signed, then a programme will be drawn up for the intervention, which will begin with prospecting activities,” Ganga Júnior told the Angop news agency.

Sociedade Mineira de Catoca is owned by Angola’s state-held Endiama and Alrosa which both own 32.8 percent of the shares, while Daumonty (Israel) owns 18.0 percent and Brazil’s Odebrecht the remaining 16.4 percent.

The Catoca mine is Angola’s largest diamond operation, accounting for more than 70 percent of the country’s diamond production.