Mozambique wants Angola’s help with diamond mining

Mozambique does not want to be left out of diamond mining profits any longer. The country’s resources minister announced last week her intentions to develop Mozambique diamonds with nearby Angola’s help, allAfrica reports.

Last week Esperanca Bias, the resources minister, met with her Angolan counterpart to discuss collaboration efforts. In 2007 the two east African nations signed a cooperation agreement on mining and geology. Angola, the more experienced miner, will help Mozambique locate its diamonds, Bias said.

She also hopes public companies in both states will work together on extracting diamonds. Anglo will help Mozambique adhere to the Kimberly Process which involves a set of measures aimed at preventing conflict diamonds from entering the marketplace.

“By the end of this year, our public companies must reach an agreement on how to advance with joint geological work,” Bias said. “We have a Mozambican team which will visit Angola in the coming months to discuss the Kimberley process with the Angolan institutions”.

A geological survey of eight years ago found diamonds but geologists are not sure where they are exactly.

Creative Commons image by: John Loo