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16-553: The Lunda Sul province is located in the extreme east of Angola, the capital of Saurimo located 946 kilometres (588 mi) by road east of the capital Luanda . It is bordered to the north by Lunda Norte Province , to the east by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by Moxico Province and southwest by Bié Province , and to the west by Malanje Province . The main road from Luanda to Lubumbashi traverses

32-566: A new subsidiary, the Sociedade de Comercialização de Diamantes (SODIAM), to which it gave its marketing rights. SODIAM, in turn, created a rough diamond selling subsidiary of itself called Ascorp , of which it held 51% ownership, in partnership with foreign investors. Ascorp's contract ended in July 2004, reverting its rights to SODIAM. ENDIAMA produced 8.55 million carats of diamonds in 2010 and 8.75 million in 2022, following disruptions from

48-481: A revenue equaling 1.3 billion euro that year. ENDIAMA's primary property is the Sociedade Mineira de Catoca , which is a joint venture between ENDIAMA, Alrosa, and Odebrecht. Catoca is the seventh largest diamond mine in the world, and is estimated to produce over 7 million carats of diamonds in 2014 worth just under $ 1 billion. Endiama has stake in the following mining operations , each of which

64-542: Is a city in Angola . It is the capital of Lunda Sul Province . As of 2014, Saurimo has a population of 393,000 people, which steadily grows as a result of migration. The city was formerly known as Henrique de Carvalho, a Portuguese explorer, who visited the region in 1884 and first made contact with the local Lunda people. In 1956, Saurimo was raised to city status. Saurimo is located in northeastern Angola at an elevation of 1,084 m (3,556 ft) above sea level. It

80-469: Is a garrison town and local market center. The main economic activities in Saurimo include agriculture, farming, and diamonds. Other smaller industries include fishing and handicraft. The SMC (Sociedade Mineira de Catoca) is one of the world's largest mining areas, along with Endiama which helps distribute its diamonds worldwide. Saurimo is served by Saurimo Airport , which has scheduled service to

96-667: Is described as being "severely mined". As of 1995, some 30 major or strategic bridges and 58 secondary bridges had been destroyed in the province according to Oxfam reports. "Forced return and restrictions to freedom of movement" by people has been noted in the province, and the Huambo and Cuando Cubango provinces. The origin of the province's population belongs to the ethnic groups of the Lunda and Chokwe people, which are closely connected historically. They are mainly involved in agriculture. There are also many immigrants from other parts of

112-589: Is estimated to have been almost four times the quantity produced legally, and UNITA controlled or operated in up to 70% of the country's land area at points before the eventual end of the war in 2002. In October 1994, the National Assembly passed Law no. 16/94 , which aimed to open Angola's mining industry up to foreign investment. ENDIAMA was vested all rights regarding the prospecting , mining , sorting and marketing of rough diamonds in Angola, and

128-511: Is the fourth largest diamond mine in the world. Due to warfare in the region, at times mining has been disrupted by attacks form the UNITA , especially in 1999-2000. In spring 1999, UNITA destroyed the bridge on the Kasai River at Biula , affecting transport communications in the region between Lunda Sul and Moxico. Like in many other areas of Angola, landmines are a serious problem, and it

144-488: The capital Luanda . As of April 2023, there are announcements of a branch line from Luena on the Benguela Railway to Saurimo. Endiama ENDIAMA E.P. ( Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P. ) is the state-run national diamond company of Angola . It is the exclusive concessionary of mining rights in the domain of rough diamonds in Angola. One of the first acts of post- colonial government of

160-540: The country, working for the Endiama or as independent diamond miners. The struggle between the Lunda and Chokwe to obtain wealth from the diamond industry has increased tension in the province. Up to 1991, the official name was Provincial Commissioner 10°19′S 20°49′E  /  10.317°S 20.817°E  / -10.317; 20.817 Saurimo Saurimo , formerly known as Henrique de Carvalho ,

176-538: The following communes ( Portuguese : comunas ); sorted by their respective municipalities: Economically the province is dominated by peanut cultivation, which is operated primarily in the Saurimo area. In the south of the province maize production is major contributing factor. Other agricultural products include rice , cassava and cereals . This region is rich with diamonds, manganese and iron which are exploited; Catoca mine in Lunda Sul Province

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192-691: The global COVID-19 pandemic and sanctions against its Russian business partner , Alrosa , resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine . However, the company expects to produce 14.5 million carats in 2024 with an eventual goal of 20 million by 2027. In 2023, Diamantino Azevedo , Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas , announced that as part of the reform plan of President João Lourenço , ENDIAMA and oil-giant Sonangol would potentially both seek dual listings on local and foreign stock markets , starting with "maybe with five or ten percent" with an eventual goal of 30% private ownership. ENDIAMA had

208-576: The newly independent Angola, led by the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) based in Luanda, was to nationalize the assets of the largely foreign investor-owned Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), under the philosophy that the diamonds of the ground were the property of all Angolans. ENDIAMA was created as a state-run company to manage diamond mining in Angola in 1981. Diamang

224-561: The province from west to east. The province is dominated by dry savannah land; only in the Kasai River valley are there remnants of tropical rainforest. The Kasai forms the eastern and southern frontier of Lunda Sul and is the main river of the province. The Kwango River is also a major river of the province. The climate of the province is predominantly tropical. The province of Lunda Sul contains four municipalities ( Portuguese : municípios ): The province of Lunda Sul contains

240-504: Was enabled to enter into profit-sharing partnerships with third-parties such as Alrosa of Russia , Odebrecht of Brazil , companies owned by Soviet -born Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev such as UK-registered Daumonty Financing and Chinese -registered Lev Leviev International , the international diamond conglomerate De Beers , and diamond traders from Belgium , Israel and the United States . In 1999, ENDIAMA created

256-728: Was then formally disbanded in 1988. The biggest obstacle to operations by the newly minted ENDIAMA was the fact that Angola was embroiled in the Angolan Civil War , and rebel groups such as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) held much of Angola's valuable mining areas, such as the Kwango River basin, from which they mined diamonds to barter for weapons and military equipment. During this chaotic time, illegal diamond mining

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