The Luarica

diamond mine There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...

is a

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

mine located in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. The mine is owned by a consortium of diamond mining companies, the two largest holders being Endiama with 38 percent ownership and Trans Hex with 32 percent ownership. In 2004, the Luarica mine produced about 95,000 carats (19 kg) of diamond from over 632,000 cubic meters of

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

processed. 84,000 carats (16.8 kg) of the production was sold in 2004, at an average price of over US$300 per carat (1500 $/g), a new high mark for Angolan diamond production. Probable reserves are 1.3 million

cubic meter The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is m ...

s of ore at an

ore grade Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

of per 100 cubic meters (43.2 mg/m³). There is a waste rock

overburden In mining, overburden (also called waste or spoil) is the material that lies above an area that lends itself to economical exploitation, such as the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. Overburden is distinct from tai ...

of about 9.5 million cubic meters. Mining operations were suspended in May 2009 due to a decline in diamond demand caused by the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

. Trans Hex announced in August 2011 that it planned to withdraw from its two Angola joint-ventures with Endiama—Luarica and Fucauma—after failing to reach an agreement with the government of Angola (which owns the other major partner, Endiama). Endiama stated that it planned to restart operations alone.

References

Trans Hex 2004 Annual Report Projecto Luarica at Endiama's site
*Republic of Angola, United Kingdom Embassy (October 2002)

Diamond mines in Angola Surface mines in Angola {{mine-stub