Angola is seeking a stake in diamond giant De Beers, hoping to deepen its influence on the global market amid a ramp up.
British multinational Anglo American began seeking buyers for its 85-percent stake in De Beers last year amid falling diamond prices and growing global interest in synthetic diamonds, reports Business Insider Africa.
Angola earlier submitted a bid for a majority stake, setting up a contentious fight with Botswana. Responsible for 70 percent of De Beers annual rough diamond production, Botswana already holds a 15-percent stake in the company and considers it a strategic national asset.
But “taking a majority stake within luxury commodities is very dangerous because it depends on the market,” Paulo Tanganha, Angola’s national director of mineral resources, told Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference in Cape Town. With diamond prices persistently low, Angola is now seeking a less risky 20 to 30 percent stake.
Tanganha said closed-door talks are continuing between Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to seek a common position on how each country would benefit from holding a stake in De Beers. “There is a saying: together we are stronger. That’s the way we are doing it,” he said.
[See more: Landmark diamond discovery may reshape Angolan mining sector]
State-owned diamond miner Endiama and national diamond trading company Sodiam would take up Angola’s stake on behalf of the government, Tanganha told Reuters.
He did not disclose how Angola would fund the De Beers acquisition, but recent reporting indicates that stake may not be expensive, with a 12-percent drop in rough diamond production last year forcing Anglo to review the unit’s value. De Beers is likely to post a loss for 2025.
Diamond production in Angola, meanwhile, has soared in recent years. A government document circulated at the same conference states that Endiama produced a record 14 million carats of rough diamonds in 2024. Angola now stands as the world’s third-largest producer by volume, after Russia and Botswana. Endiama aims to increase production by more than 20 percent by 2027, targeting 17 million carats.
A stake in De Beers, one of the world’s leading diamond companies, would afford Angola and its neighbours greater influence on the international diamond market.
