The government of Angola plans to increase exports of decorative stone from 20,000 to 38,000 cubic metres next year, the minister of Geology and Mining, Francisco Queiroz said on Tuesday in Luanda.

The minister, who concluded a visit to Angolan iron and steel company Ferrangol, said that in order to reach that goal another nine projects had been selected to increase that number to 23, specifically in the provinces of Huila, Namibe, Kwanza Sul , Benguela and Zaire.

“Next year (2017) we anticipate increasing production of decorative stone to 67,000 cubic metres and exporting 38,000 cubic metres,” he said, quoted by Angolan news agency Angop.

The minister said the main destinations for granite processed in the country were the United States, the UAE and Europe and added that the decorative stone quarrying projects have a major economic impact, in particular because of their focus on export markets.

Queiroz recalled the decorative stone complex, namely black granite, with 45,000 square kilometres in the provinces of Huila and Cunene which was discovered during the surveys carried out under the National Geology Plan (Planageo).

The said the complex is larger than what has so far been considered the largest area of black granite in the world, in Canada, with approximately 20,000 square kilometres. (macauhub/AO)