Angola sold 4.7 million carats of diamonds in the first six months of the year, which provided revenue of US$517 million with an average price per carat of around US$123, the Angolan Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

Sales in the first half of 2016 led to revenues of US$525 million, 1.5% less than a year earlier.

The Ministry of Finance also reported that tax revenues in the first half of the current year amounted to 7.566 billion kwanzas (US$45.3 million), namely in Industrial Tax and royalties paid by mining companies.

The sale of diamonds in 2016 earned Angola US$1.082 billion, about US$100 million less than in 2015, according to figures from the Angolan Ministry of Geology and Mines. (macauhub)