An auction of diamonds extracted at the Lulo mine, to be held in January 2019, will reinforce commitment to innovation and transparency in the sector, said a source at Angola’s national diamond company Sodiam.

The source also told the Angop news agency that with this auction of high carat stones, the new marketing policy for the diamond sector, approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 July, 2018, is beginning to be applied, thus ending the monopoly of preferred customers in place before.

The implementation of the new marketing policy, intended to encourage foreign investment in prospecting and exploration, the installation of cutting factories and securing higher revenues for the State, results from the approval, on 4 December, by the Council of Ministers of the Technical Regulation on Marketing of Rough Diamonds, which generally ends the monopoly on the sale of the mineral.

In order to boost revenue, among other measures, the introduction of alternative methods of selling diamonds, including contract sale, sale in restricted procedures and auctioning, are planned.

In January, the first auction will be held, in which seven diamonds of superior quality and size from the Sociedade Mineira do Lulo will be sold. (macauhub)