KGK Opens Angola Cutting Factory

RAPAPORT… KGK Diamonds has become the fourth company to open a
cutting factory in Angola as part of a national project to boost local
manufacturing, the government said in a post on its Facebook page Monday.



The Hong Kong-based sightholder launched the operation
two months ago, with a formal ceremony taking place Monday in the presence of
Diamantino Azevedo, the minister of minerals, resources and petroleum.


The company will initially produce around 5,000 carats per
month, using rough supplied by Sodiam, Angola’s state-owned trading company. After a few months, it will increase the rate to 100,000 carats per year, KGK
noted. KGK will send the polished goods to its distribution centers for sale,
the company added.


“Our intention, in the medium term, is to cut 20% of
Angola’s diamonds mined in the country — a difficult goal, but we will do
everything we can to meet it,” Azevedo said, according to the Facebook post.


Earlier this year, Stone Polished Diamond and Pedras
Rubras opened facilities in the country, while Angola Polished Diamond
launched in 2015.

Update, November 10, 2019: This article has been updated with more information about the production rate at the factory.


Image: A rough diamond being polished. (Shutterstock)