Africa's second-largest diamond producer insists on having a seat at Africa's biggest diamond company

According to Angola’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Azevedo, the country is still in negotiations about a possible investment in De Beers and wants a share big enough to influence the company's direction.

• Angola is negotiating to acquire a 20–30% stake in De Beers to have meaningful influence, not a controlling position.
• The country aims to shape De Beers' strategy and participate in executive conversations, as expressed by its Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister.
• Angola wants to boost its diamond production to 17 million carats by 2027 through its state-owned miner, Endiama, which produced a record 14 million carats in 2024.
• Angola shifted from seeking a majority stake in De Beers, considering such ownership risky under current luxury commodity market conditions.

Instead of a controlling position, Azevedo stated on Wednesday at a Doing Business Angola conference in Lisbon that the government is looking for an ownership that would enable it "to sit at the table," assist shape the company's strategy, and take part in executive-level conversations, as seen on Bloomberg.

The country had reiterated its intentions earlier this year when it was reviewing the validity of the diamond industry following a fall off of sales.

It noted that it wanted to acquire a 20%–30% stake in De Beers, the diamond unit being put up for sale by Anglo American.

The country also initiated plans to scale diamond production to 17 million carats in 2027, via the state-owned diamond miner, Endiama.

According to a government document distributed during the 2025 Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Endiama produced 14 million carats of raw diamonds in 2024, the most in its history.

Angola became the world's third-largest producer by volume, after only Russia and Botswana.

In October of the previous year, Angola submitted a bid for a majority stake in De Beers but has since shifted its position.

"Taking the 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.

"So to de-risk that, we have to have a portion that is sustainable for our economy. And that range is between 20% and 30%, we are happy about that."

De Beers recently halted operations at the Venetia mine, the largest diamond mine in South Africa.

De Beers’ South African operation

The current state of the market, which has resulted in negative conditions for the selling of diamonds, led to the global mining giant suspending operations at the Venetia mine.

The company decided to stop mining in the area for two years, creating a significant void for an operation that employs more than 3500 people.

In order to save money, De Beers also plans to reduce capital expenditures for the mine, which produces 10% of its worldwide operations and 40% of South Africa's annual diamond production.

As part of a strategic turnaround aimed at refocusing the mining company's operations on copper, Anglo American is currently trying to sell off De Beers.