Catoca diamond mine


The Catoca diamond mine is the fourth largest diamond mine in the world, and is located in Angola. The mine is owned by a consortium of international mining interests, including Endiama , Alrosa of Russia, Odebrecht of Brazil, and the Diamond Finance CY BV Group. The mine is located on a kimberlite pipe.

Production

The mine had production of 1.8 million carats in 2000 and 2.6 million carats in 2001. The mine's production is 35% gem quality, compared to a global average of 20%; the diamonds produced at Catoca have an average value of US$75–$100 per carat. Estimated reserves are 60 million carats.
The diamonds from Catoca Mining Society topped the sales of 2009, with a net profit of US$70 million, resulting from a gross production of US$122.6 million, Angop. The information is contained in an annual report from the company released in September 2011. According to the source, the sales reached 7,050,521 carat, at the average rate of US$62.23, a volume that represented about 78 percent of the amount sold by the diamond companies around the country. The note states that as a result of the processing of the ore, the company obtained a total of 7.5 million carat that permitted to establish the operational costs.
In 2012 the mine produced 6.5 million carats out of 10 million metric tons of ore production.

Geology

The Catoca diamond deposit occurs in a kimberlite pipe.