The acquisition of a 20% to 30% stake by Angola would primarily benefit the Southern African country by securing official board representation and enabling participation in executive deliberations concerning De Beers’ strategy for producer-nation relations.

This point was highlighted by Azevedo on Wednesday at the ‘Doing Business Angola’ conference in Lisbon, Portugal, where he stated that Angola is looking for an ownership that would enable it “to sit at the table,” assist in shaping the company’s strategy, and take part in executive-level conversations.

Consequently, a combined Angolan and Botswanan holding within the range of 35% to 45% would establish a formidable African producer-nation bloc capable of guiding strategic determinations, notwithstanding the absence of legal majority control.

Angola reiterated its intentions earlier this year when it was reviewing the validity of the diamond industry following a fall-off in global diamond 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.

At the time, the Southern African country 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 and has maintained this position up to this point.

“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.

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.

Source: Africabusinessinsider