Luanda — The first gold refinery in Angola, which is being built in the Viana Industrial Park in Luanda, will be completed later this year (2024), the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, said on Wednesday.

The infrastructure, whose first stone was laid in June 2022, is the result of the Angolan Executive's commitment to promoting the country's mineral value chain, capitalizing on the prospecting, exploration, transformation and commercialization operations of these resources.

Speaking during the New Year's greetings ceremony, the minister assured that the sector will restructure stalled projects and develop gold refining capacity.

The country's first gold refinery is an initiative of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, through Geoangol, a company owned by Endiama, expected to employ more than 80 workers.

In addition to this venture, Angola has 28 gold projects, of which 20 are in the prospecting phase, eight with exploration titles.

In 2021, 1,137 ounces were extracted, of the 7,500 projected, representing an execution of 13.82 percent, according to data from the Office of Studies, Planning and Statistics of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas.

The country's gold subsector has an investment of $62.9 million dollars, of which $48.6 million in exploration and $14.3 million in prospecting. JAM/QCB/DOJ