Angola’s mining sector is moving beyond its historic reliance on oil and diamonds towards a more diverse portfolio of minerals. Speaking to Xanderleigh Dookey, Ismail Mahomed and Kate Steyn of SRK Consulting (South Africa) share insights on the country’s untapped resources, infrastructure challenges, and what it will take for Angola to realise its full mining potential.
Angola’s mining industry is shifting its historical focus on oil and diamonds towards a broader range of minerals.
Kate Steyn, Associate Partner and Principal Environmental Consultant at SRK, says: “The past few years have seen a diversification away from the heavy reliance on diamonds and oil, towards a broader range of minerals, and it is quite exciting to see this unfolding. Angola is a mineral-rich country, but until recently, it has been very focused only on those two commodities”.
Ismail Mahomed, Partner and Principal Hydrogeologist at SRK agrees, saying that: “Over the years, we have worked in the diamond industry and more recently, in copper. There has definitely been more actively in the last few years, as the political landscape has shifted”.
Key Mineral Resources and Untapped Potential
Steyn explains that beyond oil and diamonds, Angola also has significant copper deposits, forming part of the same belt that runs through Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Northern Angola connects to the Central African Copperbelt running through Zambia and the DRC – essentially an extension of that system”, she says. “Historically, copper has been exploited in northern Angola since the 1930s, when they were disrupted by political unrest during Angola’s war of liberation. Following withdrawal of the colonial authorities, the copper industry came to a standstill for quite some time, but that is now being reviewed”.
Steyn says Angola also holds several significant iron ore deposits, as well as gold and, particularly salient at the current moment, rare earths, which are now the focus of detailed investigations. Steyn adds that the country also has granite and stone, as well as significant but unquantified phosphate deposits.
Investment Appeal and Limitations
“On paper, Angola has huge potential absolutely”, says Steyn. “There have been real barriers to investment there for a long time and there continue to be challenge to operating in Angola. From an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) perspective, we are exposed to ongoing impediments in terms of efficiency, bureaucracy and transparency. On a practical level major infrastructure challenges persist: access is difficult, road and transport infrastructure are exceedingly limited, and in some areas landmines still represent a significant hazard. Even for exploration, these present significant challenges”.
She points to the lack of detailed baseline information, including geological data, as another hurdle: “An initiative called PLANGEO aims to produce a proper geological map of Angola. It is a critical step for exploration, but the pace has been slow”.
