Diamang was a company exploiting

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

mines in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. Diamang was formed on 16 October 1917 by financial investors from Angola's then colonial master

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and also from Belgium, United States,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The company was formally dissolved on 17 February 1988.

History

On June 6, 1918, the mining rights of the ''Companhia de Pesquisa Mineira de Angola (PEMA)'', which was formed on 6 September 1912, were transferred to Endiama. PEMA got these mining rights on 31 March 1913. On 4 December 1920, the Portuguese High Commissioner for Angola signed a contract with Endiama, giving the company exclusive rights for diamond prospection and mining. On 28 February 1970, Diamang and De Beers Consolidated formed the joint venture Condiama for the commercialization of diamonds. After Angola gained independence, the major part of Endiama's capital was nationalized, by decrees 61/77 of 24 August 1977, and 255/79 of 11 December 1979. From 1978 to 1986, the British company ''MATS'' managed and serviced the operations of Diamang. Diamond mining in Angola and Diamang's operations were severely interrupted by the

Angolan civil war The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, where

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

, after losing the direct support from the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

regime, financed its operations by bartering uncut diamonds for weaponry, which was sanctioned by the

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173 United Nations Security Council resolution 1173, adopted unanimously on 12 June 1998, after reaffirming United Nations Security Council Resolution 696, Resolution 696 (1991) and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly United Nations Se ...

and subsequent resolutions.

References

* {{cite web , url= http://www.endiama.co.ao/endiama_historia.php , title=História da ENDIAMA E.P, publisher=ENDIAMA - Empresa Nacional de Diamante de Angola, EP , year=2012 , accessdate=29 May 2012 * De Beers Consolidated Mines#Blood diamonds and the Kimberley Process Diamond mining companies Mining companies of Angola Companies established in 1917 Companies disestablished in 1988

History

See also

References