Angola is going all out to court overseas investment to develop its critical minerals and agromineral industries as it continues to rebuild two decades after its civil war.

The government overhauled the regulatory system for its resources sector in 2020 by establishing the National Agency of Mineral Resources (ANRM) to handle licenses and by abolishing state-owned iron ore miner Ferrangol-EP. It is also reportedly set to sell state-owned oil producer Sonangol EP and diamond miner Endiama EP, which are concession holders for the oil and gas and mining sectors.

Investments into Angola are dominated by oil, gas and diamond extraction and have been volatile since the civil war ended in 2002. Oil accounted for 94.6% of Angola's exports in 2022 and diamonds 4.3%, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

Rogerio Guimaraes, geology director of state-owned Endiama, at Africa Down Under in Perth, Australia, on Sept. 7. Source: Paydirt Media

"I know that before it was a bit scary to invest in Angola, but I want to assure you that this is a different time — different policies, different approach," Rogério Guimarães, Endiama's Geology director, told the Africa Down Under conference in Perth, Australia, on Sept. 7.

"We had the long war that finished a while ago but we are still rebuilding the country," said Guimarães. "We are still working on [infrastructure], we are not done yet, but there is a very big improvement. It is safe and politically stable."

Guimarães, who was sent by ANRM to promote Angola, urged investors to scout the country for opportunities in critical minerals including lithium, rare earths, cobalt, zinc and graphite.

Improved investment climate

The return of Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American PLC unit De Beers SA to Angola has "only been possible because government support has improved" in the last five years, Teófilo Chifunga, an executive director of Endiama, told Commodity Insights on the conference sidelines. Repatriation of profits is now "much easier" and royalties have become more attractive, Chifunga said.

Rio Tinto returned to Angola in October 2021 with the acquisition of 75% of the Chiri diamond exploration license. Canga Xiaquivuila, former CEO of the Geological Institute of Angola, was recently appointed as Rio Tinto's country manager for Angola and is part of the exploration team chasing greenfields for copper and diamond opportunities in Angola, a Rio Tinto spokesman confirmed.

De Beers reentered Angola in April 2022 after a decade-long absence, signing two mineral investment contracts with the country to explore for diamonds in two license areas.

"We are encouraged by the substantive and consistent reforms implemented by government to create a more stable operating environment and one that will enable the country’s mineral endowment to underpin transformative socioeconomic growth for local communities," a spokesperson for Anglo American said in an email.

"Angola remains highly prospective and in recent years Anglo American has established two operating entities in the country to secure mineral tenure for base and precious metals alongside conducting early-stage exploration activities," the spokesperson said.

Angola also has a "reasonable" mining act that does not require part-government ownership of projects, Joe Graziano, nonexecutive chairman of lithium explorer Tyranna Resources Ltd., told Commodity Insights.

The country's understanding of its ore bodies is still relatively nascent, so authorities are "putting some work into its geological systems," using company reports to "broaden their database of information," Graziano said.

Tyranna attracted A$31 million in investment in May from China's Sinomine Resource Group Co. Ltd., which signed a binding offtake agreement for half of the spodumene and pollucite produced from the Namibe project. The mining junior is currently drilling and working toward a maiden resource.

Rising agromineral potential

Improved permitting transparency through a new online cadastre system and a larger presence at international mining conferences likely contributed to the return of Rio Tinto and De Beers, Minbos Resources Ltd. CEO Lindsay Reed said.

"The mines minister [Diamantino Pedro Azevedo] is pushing hard on agrominerals," Reed said on the conference sidelines.

Agrominerals such as phosphate and potash are commodities used in the agricultural sector. Angola's rising agriculture potential could drive demand for these minerals.

"In a generation's time, it will be one of the most successful economies in Southern Africa, and the economic input of agriculture in Angola could easily be bigger than oil and gas," Reed said.

Minbos inked an offtake agreement in July with Angola's largest food processor, Grupo Carrinho, for the Cabinda phosphate project, which is due to start production in the fourth quarter. Environmental studies are also underway for Minbos' Capanda green ammonia project, which will draw from local hydropower.

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