The chairman of Angola's state- owned Diamond Producing Firm (ENDIAMA), Arnaldo Calado, has said that his company is seeking to reach a production of 10 million karat a year in 2006.

According to Angolan official news agency Angop on Friday, Calado said the intention of the firm to rise the production from the current 6.1 million to 10 million karat is justified with the investment the firm is seeking, particularly in the Diamond Processing Center that will be inaugurated soon, in addition to improvements in the second module of the Catoca project, in Lunda Sul province.

He further stated that the overall target is to reach 19 million karat a year as from 2009, through the elevation of the current kimberlite production from 55 to 90 percent.

This and other initiatives, the source said, are intended to contribute to the growth of the country in its various sectors, and place Angola at the top of the world's diamond production.

ENDIAMA that was set up in 1981, reached in 2004 a volume of exports of 6.63732 million karat, estimated at about 763 million US dollars.

Currently, after a forced breakdown in mid-90's, due to the armed conflict, ENDIAMA is the country's second major public firm, after the National Oil Company.

Source: Xinhua