Angola is pursuing a 20%-30% stake in Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers, according to a senior official from Angola's mining ministry who spoke to Reuters on Sunday. This represents a significant reduction from Angola's initial bid for a majority stake in October 2025, when the country had initially sought a minority position. As reported by Reuters, Paulo Tanganha, Angola's national director of mineral resources, explained that taking a majority stake within luxury commodities is "very dangerous because it depends on the market," leading to the decision for a more sustainable economic portion. "So to de-risk that, we have to have a portion that is sustainable for our economy. And that range (is) between 20% and 30%, we are happy about that," Tanganha stated during the African mining conference in Cape Town.
Angola's majority stake bid had set the country up for a potential bidding war with Botswana, which owns 15% of De Beers and has stated it was working on acquiring a majority stake in the company. According to Reuters, closed-door talks are continuing between Botswana, Angola, Namibia and South Africa to seek a common position on how each country would benefit from having a stake in De Beers, with no agreement yet reached. Tanganha emphasized the collaborative approach, stating "there is a saying: together we are stronger. That's the way we are doing it. And if my neighbour is suffering, I also suffer. So we have to be together and fight together as a team."
For Angola, state-owned diamond miner Endiama and its national diamond trading company Sodiam would take up the stake in De Beers on behalf of the government, as reported by Reuters. Tanganha did not disclose how Angola would fund the De Beers stake acquisition but indicated the country had many sources of funding available. The proposal is being discussed with other diamond-producing African nations as part of the regional cooperation strategy.
Anglo American announced on Thursday it was reviewing the value of the De Beers diamonds business after its 2025 rough diamond production dropped, according to Reuters. The company has put De Beers up for sale amid falling diamond prices and the global rise of synthetic diamonds. Despite market challenges, De Beers's joint Angolan venture with Endiama discovered a new kimberlite cluster in the country last year, marking its first such discovery in three decades and attesting to the geological promise of the vastly under-explored country.
