Angolan Diamond Cos. Join NDC as Rio Tinto, Murowa Exit
Featured
Angola’s diamond development hub in the city of Saurimo, as photographed in November 2021. Angola’s national diamond company, Endiama E.P., and its diamond marketing company, Sodiam E.P., have joined the Natural Diamond Council, which works to promote natural diamonds worldwide. (Photo credit/courtesy of Paul Zimnisky)
New York—The Natural Diamond Council announced last week that two diamond companies from Angola, Endiama E.P. and Sodiam E.P., have joined the organization as members, a move that ultimately will double NDC’s budget.
Endiama E.P. is the Empresa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola, or the National Diamond Company of Angola.
Sodiam E.P. is the Empresa Nacional de Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola, or the National Diamond Marketing Company of Angola.
The companies’ membership in NDC follows the signing of the Luanda Accord in June 2025.
Six diamond-producing countries and four industry organizations signed the pledge, with producer countries and De Beers Group agreeing to contribute 1 percent of annual rough diamond revenues to NDC to promote natural diamonds.
At the time the accord was signed, Endiama E.P. and Sodiam E.P. announced that they would join NDC as contributing members on July 1 and immediately kick in $8 million for marketing ahead of the holiday season, with De Beers pledging a matching contribution.
But their membership, and their funding, never came to pass in 2025.
When asked about the six-month delay, NDC Managing Director for North America Kristina Buckley Kayel said Endiama and Sodiam formally requested NDC membership back in June but their request required a period of governance review and due diligence to “ensure full compliance with NDC bylaws, financial regulations, and the specific considerations that apply to producer-government entities.”
She also confirmed that the $16 million in additional funding—$8 million from the two Angolan companies plus the matching contribution from De Beers—has now come through.
She said the $16 million contributes to a 2026 budget that will be approximately double that of the past two years and is a “significant recovery toward historic peak funding levels,” a reference to the organization’s budget prior to major producer Alrosa’s exit in 2022.
Kayel said more information about NDC’s budget will be shared after new CEO Amber Pepper is on board. Pepper’s scheduled start date is Feb. 2.
Endiama E.P. and Sodiam E.P. join De Beers, Botswana’s Okavango Diamond Company, and Petra Diamonds as NDC council members.
Rio Tinto and Murowa, which operates a diamond mine in Zimbabwe, are no longer active NDC members, as the companies were not contributing at the level required for active membership, Kayel said.
She noted that NDC “maintains an open and collaborative relationship with both organizations and remains optimistic about future engagement as market conditions evolve and circumstances allow.”
In addition to Angola, the other signatories to the Luanda Accord were: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, African Diamond Producers Association, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.
A few months after the accord was signed, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre published an open letter stating that the momentum around the accord was dissipating and calling on all signatories to honor their commitment to help fund NDC.
When asked about the accord last week, Kayel said the purpose of it was not to immediately bring in new NDC members, but to establish an agreement among governments in diamond-producing countries and industry stakeholders to support global generic natural diamond marketing through NDC.
She declined to share which of the signatories have contributed money to NDC but noted that the organization remains in communication with all of them.
Kayel said the process is expected to speed up after Pepper starts on Feb. 2, and further updates on funding will be shared when appropriate.