By: Creamer media

Minerals and Petroleum Minister Diamantino Azevedo said the minerals regulator must reduce bureaucracy, tighten inspections and accelerate the roll out of a digital mining registry to improve transparency, according to a statement at an event with the regulator.

The Angolan National Agency of Mineral Resources, or ANRM, should also cut permit timeliness, Azevedo said, without specifying how long the process currently takes or by how much it should be reduced.

ANRM chairperson Jacinto Rocha said the board will strengthen enforcement and support diversification, with new copper finds in Moxico and Cuando Cubango and lithium identified in Namibe province requiring closer oversight.

The push underpins Angola’s attempts to expand its non-oil minerals sector and attract foreign capital. Companies including Glencore, Ivanhoe Mines and Tyranna Resources are among the international explorers active in the country’s mining sector.