Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
The Comex copper price failed to rebound on Wednesday January 23 with technical selling continuing to weigh on the red metal. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.05 cents to $2.6590 per lb. Persistent worries over the unresolved trade war between the United States and China are keeping...Read More
Canada's First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM) has scrapped plans to lay off 2,500 workers in Zambia over an increase in mining taxes, and has committed to extend talks with the southern African nation's government over the issue.The Toronto-based said last month it had exhausted all other avenues of cost reduction, adding the job cuts would be implemented in phases during the first three months of 2019...Read More
Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc. (LON:ANTO) ended 2018 on a very high note as it produced a record amount of copper in the final quarter of the year, which led it to post annual output at the higher end of its forecast.The company, majority-owned by Chile's Luksic family, one of the country's wealthiest, churned out 220,000 tonnes of the red metal in the three months to December, up 16% from the pr...Read More
Vitol has wound down its alumina trading operations following the departure of head trader Philip Blanchard, it said.Blanchard, who was based in London, became head trader for the Switzerland-based energy and commodities firm's alumina book in 2016 following the departure of Roger Pillai.Blanchard has not been replaced at Vitol; the company said it will focus on energy and related products an...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Northern Europe moved downward on Wednesday January 23 due to falling costs for feedstock materials, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe fell by ?,?5 per tonne to ?,?630-640 ($716-727) per tonne delivered on January 23, from ?,?635-645 ($726...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) has appointedBeatrice Sturtevant as managing director, it said Tuesday. Sturtevant was previously director of operations at AlexaTranslations and business unit manager for CLS Lexi-Tech, a division of global translation firm Lionbridge. The CJA, which has more than 1,000 members, is based in Toronto. Image: Beatrice Sturtevant. (CJA)Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 23 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange's warrant depository has begun to show delays after large amounts of warrants were canceled, sources told Fastmarkets MB. More than 130,000 tonnes of aluminium was freshly canceled on the exchange over the past two days, with traders expecting...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies will unveil itsfull-capacity, artificial-intelligence (AI) grading lab at the upcomingInternational Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI). The launch followsan initial pilot of the lab, which opened in Israel in February. Sarine hasmoved the lab to a larger facility, and has transitioned it from the pilot stageto its full-scale commercial level, the company told Rapapo...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has been dabbling in the retail end of thediamond industry for more than 15 years, but recently, other miners have begunto follow suit, breaking out of the production box and entering other aspectsof the trade.The move into retail was a natural step for De Beers,says David Johnson, the company's head of strategic communications.Initially, De Beers undertook category marketing...Read More
Aluminium producer Hydro's casthouse in Henderson, Kentucky, has been put out of operation after an explosion Wednesday January 23 damaged its melting furnace.It is unclear how many weeks the plant, which has production capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year of secondary aluminium billets, will be out of operation,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Figures from pre-registration show major buyers from across the world, including the United States, EU countries, India, Australia, the Middle East and the ASEAN region, will be taking part in the 63rd edition of the Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair (BGJF). The February 20-24 show, being held at the Challenger Hall 1-3, IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, will feature exhibitors...Read More
RAPAPORT... A consumer-advice website is using artificial intelligence to identify diamonds that appear clean to the naked eye.The Diamond Pro's new tool, Ringo, helps customers make thebest diamond purchase based on their selected parameters, it said following the tool's launch on Tuesday. "Prior to Ringo, consumers would either need to upgrade inclarity to guarantee eye-cleanliness or have an ex...Read More
MOSCOW – Sales by Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms, are lower than a year ago so far in January, its CEO was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Wednesday.Alrosa competes with Anglo American's De Beers, the biggest seller of rough diamonds by value.AdvertisementAlrosa's sales of rough and polished diamonds totalled $504.5-...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies will inaugurate its newly branded, advanced and fully automated diamond grading lab during the January 28-30 International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI). The launch of the only such facility based on artificial intelligence (AI) follows an initial pilot of the lab facility that opened in February 2018, the IDWI said in a statement. Sarine, an Israel-based...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Mothae mine in Lesotho is performing better than expected since reaching commercial production in the fourth quarter. The asset is producing 3.94 carats per 100 tonnes,compared to the initial resource guidance of 1.92 carats per 100 tonnes, theowner, Lucapa Diamond Company, said last week. Lucapa commenced the commissioning phase during the fourthquarter ending December 31, and re...Read More
China's imported volumes of copper scrap in 2018 went down by almost one-third from the year before, following the implementation of various scrap import barriers and a tariff on material from major supplier the United States.More copper concentrate was shipped to the country in 2018 compared with 2017, however.The quantity of Chinese copper scrap imports fell by 32.2% year-on-year to 2.4 million...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock has updated its 2013 inferred level of confidence in the diamond mineral resource for the Kareevlei kimberlite cluster.The company owns and operates the Kareevlei diamond mine, in Kimberley, South Africa, and appointed Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants to compile its reports.AdvertisementSince the publication of the 2013 mineral resource report, BlueRock has started mining th...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The Wood Mackenzie report Global trends: what to look for in 2019 looks at emerging business models that ensure global mining companies remain at the forefront of the energy transition. Find out why electrification and autom...Read More
RAPAPORT... Three industry members have found homes in executivepositions at Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA), Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group and RoyalAsscher. Steven Kaiser was elected chairperson of the JSA board,replacing Stewart Wicht, the recently retired CEO of Rolex Watch USA, whocompleted his term. Kaiser will serve a three-year term alongside other boardmembers, including Alan Zimmer o...Read More
Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has undertaken a share placing with existing and new investors to raise £370 000 through the issue of just over 67.2-million new ordinary shares at a placing price of 0.55p a placing share.The proceeds will be used to fund exploration activities during the current year in Botswana and South Africa, and to provide additional working capital for the company.Ad...Read More