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

RAPAPORT... US retail sales stalled between Augustand September, indicating that consumer confidence may be waning in light ofthe escalating trade war. Total purchases for September -excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants - dipped 0.1% compared to theprevious month, according to data the National Retail Federation (NRF)published Wednesday. However, with the month also seeing 4.5% yea...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.What does tight oil have in common with Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet's Google stocks (known as FAANG stocks)? Answer: tight oil is arguably the upstream equivalent of these tech sector leaders. It's the hot investment...Read More

RAPAPORT... Marvin Zale, son of Zales  founder Morris Zale, and former vice chairman of the jeweler, has died at 89. Born in Texas in 1930, Zale grew up in his father's jewelrybusiness, which was established in 1924. He began his diamond education inAntwerp in 1948, returning to the US to serve in the army. He joined Zales in1953, working at various stores across the country. In 1958, he move...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lower mining grades and reduced ore availability contributedto a drop in Rio Tinto's third-quarter diamond production, the company reportedWednesday. Output at its wholly owned Argyle mine in Australiafell 7% year on year, yielding 3.6 million carats in the three-month periodending September 30. Production was hampered by lower grades, despite stronger mining and processing rates,Rio T...Read More

RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based jeweler Chow Tai Fook has reported adownward trend in sales across both mainland China and Hong Kong in the secondfiscal quarter. Same-store sales of gold products - at branches open for atleast 12 months - fell 15% year on year in mainland China for the period endingSeptember 30, and 49% in Hong Kong, the company said Tuesday. Same-store salesof gem-set jewelry a...Read More

RAPAPORT... The World JewelleryConfederation (CIBJO) has produced a special report on ethics ahead of its annualcongress in Bahrain next month."Weaving It All Together: An Ethical Status Report at the End of2019," released on Wednesday, covers a variety of topics, ranging frominternational frameworks to advertising and disclosure. Its author is TiffanyStevens, president of CIBJO's ethics commissio...Read More

RAPAPORT... Christie's has appointed AntiquesRoadshow watch expert Michael Fossner to lead its west coast watchdepartment. The auctioneer has charged Fossner with leading appraisals whileguiding and growing the company in the region. He is also expected towork with colleagues in New York and internationally to win new business andbring key pieces to market. Fossner, who has appeared on PBS's...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Diamond producer Alrosa today (Thursday) reported that its Q3 2019 diamond production hit 12.1 million carats, with sales totaling 6.4 million carats by volume and $0.6 billion by value. The miner said the increase in output - up 24 percent quarter-over-quarter and 15 percent year-over-year, was due to the launch of production at new deposits and the expansion of existing area...Read More

Turkish steel producers restarted their deep-sea scrap bookings for November shipments at slightly higher prices, sources said on Thursday October 17.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $242 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $252 per tonne cfr.The previous Baltic Sea cargo reported by Fastmarkets was sold at $237 per...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto has announced that lower mining grades and reduced ore availability led to a drop in its third-quarter diamond production at its two mines.At the 100-percent owned Argyle mine in Australia, production was 7 percent lower than the same period of 2018 due to lower recovered grade. This resulted in a production level of 3.6 million carats for the three-month period ended Sep...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Platinum Guild International (PGI) has opened its first showroom in Shenzhen, China. The opening is part of the organization's strategy to target younger consumers in a country that traditionally values gold. "Research has shown that the number one barrier to acquiring platinum jewellery in recent years has been the lack of appealing designs, so PGI has worked closely wit...Read More

(IDEX Online) - CIBJO (the World Jewellery Confederation) has published a report by its Ethics Commission ahead of its Congress in Bahrain in November.Weaving it all together: an ethical status report at the end of 2019 covers topics such as the increasing number of international conventions with which members of the jewelry industry are expected to comply and recommended processes of disclosure."...Read More

RAPAPORT... Costco sold a diamond ring worth $220,000 in the fourth fiscal quarter, the membership-based warehouse retailer saidearlier this month. Executivevice president and chief financial officer Richard Galanti confirmed thesale during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on October 3, just months after another big-ticketjewelry sale for the American multinational. The retailer noted a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company earned $10.4 million fromits latest sale of rough stones, bringing its total for the year to date to$45.9 million. The miner sold 5,469 carats from its Lulo mine inAngola for $5.9 million, at an average price of $1,087 per carat, it reportedThursday. This figure does not include a 46-carat pink diamond recovered lastyear that is currently being assessed for polis...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.India's renewables target of 175 GW capacity (100 GW of solar and 75 GW of wind) by 2022 is an ambitious endeavour. Even with significant cost declines, Wood Mackenzie expects about 76% of the target to be met by 2022 and this would s...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) has grantedits largest-ever award, to be shared among nine beneficiaries across three continents.The $470,000 training and education grant,released early last week, is designed to support girls' education,entrepreneurship and youth empowerment across India, Africa and Canada. Projects include funding for a new science,technology, engineering and mathe...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The power is still out at Firestone Diamonds plc's Liqhobong mine in Lesotho. The company said that despite attempts to resolve the problem of power fluctuations, there is not enough power to operate the mine's processing plant. The disruption is part of two-month maintenance shutdown by the Muela Hydropower Station (MHS), which supplies the mine's power. Since...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers will partner with two major retailers topromote Lightbox, its brand of affordable lab-grown diamond jewelry. Lightbox's $800-per-carat jewelry is set to be soldin select Bloomingdale's stores, including in New York City and San Francisco, thecompany said last week. It will also be distributed through 30 stores belongingto independent retailer Reeds Jewelers, which are primaril...Read More

RAPAPORT... Six synthetic-diamond companies have signed up for apilot program aimed at creating a sustainability standard for the sector. SCS Global Services, a third-party auditing specialist,will analyze companies' environmental, social and governance records, with thegoal of devising an independent sustainability certification for lab-growndiamonds. Crystal brand Swarovski and jeweler Helzberg...Read More

The absence of new mining projects, owing to limited exploration, continues to weigh on the future sustainability of South Africa’s once thriving mining sector, which once captured a larger share of major mining budgets.“There is simply not enough investment in new mineral exploration to take advantage of the country’s geological potential,” says a Minerals Council South Af...Read More