For the third time in a row, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and the University of Antwerp (UA) will organize the Antwerp Summer University. Spanning two weeks at the end of August - early September, the academic program, is intended for an international group of masters and PhD students, graduates, researchers and (young) professionals from in- and outside the diamond industry. The...Read More
Sarine Technologies Ltd announced that New Art Cima Ltd. is the first retail chain in Japan to implement the Sarine Diamond Journey solution as a center piece of its new customer experience. The Sarine Diamond Journey solution vividly showcases a diamond's transformation from its rough origin to its polished form. The solution includes a three-dimensional model of the original rough stone th...Read More
Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) will be hosting diamond viewings for its registered customers at the AWDC Tender Facility from the July 1-5, 2019. At the viewing, the goods on-site will be single stones and sales lots comprising stones greater than +9.8 carats. These goods then will be sold as part of ODC's July online auction that is planned for July 25, 2019. Meanwhile, registration for the...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to follow the downward trend on Tuesday April 16, while the seaborne spot market remained thin. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.70 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.87 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Pr...Read More
The cfr China segment of the seaborne premium hard coking coal market picked up some strength on Tuesday April 16 after a steelmaker snapped up several available cargoes.A Panamax shipment of a top Australian brand that is on its way to China was sold at $203.50 per tonne cfr China, both counterparties confirmed to Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 16.A Capesize shipment of premium mid-vol hard coking...Read More
Australian miner Rio Tinto has reduced its 2019 iron ore production guidance to 333-343 million tonnes, from 338-350 million tonnes, 100% basis, as estimated at the end of fourth quarter of 2018.The lower production guidance was due to a slower ramp up and ongoing disruptions to shipments caused by weather and other disruptions, the miner said. Most of Rio Tinto's iron ore output originates from t...Read More
A summary of Rio Tinto's production results for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as well as its full-year production guidance.In brief Iron ore production at the company's Pilbara operations in Western Australia totaled 67 million tonnes (100% basis) in January-March 2019, 9% lower than the same period of 2018 after production was disrupted by tropical cyclone Veronica in March and a fire at...Read More
A conservation group is calling on the Saskatchewan government to do more after raising concerns about a proposed potash mine near the village of Sedley.CanPacific Potash is proposing a new 3.25 million tonne per year solution potash mine and submitted its environmental impact assessment to the province in January.Continue reading...Read More
Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners (ECTP) moved closer to exiting London Metal Exchange warehousing operations on Tuesday April 16, with the sale of its European sheds and stocks to Dutch logistics company Kloosterboer.The purchaser is well known for its juice-processing facilities but as yet has only a small presence in the metals markets."Kloosterboer is now especially active in fruit juice,...Read More
Fastmarkets' alumina index fob Australia fell to its lowest in over two months on April 16 due to continued extra cargoes in the market and positive news surrounding Alunorte's restart.The daily fob Australia alumina index fell to $354.85 per tonne today, down 3.9% from the previous day and 11.3% lower week on week from when the index was at $411.29 per tonne.Key driversIndex pushes lower after a...Read More
Holding pattern for now Base metals seem to be in something of a holding pattern, waiting for more details from US-China trade talks before making their next directional move. Given the likelihood of a positive conclusion, stronger demand-related signals from China, and tight underlying supply-demand balances, we maintain that the mostly likely next move will be to the upside. Aluminium: Becoming...Read More
Aluminium prices slipped back below $1,850 per tonne last week Aluminium prices continued their downtrend and slipped below the $1,850 per tonne mark last week. This comes as weaker investor sentiment across Europe continues to trickle through to commodity purchasing, with US President Donald Trump threatening to apply $11 billion worth of tariffs on goods from the EU. Grounded in an ongoing aircr...Read More
The Comex copper price staged a modest rebound in US morning trading on Tuesday April 16 with the market waiting for a new catalyst to sustain solid price direction. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded 0.35 cents to $2.9385 per lb. The contract has been unable to set solid price momentum over the past few weeks with prices rising...Read More
Aluminium LME aluminium produced what appears to be a bullish daily hammer candlestick on Friday April 12. This technical development could mark a potential short-term reversal. Given how oversold the daily RSI and stochastic lines are, there is decent upside potential on both indicators to support a move higher. Still, we will need to see more buying emerge first and LME aluminium needs to t...Read More
The copper industry gathered in Santiago last week for the annual CESCO week. Overall, sentiment was fairly bullish and that seems to be flowing into prices this week, with copper having another go at resistance in the $6,500s. Below we highlight some of the key takeaways from CESCO and give our opinion on some of the main talking points. Mine disruptions are back After a relative dearth of mine s...Read More
Rising stocks highlight adequate availability A pick-up in both LME and SHFE lead stocks in recent months is a headwind for lead prices at this seasonally weak time when the threat of severe cold weather in the northern hemisphere has passed. That said, exchange lead stocks are still relatively low, at around 109,500 tonnes on Friday, compared with 123,276 tonnes at the start of the year. While th...Read More
At Fastmarkets’ Battery Material Conference held in Shanghai last week, there was much focus among participants on how China’s EV policies will support nickel-rich lithium-ion battery demand in medium to long term. Below are some important highlights from this discussion: The halving of China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) subsidies in late March (to 18,000 yuan ($2,680) for EVs with a...Read More
Dip-buying continues to keep LME tin prices fairly stable in the mid-to-high $20,000s. As this delays the still-likely sell-off associated with the beginning of the end of the Indonesian supply bottleneck, we turn our attention this week to the tinplate market, noting highlights from our Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Markets Tracker. Chinese market in transition In China, the tinplate market seems...Read More
Zinc rebounds on positive Chinese data... Zinc prices came under pressure for much of last week as trade jitters and macroeconomic uncertainties dominated risk sentiment. But price weakness was limited by technical support around $2,870 per tonne, before staging an end-of-week rebound to close with a modest $5.50-per-tonne gain on the week in response to positive data from China. ...as new loans a...Read More
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