Reinforcing steel bar prices have decreased in the United States due to downward pressure from falling raw material costs and some reports of slower market activity, market sources said. Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic rebar stood at $34.50-35.50 per hundredweight ($690-710 per short ton) fob mill on Wednesday April 17, down by 2.4% from $35.25-36.50 per cwt two weeks earlier. At t...Read More
Sentiment mixed, with slow trading before Easter andPassover. Selective buyers looking for 3X (X3) fine VS-SI diamonds. Steady USdemand for 1 to 1.50 ct. goods ahead of summer wedding season. Diamond cuttersreducing production and seeking to offload excess 0.30 to 0.50 ct. inventory.Alrosa 1Q sales -37% to $988M, rough-price index -3%. Chow Tai Fook and LukFook signal slowdown during Chinese New Y...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gitanjali Gems, whose chairman is a suspect in India'slargest bank fraud, is expected to go into liquidation, after its lendersrejected a recovery plan.Creditors voted by a 54% majority on March 28 not to extend Gitanjali's "corporate-insolvency resolution process," a six-month window during which a company's ability to repay its debts is assessed. That process therefore lapsed on...Read More
RAPAPORT...What's the current state of the rough, polished and retail markets?Avi Krawitz, Rapaport's Senior Analyst and News Editor, analyzes the key trendsin this hour-long webinar. Click here for more.Read More
The world's top diamond producer by output, Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), announced this week the launching of diamond production at its Zarya pipe in Yakutia, eastern Russia.The new 300-meter deep deposit, operated by the Aikhal Mining and Processing Division and which started to be prepared for mining in 2016, is expected to have a mine life of over 10 years.To prepare the Zarya pipe, 14 million cubic mete...Read More
South American steel import prices were mostly unchanged or slightly higher, with demand in the region still low and customers increasingly looking for alternative sources of flat steel as Chinese material becomes too expensive for importers, sources said.Mills in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, like Russia and Ukraine, were regarded as a feasible alternative, they added.Fastm...Read More
South Africa's Petra Diamonds (LON:PDL) has found yet another big rock at its iconic Cullinan mine, the third coloured diamond over 100-carats since March that has been unearthed at the operation.It is the third Type II D-colour gem-quality diamond weighing more than 100 carats recovered at Cullinan since MarchThe 209.9 carat, D colour, Type II gem-quality diamond is also the fourth such stone d...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has started diamond production at a newdeposit in Yakutia with an expected mine life of 11 years, it said Wednesday. The Zarya pipe will help compensate for the diminishing resources at the miner's Komsomolsky open-pit site, Alrosa noted. It will havethe capacity to process 1.25 million tonnes of ore per year. Zarya, which is inthe Aikhal division, cost the Russia-based min...Read More
RAPAPORT... Two Sotheby's New York auctions brought in a combined $21.5million Wednesday, with a blue-diamond ring achieving the top price. The cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut, 3.24-carat,fancy-intense-blue, VVS1-clarity diamond ring, flanked by two pear-shapeddiamonds, fetched $2.3 million, or $709,877 per carat. It had been estimated at $2.5million to $3 million for the Magnificent Je...Read More
Alrosa reported the results for its diamond production during the first quarter of 2019. The company mined and processed 7.8 million carats, an increase of 18 percent compared to the first quarter of 2018. Alrosa sold 10.6 million carats for $1billion, an increase of 19 percent for the quarter. The average diamond recovery per ton was 1.23 carat. Of the 10.6 million carats sold, some 7.9 mi...Read More
The decision by the European Commission (EC) to suspend carbon emissions allowances issued by the UK government under the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is expected to remain valid until the UK is able to reach a deal with the EU on the country's exit from the union, Richard Warren, head of policy at industry body UK Steel, told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 18.Allowances issued by the UK wer...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US government wants the jewelry industry to declare the origin of all materials in products, trade organizations learned this week.State Department officials met with industry representatives on Monday to brief them on the plans.The possible rules would cover all raw materials in jewelry,including diamonds, other gemstones, metals and additional parts, according to a source pr...Read More
Petra Diamonds confirmed that it recovered a 209.9 carat D colour Type II gem quality diamond at its Cullinan Diamond Mine on April 18, 2019. This is the third +100ct Type II D colour gem quality diamond recovered since March 2019, and the fourth such stone in the current financial year. Petra noted in a statement that this recovery "again demonstrates the prevalence of these types of stones in th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's New York Magnificent Jewels auction garnered $30.3 million on Tuesday, with a twin-stone ring leading the sale. The piece, bearing two pear modified brilliant-cut,fancy-vivid-blue, VS2-clarity diamonds weighing 3.06 and 2.61 carats, fetched$6.7 million, or $1.2 million per carat. Its presale estimate was $6 million to $8 million. Christie's sold six additional lots for...Read More
The Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) revealed a unique polished blue diamond weighing over 20 carats, the biggest blue diamond discovery ever made in Botswana. GIA graded the 20.46-carat gem as a type IIb, Fancy Deep Blue, oval brilliant cut, VVS2. The diamond was discovered at Botswana's Orapa mine as a 41.11-carat rough stone. Its unique and vibrant blue color is the result of the inc...Read More
Petra Diamonds on Friday recovered a 209.9 ct D-colour Type II gem-quality diamond at its Cullinan diamond mine, in South Africa.This is the third Type II D-colour gem-quality diamond weighing more than 100 ct recovered since March and the fourth such diamond recovered in the current financial year.AdvertisementPetra on Friday said the latest recovery again demonstrates the prevalence of these typ...Read More
TSX-listed Stornoway Diamond Corporation has a new CFO.Dino Rambidis, who Stornoway describes as a seasoned leader with extensive financial experience, has replaced Orin Baranowsky with immediate effect.AdvertisementBaranowsky has decided to step down from his current role and will remain with the company up to the end of May to ensure an orderly transition.Rambidis is a chartered professional acc...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Black investors have self-funded the purchase of shares at a premium price in the fast-tracked redevelopment of the Prieska zinc and copper mine in the Northern Cape, which has a three-year payback and a minimum mine life of ten years.The $8-million equity capital raising by Orion Minerals, completed at a 29% premium to the company’s last closing pric...Read More
Brazilian steelmakers have called for an urgent solution regarding production stoppages in iron ore miner Vale's southeastern system, after a disastrous accident in January this year at a tailings dam in the C??rrego do Feij??o mine, according to national steel association Instituto A??o Brasil."The current situation of raw materials supply cannot be maintained for long," A??o Brasil executive pre...Read More
Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxThe company has filed a prefeasibility study that considers an independent and phased openpit operation at Pumpkin Hollow, which will be value accretive for shareholders.Read More