Zambia has started looking for a new investor in Vedanta-controlled Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambia's President Edgar Lungu said on state radio on Monday."We are not shaken in our resolve to divorce, starting with KCM, and we have filed that notification," Lungu said on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation radio, adding that he would brief the cabinet on the decision later on Monday.London-...Read More
SolGold is in talks with financiers keen to invest in its Ecuadorian copper-gold prospects and mining major BHP could increase its stake in the company, SolGold's chief executive said on Monday.In a preliminary economic assessment of the Alpala copper-silver-gold deposit in northern Ecuador released earlier, London-listed SolGold said annual copper output should be 207,000 tonnes for the first 25...Read More
Here's a sign of how all-dominating the trade war has become in metals markets: Copper is slumping toward a three-month low even after Zambia moved closer to nationalizing some of its mines.The lack of a reaction is even more surprising when compared with other market moves. Zambia's Eurobond yields surged to a record high and the currency hit a 3 1/2-year low.Zambian President Edgar Lungu is esca...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.7% below its traditional support level of $12,000 per tonne during morning trading on Monday May 20, although thin trading volumes have capped further downside movement. The metal's futures price was recently traded at $11,910 per tonne. Despite total LME stocks remaining at a seven-year low at just 164,100 tonnes, commodity trade...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday May 20 that are worth another look.Massive amounts of scrap metal are being held at Malaysian ports for unprecedented inspections and multiple copper cargoes still at sea are being diverted to other Asian countries at big discounts, sources told Fastmarkets. The German federal government is planning to invest "billions of eu...Read More
Prices for slab exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States have continued to decline in the second half of May while producers have had to make concessions in new bookings with customers in Europe and Asia amid unfavorable conditions in their finished flat-steel outlets.Fastmarkets' weekly CIS export slab price assessment narrowed down to $450-455 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday May 20...Read More
The mood in the CIS export billet market turned positive at the start of the week that began on Monday May 20, with most producers having almost filled their June order books in recent weeks.Import scrap prices in Turkey rebounded at the end of last week, supported by a reduction in the duty imposed on imports of Turkish steel into the United States to 25% from 50%.Although CIS...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 4.5% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in the first quarter of 2019, Eurometal said on Monday May 20."Shipments continued their negative trend of late last year and this was accompanied by rising stocks," the regional federation for steel, tube and metals distribution and trade said.European steelmakers such as Germany's ThyssenKrupp have...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.Once the deal closes, Chevron will be the second-largest producing major in 2019 terms. It was fourth.The acquisition makes the Majors' peer group much more polarised. ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP are now in a league of their own...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod markets were quiet in the week ended Monday May 20 with most buyers and sellers taking a wait-and-see approach seeking more clarity from Turkey, which finally achieved a reduction to the US import duty to 25% last week. Recent offers of rebar from Ukraine were heard within the range of $460-475 per tonne fob Black Sea, depending on destination. No bookings were report...Read More
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The United Arab Emirates' biggest steel producer, Emirates Steel, has been giving discounts on its rebar price of as much as 126 dirhams ($34) per tonne ex-works on June orders, Fastmarkets learnt on Monday May 20.The conpany was accepting orders at 1,881 dirhams ($512) per tonne ex-works, but its list price was 2,007 dirhams per tonne ex-works, unchanged since early February. Fastmarkets'...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 U.S has increased tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods to 25%, from 10%, impacting a number of metals. Commentary below comes from the Wood Mackenzie metals team:Copper By Wood Mackenzie Senior Consultant, Yanting Zhou"Previous...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.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.On Friday 15th February 2019, Vale announced there was a fire affecting a conveyor belt system at its distribution centre in Malaysia. Vale anticipate this will result in a 10 to 15 day halt in operations and note that a planned 10 da...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has taken preventive measures on fears of a possible rupture at its Sul Superior dam, which include the building of a containment structure and emergency training with nearby residents.The company told local authorities last week that displacement of a slope at the Gongo Soco mine pit could lead to a rupture of its Sul Superior dam, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais s...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.Wood Mackenzie's research analysts have over 40 years' experience understanding and forecasting natural resources industry performance across exploration, extraction and production, refining and financial markets.We produce annual, ha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Frederick Goldman has opened a lab-grown manufacturing center inMexico as part of its new jewelry supply business. Jewelry SolutionsGroup manufactures custom diamond jewelry and engagement rings, delivered to customer within a week. The venture is comprised of two units, an existing facility for natural-diamond jewelry, and a separate site for lab-grown pieces, both in Mexic...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has discovered asynthetic layer that improved the weight and color of a natural diamond, and haswarned that the phenomenon may be happening more often. The cushion modified brilliant, 0.64-carat stone containedabout 0.10 carats of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, the GIA estimatedin a lab note last week. The lab-grown layer was greyish...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies posted a loss in the first quarter ascredit problems in the Indian manufacturing sector led to softened demand forits equipment. The diamond-technology company reported a net loss of $1.4million, versus a profit of $3.1 million for the same period last year, thecompany said last week. The company's customers in India, its largest market,struggled to obtain cred...Read More