Vedanta Resources said on Thursday it will challenge in court a decision by Zambia's High Court to appoint a legal firm as a provisional liquidator of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).The liquidation application was brought against Vedanta-controlled KCM by Zambian state-owned ZCCM-IH, which holds a 20.6% stake in the unit."Vedanta has serious concerns about the intentions of the applicants and the proc...Read More
Transition Metals (TSXV: XTM) has staked two new properties, collectively covering 15,144 hectares in northern Saskatchewan's Wollaston Basin Copper Belt.In a press release, the miner said that the Fannon and Tosi properties are located approximately 100 kilometres south of Key Lake and about 30 and 85 kilometres, respectively, southwest along trend with the company's Janice Lake property that is...Read More
Dunnedin Ventures (TSXV: DVI) announced that it has closed the acquisition of 100% of the Mohave copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry project in Mohave County, Arizona, from Bluestone Resources.Mohave is a 10-square-kilometre property located in the mineral producing Basin and Range Province of Arizona and 33 kilometres west of Freeport McMoran's Bagdad copper porphyry mine.According to Dunnedin, lim...Read More
The negative trend in prices in the EU market for hot-rolled coil (HRC) has softened and prices have now stabilized, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 23.Domestic prices might start to recover slowly in the second half of June, some market participants added.Some European flat steel producers, including ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia, have increased their official offers of HRC while...Read More
Zambia's Chamber of Mines on Thursday delivered further signs of a major global undersupply of copper about to hit the market by announcing that the country's output of the metal could be as much as 100,000 tonnes lower than last year.The industry lobby group attributed the expected drop in production to changes to mining taxes introduced in January, which is driving companies to cut output."The n...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have broken their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets with prices increasing sharply, sources said on Thursday May 23.Four steel mills booked deep-sea cargoes from various sources late on Wednesday and on Thursday.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $310 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $315 per...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday May 27. After that, because of the UK's Spring bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday May 29. Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading on Thursday May 23, with continued trade friction between the United States and China fueling risk-off sentiment while tight nearby spreads failed to attract fresh inflows. "Today has started in much the same mode with the metals losing ground in the Asian session," Kingdom Futures director and chief executive Malcol...Read More
Greek aluminium and copper producer ElvalHalcor reported a dip in profits for the first quarter of 2019 due to weak aluminium prices, according to a trading update published on Wednesday May 22.The company, a subsidiary of Belgium-based holding company Viohalco, reported gross profit of ?,?40.4 million ($45 million) for the first quarter, down by 6% from ?,?43 million in January-March 2018.ElvalHa...Read More
Energy storage in mobility and stationary storage applications will increase annual copper demand by 2.3 million tonnes by 2029, according to an analyst at research and consulting firm IDTechEx.Na Jiao said that total cumulative copper demand in energy storage over the next decade will be just over nine million tonnes. Energy storage - and battery technology in particular - is often seen as having...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 23 that are worth another look.South32's decision to review the future of its manganese alloy assets comes as little surprise to fellow manganese alloy producers because they are likely to be considering similar options. The United States' reduction of tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50% last week will only par...Read More
Crude steel production in Argentina dropped by 9.09% year on year in April, according to figures released by national steel association Acero Argentino on Wednesday May 22.Argentina produced 420,900 tonnes of crude steel in April, down from 463,000 tonnes in the same period a year earlier.Activity in most steel-consuming sectors in Argentina remained weak last month, but some signs of optimism are...Read More
Brazilian steel demand decreased further in April, demonstrated by lower volumes of flat-rolled products sold in the market and despite a recovery in the long-rolled market, national steel association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday May 23. Steel demand has now fallen for two consecutive months, following a drop of 1.6% in March. Steel apparent consumption was 1.67 million tonnes in April,...Read More
Dealers heading to Las Vegas with hope new JCKvenue will create a buzz and stimulate trading. Market sentiment weak amid sloworders, tight liquidity and declining prices. Memo houses doing well. US retailpositive, with fine jewelry a top category at J.C. Penney and Macy's. RichemontFY jewelry sales at Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels +10% to $7.9B. Diamond manufacturers'profit squeezed as De Beers...Read More
Polished trading quiet amid ongoing liquidityconcerns. Geopolitical factors fueling caution as diamantaires await national-electionresults. Fewer foreign buyers seen in Mumbai. Pockets of good demand, asdealers look for top-quality supply. Manufacturers maintaining reduced polishedproduction after summer break, while profit margins tighten during May sight. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... The Lab Grown Diamond Council (LGDC) will create the firstsustainability certification mark for synthetic diamonds to reassureconsumers their stones have met rigorous environmental and social standards, the newly-established trade group said. "Our mission is to create increased market clarity about thebenefit of lab-grown diamonds," LGDC chairman Michael Barlerin explained Wednesd...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has unearthed a 126-carat,gem-quality rough from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, it said Thursday. The stone is the largest recovered from the deposit sincecommercial production began in January, and the first diamond over 100 caratsthe mine has produced. Lucapa previously found five stones weighing more than50 carats each during bulk sampling. "Lesotho is very...Read More
RAPAPORT...Synthetic diamonds are a fundamental threat to the naturaldiamond industry. They are not just a competitive product like gems, pearls, orgold jewelry. They are a replacement product. Their marketers shout out: Don't buynatural diamonds, buy synthetic diamonds because synthetic diamonds are moreethical. They are cheaper. They build up synthetic diamonds by tearing downnatural diamonds.Th...Read More
The weakening of Turkey's lira against the US dollar has pushed up the domestic prices for rebar and wire rod despite sluggish demand over the past week, sources said on Thursday May 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey on Thursday was TRY3,330-3,420 ($547-561) per tonne ex-works, up from last week's TRY3,250-3,350 per tonne ex-works.The mills in the Izmir region we...Read More
RAPAPORT... The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the ColouredGemstones Working Group (CGWG) will collaborate to help companies in theindustry implement responsible sourcing for gemstones such as rubies, emeraldsand sapphires.The groups will develop management tools and resources thatcolored-gemstone businesses can download free of charge, to support them in conductingdue diligence of...Read More