Three unions at Codelco's Chuquicamata mine downed tools late Wednesday and blocked access to the century-old operation, claiming that the Chilean copper miner has been violating agreements with workers and threatening union leaders.A spokeswoman for the company, the world's No. 1 copper producer, told MINING.com the mine was operating normally, adding that the blockage has not prevented workers f...Read More
Dealers and jewelers optimistic for last-minute holiday sales. Multi-channeldigital and experiential retail are key themes this season, with rising numberof pop-up stores and webrooms. Trade shifting east, with improving Chinese NewYear demand. Some caution for 2019 as US-China trade war, volatile stock marketand higher interest rates could impact consumer sentiment. Prices of 0.30 ct.diamonds pre...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers is planning to loosen its source-disclosure restrictions for sightholders following requests for increased transparency, Rapaport News has learned.The company consulted with clients during this week's sightin Botswana, proposing to let them refer to its supply as "DTC diamonds" whenthey sell the goods further along the pipeline, a company spokespersonconfirmed. De Beers w...Read More
Cautious sentiment as trading slows ahead of theChristmas break. Fewer foreign buyers in the market. Demand concentrated onSI-I1 goods. Rough market restrained as manufacturers are holding largepolished inventory, particularly lower-value goods. Small diamond and jewelry businesses under stress due toweaker rupee, tight credit and low profit margins. POLISHED:Read More
De Beers and Vast Resources will be allowed to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, which would make them the first listed companies to mine there in that sector for two years, Mining Minister Winston Chitando said.A spokesman for De Beers, an Anglo American unit, said in an email it was not mining in Zimbabwe and did not intend to. Vast Resources said it could not comment.Zimbabwe has been working t...Read More
UK ferrous scrap prices for deliveries in December have uniformly dropped by ?20 per tonne due to weaker export prices and a slowdown in domestic consumer demand, trade sources told Fastmarkets MB on Thursday December 13.The move follows a rollover on consumer delivery settlements in the past two months. UK suppliers had signaled a likely drop in December shipment prices due to a fall in European...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales at Christie's garnered a combined $492.3million this year, driven by expensive blue and pink diamonds. The company's top-selling piece was the Winston Pink Legacy,a rectangular-cut, 18.96-carat, fancy-vivid-pink diamond, which sold in Genevalast month for $50.4 million. Other top lots for the year included apear-shaped, 8.01-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, internally flawless di...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) held a rough diamond tender from the November 26 to December 4 at the Dubai Diamond Exchange in the Almas Tower, Dubai., selling 97,841 carats for $46.4 million. The company reported that two regular productions of high quality and high color material from South Africa and Angola were offered for sale, as well as several significant special s...Read More
RAPAPORT... Fortuna recorded its largest auction to date as a blue diamond ring fetched $1.4 million in New York earlier this month. The pear-shaped, 3.05-carat, fancy-intense-blue, SI2-claritydiamond ring surrounded by pink diamonds had a presale estimate of $1.2 millionto $1.8 million. That piece led Fortuna's Magnificent Jewels sale, which garnereda total of $4 million, with 83% of lots s...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) sold $46.4 million worth ofrough diamonds during a tender in Dubai in late November and early December, itsaid Wednesday. The company sold 97,841 carats of high-quality stones frommines in South Africa and Angola for an average price of $474 per carat. Thecompany extended its final bidding deadline due to strong interest, it said. "Through 2019 we...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay out of the deep-sea scrap markets on Thursday December 13. They are unlikely to resume buying any time soon due to the continuing lack of demand for finished steel in the country's domestic and export markets.Steel mills in Turkey have been holding back from scrap purchases for more than two weeks now, with only one cargo booked since November 2...Read More
HARARE/LONDON – De Beers and Vast Resources will be allowed to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, which would make them the first listed companies to mine there in that sector for two years, Mining Minister Winston Chitando said.A spokesman for De Beers, an Anglo American unit, said in an email it was not mining in Zimbabwe and did not intend to. Vast Resources said it could not comment.Adver...Read More
JSE-listed diamond miner Trans Hex reported a group net profit of R52-million for the six months ended September 30, compared with the R199-million loss reported for the six months to September 30, 2017.The company managed to raise its earnings a share to 37.6c apiece, compared with a loss of 89.7c apiece in the prior comparable period.AdvertisementSales revenue from the South African operations i...Read More
Comex copper prices moved higher on the morning of Thursday December 13 in the United States, with easing global trade tensions providing a boost to risk appetite.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.90 cents to $2.7790 per lb.Worries that the trade war between the US and China will only escalate in 2019 have softened in recent we...Read More
As part of its series on blockchain in commodities, Fastmarkets takes a closer look at the evolution of blockchain networks for trade financeMarco PoloOne of the fastest growing trade and working capital finance networks in blockchain is the Marco Polo network, a joint venture with technology firm TradeIX and software firm R3, along with a number of major banks and their clients.Designed to facili...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Mining Charter has significant room for improvement to enable meaningful participation of women in mining, says Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA) chairperson Lindiwe Nakedi.Soweto-born Nakedi, who owns Gubhani Exploration – a surface exploration drilling company that is currently the only 100% black women owned drilling company in South Africa...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metal prices are broadly higher on Thursday December 13 due to good signals from China-US trade tensions, with the three-month zinc price leading the complex due to historic low inventories."More positive steps from China on trade seem to be easing some of the concerns in the market, although traders are probably nervous that any positivity could be unwound with one pres...Read More
Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) dropped 7% month on month in November, based on data released by major Japanese trading house Marubeni on Thursday December 13.Total MJP aluminium stocks stood at 295,400 tonnes at the end of November, compared with 317,300 tonnes at the end of October, the third consecutive drop since September. The total stock level, however, remain...Read More
Sustained investment in people a big plus for consultancySPONSOREDbyrnecutMahenge the Cinderella of the graphite space?SPONSOREDblack rock miningSky is the limit for BSK at Amarillo GrandeSPONSOREDblue sky uraniumNew Energy brings experience to new dawnSPONSOREDnew energy mineralsMining, oil and gas combined contributes 37% of the territory's gross domestic product, making the it the north's large...Read More
It was another firmer start for the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange this morning, Thursday December 13, with all the metals in positive territory and showing average gains of 0.6%.More positive steps from China on trade seems to be easing some of the concerns in the market, although the traders are probably nervous that any positivity could be unwound with one president...Read More