Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), the Tanzanian gold producer dealing with an ongoing dispute with the country's administration, has threatened to sue the government in international court as concerns about the safety of its staff mount.The company, majority owned by Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), has been waiting for the Canadian gold giant to negotiate a settlement with President John Magufuli, after he s...Read More
Qianhai Mercantile Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing's new onshore China commodities trading platform, started trading on Friday October 19, with a first deal for alumina concluded. Chinalco International Trade sold 3,000 tonnes of alumina to Xiamen Xiangyu Group at 3,030 yuan ($436.67) per tonne."We hope to establish fair market prices with industry customers and establish good market...Read More
BEIJING, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A Shenzhen-based commodity exchange controlled by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing unexpectedly began spot trading on Friday, giving the HKEX much-coveted access to mainland China's market.The launch of Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME), located just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Hong Kong, brings to an end a long wait for HKEX and its chairman Charles Li, who bought th...Read More
(Adds detail on market reaction, background, comment)By Suvashree Choudhury and Promit MukherjeeMUMBAI Oct 19 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India on Friday eased lending norms related to certain non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) as liquidity concerns in the sector persist and markets continue to question the viability of some of the firms following the IL&FS debacle.The central bank on F...Read More
* NSE index down 1.4 pct, BSE index 1.3 pct* Both indexes end the week lower* Reliance Industries down over 4 pctOct 19 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell over 1 percent for the second consecutive session on Friday, dragged by Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS after its second-quarter performance failed to please investors, while non-banking finance companies continued to face selling pressure.The ben...Read More
* Crude falls for second straight week* U.S. rig count highest since March 2015 -Baker Hughes* China refinery throughput hits record high in Sept* WTI in contango as Cushing stockpiles expected to rise (Updates with CFTC data)By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday on signs of surging demand in China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, although prices were headed for...Read More
WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it has withdrawn a regulation proposed in the last days of the Obama administration that aimed to tighten health and safety compliance rules for uranium miners.On Jan. 19, 2017 - a day before Donald Trump took office as president - the EPA had proposed standards to regulate by-product materials produced by urani...Read More
BRUSSELS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS-- U.S. software company Microsoft Corp MSFT.O to buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc (approved Oct. 19)-- Irish investor aircraft and asset manager ORIX Aviation Systems Limited to acquire 30 percent of Irish aircraft leasing...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices were flat on Friday as the U.S. dollar was volatile despite expectations of another interest rate increase this year and falling equities.Comex gold futures for December delivery inched down 0.07% to $1,229.30 a troy ounce as of 4:45 AM ET (8:45 GMT), not far from an earlier session high of $1,232.70.Rising interest rates are likely remain a concern for gold prices. Int...Read More
The U.K. has warned that a no-deal Brexit risks London being frozen out of the global diamond trade.Britain is a member of the Kimberley Process, the global certification program used to track and prevent the trade of conflict gems, through its European Union membership. The country will need to apply for its own membership post Brexit, and the government last week warned diamond traders that any...Read More
ALROSA, the world's largest diamond mining company, is starting the forth auction this year for the sale of special size rough diamonds (over 10.8 carats) in Vladivostok. The auction will start on October 22, and the results will be announced on November 2.The company is putting for sale 166 gem-quality rough diamonds with the total weight of 2,607 carats, including one fancy colored stone - 12.92...Read More
Toronto-based miner Mountain Province has netted $24.2-million from the sale of 366 505 ct in its most recent diamond sale, which the company says is in line with its expectations.The sale, held on October 5, realised an average value of $66/ct.AdvertisementMountain Province, which is a 49% participant with De Beers in the Gahcho Kué mine in the Northwest Territories, reported strong b...Read More
TORONTO/LONDON – Anglo American unit De Beers is going after lucrative, but elusive high-tech markets in quantum computing, as it aims to expand its lab-grown diamond business beyond drilling and cutting.Element Six, De Beers' synthetic diamond arm, is building a $94-million factory in Portland, Oregon, an expansion that comes as scientists from Moscow to London push to develop diamonds...Read More
Indian domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) have been showing signs of weakness on account of muted demand in the week ended Friday October 19.Local mills so far have not reduced domestic prices for HRC but they are facing pressure from buyers to consider a correction in prices."There is a lot of pressure from our distributors to reduce HRC prices, but we will not be reducing prices in Octobe...Read More
As the economic mood in the global mining industry improves, SRK Consulting’s Accra office, in Ghana, has been making inroads into new markets in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, SRK Ghana country manager John Kwofie noted in a release last week. He believes that there is potential for improved investor interest in Ghana as well, as the country’s new government takes a more proactiv...Read More
Prices for grade 18/8 alloy steel scrap in the UK and Europe decreased in the week ended Friday October 19, largely because of weak demand.Market participants described an extremely slow alloy scrap market in general, with trading levels diminished both through low demand from stainless steel mills and also by limited supplies.Mills have been buying lower-than-normal quantities of alloy scrap in O...Read More
Base metal prices ended the trading week weakly on the London Metal Exchange, with aluminium, zinc and lead all down on the previous day.The three-month zinc price dropped by 2.1% to $2,626 per tonne at the LME 5pm close - this was the contract's first daily drop in five days.Lead closed at $1,992 per tonne and aluminium $2,003 per tonne, both down $10 from their Thursday closing levels.The LME's...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsAlcoa intends to shut its Spanish aluminium smelting operations at La Coru??a and Avil?(C)s, saying they are the least productive in the Alcoa system due to structural issues. BHP's zinc concentrates production rose 5% year on year in the three months ended September 30, according to...Read More
A meeting in Brussels next week will discuss whether four chemical compounds irreplaceable in the production of lead batteries should be banned, effectively spelling the end for the technology in the region. The proposal for an in-effect ban is part of Reach, a European Union regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals that came into force in 2007...Read More
The Comex copper price rebounded in the US morning on Friday October 19 despite weak growth in China, with potential further stimulus from the Chinese central bank expected. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.70 cents to $2.7735 per lb. China's economic growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter of this year to the w...Read More