The Democratic Republic of Congo gave two groups of investors a four-week deadline to submit a joint proposal on the development of the multi-billion dollar Inga 3 hydropower plant.The government signed an accord with Chinese and Spanish consortia this week to advance the 11,000-megawatt facility, the first time it's formally appointed entities to draw up plans to develop Inga 3 since the project...Read More
RAPAPORT... A shorter working month cut into shipments of Swiss watches,which fell in September for the first time in a year and a half, according tothe nation's timepiece trade group. Exports slid 7% to CHF 1.65 billion ($1.66 billion), theFederation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported. Orders from Hong Kong, theSwiss trade's largest market, dipped 3.5% to CHF 205.9 million ($206.7million),...Read More
London-listed Petra Diamonds achieved a solid operational performance in the three months ended September 30 – the first quarter of its 2019 financial year.Production for the period increased by 21% year-on-year to 1.07-million carats, mainly as a result of a 25% increase in run-of-mine production to 1.02-million carats, but offset by planned reductions in tailings recoveries at the company&...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market was quiet on Monday October 22 but bookings that came to light late on Friday have kept prices stable.Trades for two deep-sea cargoes emerged after the deadline for data submission to Fastmarkets' price assessment on Friday.These two cargoes continued the trend of Turkish mills buying European and Baltic Sea material. No deals for material from the United States h...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The organizers of CARAT+, the Antwerp trade show which was held for the past two years, said this year's fair will be postponed. The 2019 edition was due to be held from February 10-12. "For the past two years, Easyfairs and the CARAT+ team have been investing hard work, time and energy to create and develop a unique diamond-centered event in Antwerp," the organ...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's achieved its highesttotal for a Fine Jewels auction as an emerald ring sold for more than doubleits estimate in New York. The piece featured a lozenge-shaped,10.68-carat Colombian emerald with a baguette diamond on each side. It fetched $1.2million against a presale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000, realizing anaverage price of $113,764 per carat, the auction house said...Read More
South Africa's Petra Diamonds (LON:PDL) increased sales by more than a fifth in the first quarter of its financial year, as higher production, better quality stones and a weakening of the rand offset a slump in the price of the precious rocks it mines.Revenue rose 22 percent in the quarter to $80.2 million from $65.8 million a year prior, despite diamond prices being 5 percent lower when compa...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA, the world's largest diamond mining company, is starting the fourth 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 will offer for sale 166 gem-quality rough diamonds with a total weight of 2,607 carats, inclu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA has announced that Chinese retailer LAELIM Jewelry and Belgian diamond manufacturer IGC Group will pilot GIA's M2M program that allows for complete transparency and traceability of diamonds along the value chain. It is one of the first instances where a manufacturer and retailer have implemented the M2M program in partnership, the GIA said. A select number o...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has started commissioning of the 1.1-million-tonne-a-year treatment plant at its Mothae kimberlite diamond mine, in Lesotho.First commercial diamond recoveries are slated for early November.AdvertisementMore than 4 100 ct of diamonds have been recovered from the bulk sampling of areas within the Mothae kimberlite pipe, which had...Read More
Brazilian polymetallic producer Nexa Resources is expected to begin construction on its Aripuan?? project in the state of Mato Grosso, in Brazil's midwestern region, after the company's board of directors approved the start-up on Friday October 19.The site will produce an average of 120,000 tonnes per year of zinc equivalent volumes for 13 years. The company, whose controlling shareholder is Brazi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales rose sharply at Chow Tai Fook and Luk Fook in the second fiscal quarter, boosted by strong consumer demand,the lower price of gold, and tourism.Retail sales at Chow Tai Fook jumped 25% year on year inHong Kong and Macau in the three months ending September 30, while same-store sales- at branches open for at least year - surged 23%, the Hong Kong-based jeweler reportedThursda...Read More
LONDON – The UK 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 trad...Read More
Metal concentrates trading house Cliveden will open an office in Singapore and bring in two new traders, the company said. The Zug, Switzerland-headquartered trading house, which rapidly expanded amid a shift in strategy in 2016, will open a Singapore office in November, the notice said. Yang...Read More
Comex copper prices traded at one-week high in the US morning on Monday October 22 amid hopes for added Chinese stimulus measures. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.65 cents to $2.8045 per lb. The complex is broadly higher on strong macroeconomic data, especially from China. "They are receiving buoyancy from sharply rising.....Read More
Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipGalan Lithium scores coup in Argentina's 'Pilbara of lithium'SPONSOREDgalan lithiumKasbah on cusp of tin riches at world-class AchmmachSPONSOREDkasbah resources The headline intercept measured 513.9m from 33m at 0.64% copper and 0.8g/t gold, or 2.15g/t gold-equival...Read More
The Chinese-owned Chambishi copper smelter in Zambia has slashed the guidance figure for its 2019 production of blister copper by more than 20%, Fastmarkets has learned.The decision was prompted by new import tariffs to be applied to copper concentrates imported from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which could raise raw material costs for producers in Zambia.Chambishi is expect...Read More
Amerigo MVC plant ramp-up on courseSPONSOREDamerigo resources Waterton said Friday in an open letter to the Hudbay board it would put to shareholders a resolution blocking the ailing copper producer until the 2019 annual meeting from approving new material transactions, transactions that were dilutive on a cash-flow-per-share basis or that involved issuing 5% or more of the company's common share...Read More
Fastmarkets' premium for ER copper cathodes in Shanghai bonded warehouses was published incorrectly on Friday October 19 due to an input error. The grade A copper cathode Shanghai bonded warehouse premium was incorrectly published as $100-116 per tonne on October 19, instead of $110-116 per tonne. Fastmarkets' price book and database have been updated to reflect this correction. If you have a...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has clarified its forward-looking clearing strategy amid a raft of looming regulatory hurdles, in addition to outlining a move away from its current margin model, it told delegates at this year's LME Week.In particular, circumstances surrounding the UK's exit from the European Union could prove the most challenging obstacle for the exchange, with clearing services for all...Read More