Cobalt spot market prices for both high- and low-grade material increased week on week on Wednesday October 24 on bullish sentiment that was fueled by supply tightness in the United States, arising from sanctions on Chinese metal, Fastmarkets has heard.Although the cobalt spot market was unusually slow last week, due to industry conferences and the beginning of contract price negotiations, the dea...Read More
The Star Diamond Corporation has received environmental approval from the Saskatchewan government for its Star-Orion South project, near Prince Albert.The project already has a positive federal environmental assessment decision in the bag.AdvertisementThe company recently announced the positive results of the independent preliminary economic assessment on the project, which estimates that 66-milli...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA announced that Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, is piloting the Institute's M2M program. "The M2M program is a way to share with the consumer the story of our diamonds," said Sergey Ivanov, CEO of Alrosa. "The creation of tracing systems is an important step in confirming diamond provenance, which will have benefits for industry participants, r...Read More
Mining technology and geotechnical slope-stability-monitoring radar systems supplier Reutech Mining plans to expand its product range in 2019, says executive manager Jan de Beer.The company provides equipment that can assist in real-time monitoring of the mine walls in opencast mines to provide early warning before slope failures occur. The product range includes the Reutech Mining Movement and Su...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa Diamond Company and the government of Lesotho have received an approved Term Sheet from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited (IDC) for a ZAR100 million (US$7 million) development facility for the Mothae diamond mine in Lesotho. Lucapa owns 70% of the operation, while the government of Lesotho owns the remainder. The financing agreement...Read More
Comex copper prices edged higher Monday morning in the US with the market holding steady amid further Chinese stock market deterioration. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.25 cents to $2.7535 per lb.Concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy continue to weigh on Asian shares, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.2% ov...Read More
South Korean zinc smelter Young Poong is facing a 20-day shutdown at its Sukpu refined zinc smelter after a court rejected the company's appeal against a closure order.Situated in a national park, the Sukpu smelter is alleged to have discharged waste from the smelting process into the local river, which is used for drinking water by millions of people. Environmental groups and residents have been...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the start of the week on Monday October 29, with nickel trading at a 10-month low while weaker Chinese stocks indices add pressure across morning trading.Concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy continue to weigh on Asian shares, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.2% over the morning and nearing levels unseen since 2014.&...Read More
International trading house Concord Resources is suing rival merchant Kyen Resources for $1.1 million, making it the third company to file a lawsuit against the embattled metals trader at the Singapore High Court. Based on the court document filed on October 22, Concord Resources sold one parcel of about 500 tonnes of London Metal Exchange-registered aluminium ingots to Kyen Resources on October 1...Read More
White Rock sets cracking Alaska pace in first field seasonSPONSOREDwhite rock minerals Bezant was a bona fide market darling back in 2007, with the company's share price peaking at £120 on the strength of the company's ownership of the Mankayan deposit, in a long-established mining district about 250km by road north of Manila.The excitement was justified. A nine-hole drill program by Bezant...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums have remained largely stable worldwide, although Asian premiums have seen some weakness. Supply is generally regarded as tight globally, although slowing demand may loosen supply.European markets draw interestEuropean billet premiums were relatively stable on Friday October 26, holding near highs following the United States' sanctions against UC Rusal.The premium for 6063...Read More
The world's biggest miners are cranking up spending for the first time in half a decade as well as pursuing more takeovers - and investors are flashing hazard lights as commodities prices slide and as doubts swirl over the outlook.Capital expenditure among the 10 largest metals and mining companies is forecast to advance to about $35 billion this year, the first annual rise since 2013, according t...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets' offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Monday October 29. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were predominantly higher during Asian morning trading, with zinc showing the biggest gains on depleting inventories; meanwhile tin and...Read More
The price for import merchant bar shot up due to confirmed sales of Mexican material into the southern and southwestern United States, while that for domestic material was steady due to calm market conditions. Fastmarket AMM's latest assessment for imported merchant bar rose to $770-800 per short ton ($38.50-40 per hundredweight) ddp port of Houston on Friday October 26 from $640-680 per ton...Read More
Prices for steel plate have inched up in the United States, due to a round of price increases from domestic mills gaining at least partial traction in the market.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cut-to-length plate stands at $48.50 per hundredweight ($970 per short ton), up 1% from $48 per cwt ($960 per ton) previously, where the price had remained since October 5. Lead times were in a...Read More
It was another wild roller coaster ride today with U.S. equities going through tremendous price swings and closing dramatically lower on the day. Officially, today’s closing price in the Dow puts that index into corrective territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded to a high with gains of 352 points. It also traded to a low, which resulted in a 566-point drop only to recover slightly...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBilletRussia, billet, export, traded...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are moderately lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Monday. Some profit taking from the shorter-term futures traders is featured. The stronger U.S. dollar index today that is hovering near last week’s nine-week high also worked against the precious metals market bulls today. There is also less risk aversion in the marketplace early this week as world stock markets...Read More
French tube and pipe maker Vallourec said last week that it would not subsidise a takeover bid for its joint-venture Ascoval steel mill in France, which may now have to close.Ascoval said in March that it was searching for a new majority shareholder that would allow it to continue steelmaking operations beyond 2019, after Swiss special steels maker Schmolz & Bickenbach acquired Ascoval's majority...Read More
(Kitco News) - The consultancy Metals Focus says gold’s recent “relief rally” has more room to run and could carry the metal over $1,300 an ounce in the months ahead, yet analysts also do not project a sustained rally over the next year due to a number of potential headwinds.Spot gold hit a three-month high just below $1,242 an ounce Friday, continuing a rally from a series of da...Read More