Diamond rich Botswana expects mineral revenues in the 2019/20 fiscal year to drop by 4 percent to 13.6 billion pula ($1.26 billion) due to a decline in royalties and dividends, a minerals ministry budget document showed on Thursday.Mineral Resources Minister Eric Molale said in the document that global diamond demand was showing signs of slowing down. Retail jewellery sales fell during the last qu...Read More

RAPAPORT... Russian diamond manufacturer Kristall Smolensk is selling areplica of the Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire on RapNet's newjewelry platform for $15.5 million. The crown, which weighs 2.3 kilograms, comprises more than11,000 round, oval and pear-shaped white diamonds, weighing 1,928 carats andset in white gold. The stones were sourced from Russian miner Alrosa, certifiedby...Read More

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) opened its new laboratory in Kowloon in the presence of Susan Jacques, GIA president and CEO, and Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer. The opening reception of GIA's new and expanded location was held in mid-February with laboratory clients and industry executives in attendance. "Hong Kong is a vital center of th...Read More

ALROSA of Russia, a global, leading diamond producer, reported it has sold $345.6 million worth of rough and polished diamonds in February. The sales amount represents an increase of 23 percent compared to January 2019. ALROSA's rough diamond sales increased to $340.6 million, compared to $278.2 million in January 2019, while polished diamond sales grew to $5 million, compared to $3.4 million a m...Read More

Jewelers of America (JA) has announced the agenda and opened registration for the first annual Jewelers of America National Convention, an education-focused executive forum open to jewelry professionals. The Convention will take place July 28-29, 2019, at the Intercontinental New York Barclay in New York City The two-day convention will feature data-driven keynote presentations and a wide range of...Read More

Canadian diamond miner Star Diamond shared the results of a recent survey of its Star and the Orion South kimberlites, confirming the relative abundance of type IIa diamonds at these projects in central Saskatchewan. Across the board, type IIa diamonds make up less than three percent of a diamond mine's production. Therefore, the results of this study conducted which estimate that 26.5 percent of...Read More

Zimbabwe will scrap a law that denies foreign platinum mining companies control of their operations in the country, the mines minister said on Thursday.It's part of continued review of (the) Zimbabwe is open for business mantra."Foreign platinum and diamond miners have been restricted to only 49 percent ownership of their Zimbabwe operations by the black economic empowerment law introduced during...Read More

Turkish billet prices have remained firm over the past week with moderate demand in the export markets. But the domestic and import markets were comparatively weaker, sources said on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet exports was unchanged week on week at $450-460 per tonne fob on Thursday.The Turkish mills were heard to sell a number of billet cargoes for export this...Read More

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said a rule requiring local investors to control platinum mines will be scrapped and foreigners will be allowed to own 100% in a bid to revive investment.“We are removing that indigenization rule, which is discouraging foreign direct investment,” Ncube said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Washington. “We s...Read More

Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. reported that it is in discussions with bondholders to extend its repayment deadline to 2023. In case an agreement is finalized, Neiman Marcus would be able to avert a possible default of $5 billion of debt that would be due for payment during the coming two years. As part of the agreement, the company offered bondholders a share in MyTheresa, Neiman Marcus' international...Read More

The Turkish long steel export market remained weak over the past seven days on sluggish demand, while increasing raw materials costs continued to squeeze mill margins, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey remained unchanged at $470-480 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis.Steel producers in Turkey continued to offer re...Read More

RAPAPORT... Phillips has hired Geoffrey Hess as a consultant for itswatch department, to support the division's collaborations, events, sourcingand new business initiatives. Hess - an aficionado of vintage sports watches - was previously the CEOof vintage-timepiece platform Analog/Shift, the auction house said Monday. He was also CEO of Ivanka TrumpFine Jewelry and senior adviser to former New Yor...Read More

Steel billet import prices in Egypt have increased over the past seven days with higher offers and deal prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $470-475 per tonne cfr on Thursday, rising from $465-470 per tonne cfr last week.The rise can be attributed partly to a decree issued by Egypt's ministry of trade an...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters were insisting on higher offer prices on Thursday March 7 despite the slight drop in the domestic spot market, with most sellers feeling little need to export.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,840 yuan ($569-572) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,750-3,770 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneShanghai sellers began the...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to replenish low stock levels by booking more deep-sea scrap at firm prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 7.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo comprising 32,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $322 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $327 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $332 per tonne cfr.This was...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 100,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, traded at $99.70 per tonne cfr China, laycan February 27-March 8.BHP, Global Ore, 80,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Jimblebar fines, traded at...Read More

"Tshisekedi would be a relatively positive figure for mining investment"SPONSOREDverisk maplecroftAlkane maps own path to world-class critical metals producerSPONSOREDalkane resourcesWestern Atlas drill-ready in NunavutSPONSOREDwestern atlas resourcesGlobal Atomic's 'transformational discovery' changes everythingSPONSOREDglobal atomic corpAt Las Bambas in Peru, outbound coppe...Read More

Iron ore prices rose on Thursday March 7 in line with futures market gains following data releases showing a decline in steel inventories in the market. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.61 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.56 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $87.01 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.56 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $90.01 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.93 per ton...Read More

Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxAltech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsFriedland has been wowing audiences with latest pre-feasibility numbers for a proposed US$1.1 billion, six million tonnes per annum underground mine and plant producing up to 360,000 tonnes of copper a year at Kalula on the Central African Copperbelt. He has also been speaking regularly about...Read More

The seaborne coking coal spot market moved sideways on March 7 following trades that concluded at similar levels compared with previous trades in the week.A cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal cargo changed hands at $210.75 per tonne fob Australia, up $0.75 per tonne from a similar cargo that traded earlier in the week, sources said.Meanwhile, there was talk in the market that rail operation...Read More