RAPAPORT... As rain fell for about five minutes on the typically sunbaked Las Vegas strip on the opening day of the JCK show, one couldn't help but sense things might be a bit different this year. Was the unusual weather a sign that diamond dealers were in for similar positive surprises on the trading floor? After all, they had endured difficult market conditions in the past 12 months and cou...Read More
RAPAPORT... The community of Fandehun is not used to pomp and ceremony.The modest village in the heart of Sierra Leone's Kono District has beensustained by diamond mining for over 50 years but lacks the basics many takefor granted - notably, safe drinking water. Women, and often children, walkmiles to fetch water from a neighboring village, and they tend to use the samesource for all their ne...Read More
In a blog toward the upcoming Intersessional of the Kimberley Process in Mumbai, World Diamond Council (WDC) president Stephane Fischler expressed his concern that the "stakes are not equally high along the value chain. While in many of the mining regions and in a number of the processing centers diamonds are a primary source of income and community development, in the countries where polished dia...Read More
Alrosa, the world's leading diamond miner in volume, held an exclusive tender of polished diamonds in Israel. The tendered diamonds were all cut and polished by Alrosa's own manufacturing plants that operate under the supervision of the company's cutting division, DIAMONDS ALROSA, which also organized the tender. In Israel, the company sold 14 polished diamonds at a total weight of...Read More
GJEPC Chairman Pramod Agrawal spoke at the opening of the India Silver & Fashion Jewellery Buyer Seller Meet (BSM), in the pink city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, addressing some of India's gem and jewelry most pressing issues . He reported that the GJEPC had been talking with the Indian government to address major banking issues affecting the gem and jewelry industry. Among the topics raised...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamonds with proven ethical sourcing should sell for a higher price than others, participants in Rapaport's annual town hall meeting in Las Vegas concluded. "The biggest challenge for sourcing ethical diamonds is whether consumers are willing to pay extra for them," stressed one of the participants in the discussion that took place during last week's JCK show. "I believe there is...Read More
While Stornoway Diamond Corp continues with a strategic review aimed at ensuring the long-term viability of its Renard mine, in Quebec, the company has received financial backing from its secured lenders and key stakeholders.Under the terms of the bridge financing agreement, Diaquem, an affiliate of Investissement Québec, has agreed to advance an estimated C$11.7-million by way of access to...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale intends to start production of iron ore using dry processing at some of the sites that were closed following the failure of a tailings dam at the C??rrego do Feij??o mine in January.This will potentially add 30 million tonnes per year of iron ore to the company's annual output, according to several reports from investment banks that were released after a meeting with company e...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices jumped above $110 per tonne cfr on Thursday June 13 - their highest level in more than five years - driven by persistent bullishness, sources told Fastmarkets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $110.16 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.56 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $108.96 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.56 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $114.50 per t...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 transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, traded at $114.50 per tonne cfr China,...Read More
The gloomy sentiment in the seaborne coking coal market showed no signs of abating on Thursday June 13 in the absence of a clear trend for prices.A July-loading cargo of branded materials was traded at $193.50 per tonne fob Australia on trading platform Global Coal during the day, according to various sources.This is down $3.50 per tonne compared with a transaction involving the same brand of mate...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to drop on Thursday June 13, narrowing producers' already-slim margins further amid rising costs.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,830 yuan ($552-554) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,780-3,790 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonnePrices continued to drop during the day with trading activity remaining th...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia fell slightly over the past week with buyers taking a wait-and-see approach amid expectations that nickel prices would fall further, market sources said. Despite floods in Indonesia that could result in potential supply disruptions, the outlook for nickel remains negative due to sustained trade tensions between China and the United States.Indonesia pr...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange exhibited mixed moves but were largely little changed during morning trading on Thursday June 13 while uncertainty surrounding the US-China trade war persists.Copper and tin were down by 0.3% and 0.1% respectively while the rest were up between 0.1% for zinc and 0.9% for nickel. The divergent moves come while market participants digest trade deve...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of Weekly Jobless Claims at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was 217,000 versus 219,000 last week. Actual was 222,000.WTI crude oil jumped $1.83 to $52.97 per barrel after two tankers were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz.Lululemon gained $...Read More
Vietnam's tungsten miner Masan Resources has hired former Amalgamated Metals Corporation (AMC) trader William Parry-Jones, the company told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 13.Parry-Jones has joined the company this month as its manager for tungsten raw materials and has relocated to Hanoi from London after almost eight...Read More
An increasing number of cobalt sulfate producers in China have cut, or are planning to cut, output in response to falling battery raw materials prices amid stagnant demand, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.In addition, some producers have switched to producing other chemistry compounds, including cobalt chloride and nickel sulfate, sources added. But market participants have mostly downplayed th...Read More
When you picture yourself in your golden years, are you lying on a beach, hitting golf balls, or working behind a desk? For a lot of soon-to-be retirees, the office will be where they spend most of their golden years. Working in retirement not only gives you the opportunity to earn more money, but you can maintain structure in your days and keep your social connections alive. But working in retire...Read More
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Italian flat stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) plans to increase its annual crude steel output to 1 million tonnes per year, up from 940,000 tpy, Italian steel trade union Fim-Cisl said on Thursday June 13.The AST announcement was part of a new two-year industrial plan, agreed between the mill and Italian trade unions. As part of the plan, AST will invest ?,?60 million ($68 million)...Read More