Stornoway Diamond (TSE: SWY) finished the 2018 calendar year with less production and revenue and more losses. Total net loss for the year was $329.4 million or $0.39 per share, compared to a net loss in 2017 of $114.2 million or $0.14 per share.The company pointed out that those numbers include a non-cash impairment of $83.2 million, a deferred income tax expense of $77.4 million, and $227.1 mill...Read More

Turkish steel mills made no new bookings in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday March 28, but more transactions made last week were revealed, sources said on Thursday March 28.News of three deep-sea cargoes from last week came to light on Thursday.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded a...Read More

Sentiment weakens after soft first quarter. Dealers avoiding large inventorypurchases, and manufacturers reducing supply. Miners bracing for tough year as first-quartersales decline an estimated 30%. Rough market under pressure, with some analystsoptimistically predicting flat rough prices in 2019. Sightholders hoping profitmargins will improve after next week's sight. Baselworld announces price c...Read More

Domestic market slow, with fewer overseas dealers inMumbai. Buyers pushing for deeper discounts on diamonds below 0.50 ct. andabove 3 ct. Good US and Chinese demand for nice SIs. Liquidity tight as dealerssettle accounts ahead of March 31 financial year-end. Manufacturers maintaininglow polished production, after reduced first-quarter rough purchases. RoundRead More

South African mining companies are challenging parts of a government charter aimed at redistributing the country's mineral wealth, saying it will deter new investment in the industry.The charter is in breach of a court order issued last April, which ruled that previous versions of the regulations didn't require miners to top up black-shareholding levels if they previously met a minimum 26 percent...Read More

Vale achieved a price of $68.40 per wet metric tonne for its iron ore fines in the fourth quarter of 2018, the company said in an earnings report on Wednesday March 27. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Vale's realized price for the material was $63.10 per wmt.According to the miner, the premium received for higher-quality iron ore fines stood at $8.10 per tonne in the fourth quarter o...Read More

Africa-focused Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) has put plans to extend the life of its 75%-owned Liqhobong mine in Lesotho on the back burner, saying that current market conditions don't support the project.The company, which reported 2019 interim results on Thursday, managed to limit its losses in the six months to December 31, 2018, despite a global price slump for smaller, lower-value diamonds.Fi...Read More

RAPAPORT... Christie's will offer a historic tiara belonging to PrincessAlexandra of Hanover and Cumberland at its Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale inMay. The headpiece, which Faberg?(C) made in 1904, was commissionedby Frederick Francis IV, the grand duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, as a weddinggift for his bride. The grand duke chose Faberg?(C) on the encouragement of hismother, Grand Duchess An...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rough-diamond prices will remain sluggish this year as themarket challenges that arose in the second half of last year are set to continue,two investment banks have warned.Prices are likely to drop 1% to 2% in the first half of2019, before recovering to end the year flat, analyst Kieron Hodgson atLondon-based Panmure Gordon said this week. Prices rose 2% last year due to astrong first...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, Global Ore, 180,000 tonnes...Read More

RAPAPORT... The 13th episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast reflects onlast week's arrest of Nirav Modi in central London, as well as other key recentstories in the industry.The Rapaport editorial team assesses the impact of the $2billion bank fraud in which the Indian jeweler allegedly participated, and whatto expect next in the high-profile case. We also analyze mixed 2018 earnings from Tiffany...Read More

RAPAPORT... A fancy-intense-blue diamond ring with an estimate of $2.5million to $3 million is on track to be the top seller at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels auction in NewYork next month. The cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut, 3.24-caratstone, flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds, will go under the hammer at the April17 sale, Sotheby's said Wednesday. Other notable pieces include a p...Read More

Since establishing a footprint in Botswana in 1991 to cater to the siteaccommodation needs of mines, modular building supplier Speedspace Botswana hasexpanded its operations by opening a new satellite branch in Letlhakane, in northern Botswana. Operations at the new branch, which Speedspace Botswana country manager Kyle Wasserfall says is “ideally situated within 15 km to 20 km of four diamo...Read More

Physical iron ore prices weakened on Thursday March 28 following losses in the futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $84.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.43 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $83.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.43 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $86.93 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.17 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $76.97 per tonne cfr Qi...Read More

Stability and policy and regulatory certainty, as well as the rebuilding of trust, have been the key themes in Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe’s first year in office.When, on February 27, 2018, he took the reins of a government department that oversees one of the most difficult and fragmented industries in South Africa, Mantashe, a former mineworker and union leader, found an indus...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Thursday March 28, with market participants awaiting the outcome of a miner's tender for direction.A cargo of second-tier hard coking coal was heard offered at $186 per tonne cfr China. The was no word of the cargo being sold by 6pm, the data collection cut-off time for the Fastmarkets MB daily coking coal indices.In the premium hard coking coal segment,...Read More

Brazil's Vale has adopted the Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index as the reference for the pricing of contract cargoes of its blast furnace and direct-reduction pellets in 2019."The [Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index] is the new reference index and the premiums for blast furnace and direct-reduction pellets remained the same as [that in] 2018 - $60 per tonne on average," the miner said on Thur...Read More

LONDON – For more than 15 years, the diamond industry has been telling the world about a looming shortage of gems. Instead, demand has been stubbornly underwhelming, and the miners have done a wonderful job of digging more and more stones.But the pain may soon be over for an industry that’s being squeezed by oversupply. In two separate reports this week, analysts set out forecasts of...Read More

Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Thursday March 28, capped by broad strength in the US dollar index while risk-averse investors continue to defer commodity investment. Falling below $13,000 per tonne over the morning session, nickel's three-month price continues to trade in volatile swings either side of the support level, despite total LM...Read More

Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday March 28*Copper -$139.98 (-944.04 yuan) Aluminium -$293.97 (-1,982.63 yuan) Zinc -$148.71 (-1,002.96 yuan) Nickel -$356.58 (-2,404.90 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE...Read More