RAPAPORT... The US polished-diamond trade slowed in April, with importsdeclining and exports stable. The drop in import value reflects both a lower volumeand average price.US Diamond Trade Data for April 2019 Millions unless stated otherwiseRead More
Hot-rolled coil prices in Vietnam have continued to fall because of limited demand and lower offers from domestic producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $493-495 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday June 17, down...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US jewelryindustry sees social media as instrumental in overcoming digital challenges, a recent report by JCK found. Ofthe 500 respondents surveyed in the JCK's 2019 State of the Jewelry Industry Report, 46% identified connecting with clients viasocial media as their top digital strategy. Some 39% chose non-traditionaladvertising as the most effective approach and 37% consider...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products.Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales rebounded in May as the economicand financial outlook stabilized, according to the National Retail Federation(NRF). Total purchase value grew 3.2% year on year, with salesrising in nearly all categories, the trade organization reported last week.Retail sales increased 0.5% over the previous month, after the government revisedits April data. It initially reported a...Read More
Speaking at the opening session of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme Intersessional Meeting (KPI) in Mumbai, World Diamond Council (WDC) President Stephane Fischler has called on Kimberley Process-member governments to do what is necessary to safeguard the interests of their mining communities and consequently optimize the developmental potential of their natural resources. "We must agre...Read More
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Intersessional Meeting 2019 kicked off in Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 17 with a welcome speech by (Mr.) Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi, Director General of the Foreign Trade (DGFT) who is the current KP Chair on behalf of the government of India. The two other speakers were (Mr.) Stephane Fischler, President of the World Diamond Council and (Mr.) Shami...Read More
Physical iron ore prices dropped back on Monday June 17 after staying above $110 per tonne cfr last Thursday and Friday, but premiums remained robust for Pilbara Blend fines.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $108.21 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $107.01 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $110.75 per tonne c...Read More
The low-vol pulverized coal injection (PCI) segment of the seaborne coking coal market - particularly the fob Australia one - tumbled on Monday June 17 with a cargo changing hands nearly $10 per tonne below prevailing levels.A miner sold a shipment of low-vol product in that segment, scheduled for loading over July 8-17, to a Chinese trader at $121.28 per tonne fob Australia via a tender during th...Read More
Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsMembers of trade unions 1, 2 and 3 had voted in favour of strike action last month, saying the state-owned miner's final offer had made "a mockery" of their demands. Workers and their supporters marched "for dignity" in Calama on the weekend.The company is planning to cut more than 1,000 jobs as it transitions the 104-year-old...Read More
The market for pig iron in the United States was calm and weak in the week to Friday June 14 as both buyers and sellers were not ready to negotiate deals, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' import price assessment for pig iron in the US was $345 per tonne cfr on June 14, compared with $345-350 per tonne cfr last week. A workable buyer level "would be around $340-345 per tonne cfr, bu...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices rose last week in line with a general uptrend in the market for the steelmaking raw material.ConcentrateThe weekly Fastmarkets MB 66% Fe Iron Ore Concentrate Index stood at $118.49 per tonne cfr China last Friday June 14, up by $6.47 per tonne week on week.The daily Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index averaged $120.98 per tonne cfr China last week,...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 3 points in pre-opening trade. Equity markets are expected to be quieter than usual prior to news on interest rates from the Federal Reserve to be released on Wednesday.Array Biopharma jumped $17.87 to $47.46 after Pfizer offered to buy the company for $48.00 per share cash. Value of the deal is $11.4 billion.Walt Disn...Read More
With the exception of nickel and tin that were little changed, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down during morning trading on Monday June 17 following the release of disappointing Chinese data at the end of last week. Tin was unchanged, nickel edged up by 0.1% while the rest weakened: copper (-0.5%), aluminium (-0.7%), lead (-0.7%) and zinc (-0.5%).The broadly weak sho...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday June 14.China China silicon export prices were unchanged for the fourth consecutive week amid thin inquiries and sporadic spot activity. Tight silicon ore supply in Xinjiang province remains, however, some sources said that most silicon refiners in major production hub Yunnan province have started to resume...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday June 14.ChinaKey drivers Domestic antimony price in China remained unchanged while suppliers' held offer prices relatively firm after the antimony branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) called major suppliers to cut production to stem a price fall at a meeting on June 1. Few domestic antimony...Read More
I had a great Father's Day weekend, spending time at the beach watching my daughter compete in a major surf contest at Huntington Beach.This week I'll watch her do an even bigger one - the USA championships at Lower Trestles, an invite-only Olympic development event. Quite honestly, my daughter amazes me. After just a few years in the sport, and just a few days after her twelfth birthday, she's al...Read More
Students in the new Advanced Energy Systems graduate program at Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will have access to summer research opportunities, student-run seminars from global energy experts and more, thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The generous support will also provide initial funding for a full-time program director to ove...Read More
Why does Mono Lake in California turn green? A Colorado School of Mines professor helped lead a graduate student training course that got to the bottom of that question (and the lake). John R. Spear, professor of civil and environmental engineering, was the co-director of the International Geobiology Course for seven years, including in 2016, when students worked on Mono Lake, obtaining samples t...Read More
After acquiring the Fekola gold project in southwestern Mali through a merger with Papillon Resources in 2014, B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE-AM: BTG) started building the mine in 2015 and poured first gold in 2017.In 2018, its first full year of commercial production, Fekola produced 439,068 oz. gold at cash-operating costs of US$337 per oz., and all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) of US$533 per ounce.In add...Read More