RAPAPORT... Dealers at the Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show expressedconcerns about sluggish polished demand and an oversupply of goods in the wholesalesegment.Inventory moved slowly despite busy traffic at the fair, which began this week, people who attended the event toldRapaport News. "The mood looks OK, but conversion [to sales] still hasn'thappened," said Rahul...Read More
Slow start to Hong Kong show, but optimistic FarEast buyers are restocking inventory after Chinese New Year. Dealers hoping showwill stimulate better trading after sluggish Jan./Feb. Rough market cautious asprofit margins remain tight despite rough-price reductions at De Beers sight. Swiss lab SSEF launches GemTrack, linking polished torough colored stones. Michael Hill 1H sales -3% to $226M, prof...Read More
Sentiment weak as many dealers traveled to the HongKong show. Suppliers holding large volume of goods that are difficult to move.Steady demand for 1 ct., G-J, VS-I1 diamonds. 2 ct.+ slow.Manufacturers remain cautious as profitmargins continue to be squeezed and polished production remains relatively low. RoundRead More
Canada's mining sector is going through dramatic change, but the industry remains bullish on growth, KPMG International's latest Global Mining Risk Report finds.While recent merger and acquisition transactions have raised concerns about the future of Canada's mining sector, domestic firms remain optimistic about growth opportunities. Canadian stock exchanges are the global leader in mining financ...Read More
RAPAPORT... Macy's and J.C. Penney noted strong sales in their jewelry divisions in the fourth fiscal quarter, even as overall results disappointed.Macy's also said it would implement a new strategy to focus on the category, as well as other products that mattered most to its customers. "[We plan to] invest in areas where the company already has strong market share to drive disproportionate g...Read More
The Antwerp-based IGC Group, one of the oldest diamond companies in the world, was inducted into the ALROSA ALLIANCE. In a statement, IGC Group said that its membership in the ALROSA ALLIANCE opens the way "to become a long-term client of ALROSA, the world leader in rough diamond mining. "We are delighted to enter the ALROSA ALLIANCE and partner with one of the world's largest diamond suppliers....Read More
Signet Jewelers, the parent company of jewelry chain stores Kay, Jared and Zales has offered eligible employees a Voluntary Transition Program (VTP), which "provides an opportunity for eligible team members to self-nominate and leave Signet with transition assistance." The company will be taking actions "to lower costs in real estate, merchandise and costs of goods, indirect spending, and r...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has unearthed a 98.8-carat, gem-quality diamondfrom its new Verkhne-Munskoye mine in Yakutia, it said Wednesday. The stone was retrieved from the Zapolyarnaya pipe, one offour kimberlites that are located at the site. It has a visible yellow shade, Alrosa noted. "This is the second major find since the launch of thedeposit last October," said Evgeny Agureev, director of the...Read More
World Diamond Council President Stephane Fischler addressed a special meeting of the United Nations' General Assembly's 73rd Session in New York regarding the role of diamonds in fueling conflict. Mr. Fischler spoke on behalf of the diamond and jewelry industries in the session entitled "From blood diamonds to peace diamonds: conflict prevention through the Kimberley Process," and specificall...Read More
Aim- and Botswana Stock Exchange-listed Botswana Diamonds on Thursday announced that the first phase of the intensification drilling programme at its Thorny River prospect, in South Africa, has been concluded. Eighteen holes have been drilled with 12 intersecting kimberlite, the company stated in a release, adding that a bulk sampling target of 1.5 km of kimberlite fissure intersection had be...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Rapaport Group has published a special report delvinginto the key issues around lab-grown diamonds.The supplement, "The Fight's Getting Real," contains highlights from the February 2019 issue of Rapaport Magazine, featuring an analysis of DeBeers' entry into the synthetics market, and a deep look at questions of pricingand marketing terminology.It also details how companies ar...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company garnered $3.8 million from the saleof rough stones from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, with one stone going for $36,664 per carat. The miner sold 5,411 carats at tender in Antwerp, its first commercialsale of diamonds from the deposit. It recovered the stones in the fourthquarter of 2018, during the plant's ramp-up phase and in the first month ofcommercial mini...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has generated a further A$5.3-million in revenue from the sale of 5 411 ct of rough diamonds recovered from its Mothae operation, in Lesotho, during January.The diamonds were recovered during the ramp-up of the 1.1-million-tonne-a-year plant in the fourth quarter of 2018, and in the first month of commercial mining operations in...Read More
Physical iron ore prices rose on Thursday February 28 after being soft for a week, in line with gains in the futures and swaps markets.Fastmarkets MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.29 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.75 per tonne.Fastmarkets MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $84.69 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.75 per tonne.Fastmarkets MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $86.97 per tonne cfr Qin...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has appointedJacqueline Cassaway, the vice president of merchandising for Starboard CruiseServices, as president-elect. Jenny Luker will remain president and Sara Yood will continue as treasurer.Corporate secretary Rebecca Moskal, vice president of chapter affairs LaurenThompson and past president Brandee Dallow will also stay in their roles....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 $88.30 per tonne cfr China,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Actress and singer Lady Gaga sported a 128.54-carat yellowdiamond and platinum Tiffany necklace at the 91st Academy Awardsshow Sunday night. The Oscar winner wore the 141-year-old cushion-cut TiffanyDiamond - which originated in the Kimberley mines in South Africa - was last seen on Audrey Hepburn at the publicity shoot for the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's th...Read More
Participants in the seaborne coking coal market kept to the sidelines on Thursday February 28 to wait for a clearer price trend to emerge. "There is an offer for a cargo of a top Australian brand of materials, scheduled for loading in early April, via a miner's tender that will conclude tomorrow. There will be some clarity on prices then," a Chinese trading source said. A second Chinese trader is...Read More
Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxWater shortages at the copper-gold mine were among the impacts on the company's 2018 earnings, which Centerra revealed last week were about 50% lower than in 2017.Read More
Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxThe obvious challenge for Australian-listed Xanadu is that it is exploring in Mongolia, a country with a reputation for making life difficult for foreign mining companies, as Rio Tinto has discoveredRead More