The US copper market was little changed in early morning trading on Wednesday March 6 with market participants still digesting the trade talks between the United States and China. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.05 cents to $2.933 per lb. Amid positive trade sentiment surrounding the US-China, an uptick in the dollar index has...Read More
The three-month nickel price trading on the London Metal Exchange continued its upward momentum on Wednesday March 6, while the other base metals prices were mostly lower with continued strength in the dollar index limiting price rallies. Nickel's three-month price has recorded a weekly incline of more than 5% and is keeping above $13,600 per tonne, while open interest on the exchange has pushed h...Read More
Kootenay Silver's (TSXV: KTN) stock jumped over 4% after the Canadian junior explorer announced that its non-brokered private placement financing, originally for C$2.5 million, closed Wednesday for over C$7 million.Kootenay is actively engaged in the development of major silver projects in Mexico, including the La Cigarra Silver project in Chihuahua, and the Promontorio and La Negra silver discove...Read More
The Goodman School of Mines at Laurentian University and the Core Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding this week aiming to promote the school's education and research activities in Peru, Chile and Brazil.Osman Abou-RabiaThe Core Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to create new knowledge, discovery and innovation in Latin America."Countries like Peru need our strong...Read More
Chilean state-run miner Codelco will continue to develop its lithium assets, including committing $57 million for further exploration, Chile's mining minister told Reuters, even as progress has stagnated at its flagship projects.The company, already the world's largest copper producer, has tried unsuccessfully in recent years to attract a partner to develop its lithium projects in Chile, stifled b...Read More
Kazakh uranium miner Kazatomprom expects further revenue growth this year on higher prices, it said on Wednesday after posting a 112 percent jump in 2018 adjusted net profit on higher sales volumes and prices.London-listed Kazatomprom's net income adjusted for one-off transactions stood at 66.8 billion tenge (about $177 million), it said in a statement.The world's biggest uranium miner said it exp...Read More
Steel beam prices in the domestic Northern European market have narrowed while prices in Southern Europe moved upward this week on higher offers and improved demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe narrowed by ?,?10 per tonne to ?,?610-635 ($690-719) per tonne delivered on Ma...Read More
Dampened demand for nickel briquette for stainless steel in Europe put downward pressure on the top end of the premium on Tuesday March 5, while nickel premiums in the United States and China traded flat week on week despite similarly weak demand. The top end of the premium came off for European briquette after supply outstripped demand Briquette demand also weaker in US, but market diverge...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 6 that are worth another look.The availability of a high-grade iron ore derivative has brought a "whole new dimension" to the market, with the development of a forward curve being a key benefit, Andrew Glass, head of ferrous trading at Anglo American, said last week at Fastmarkets MB's China Iron Ore conference in B...Read More
The US copper market was little changed in early morning trading on Wednesday March 6 with market participants still digesting the trade talks between the United States and China. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.05 cents to $2.933 per lb. Amid positive trade sentiment surrounding the US-China, an uptick in the dollar index has...Read More
RAPAPORT... Graff has bought the New York property that has housed itsflagship boutique for nearly 20 years, the London-based jeweler said Tuesday. The building, at 710 Madison Avenue on the corner of 63rd Street, was designed by celebrated US architect Peter Marino, who has alsocreated stores for other high-profile clients, including Calvin Klein, Chanel, ChristianDior and Louis Vuitton. Gr...Read More
Higher freight rates and continued fears of political uncertainty in the United States deterred aluminium participants from shipping metal from warehouses in Asia to the US in February. The reluctance from market participants to take advantage of a slightly wider month-on-month arbitrage from London Metal Exchange warehouses in Asia to the US comes despite an increase of the P1020 US Midwest deliv...Read More
RAPAPORT... HRD Antwerp has changed the language it uses in itslab-grown-diamond certificates to match its reports for natural stones. The grading lab, which has issued documents for loose synthetics since 2013, has expanded its color categories for lab-grown diamonds, andhas updated its 4Cs terminology to correspond with the certificates it issuesfor mined diamonds. While the old lab-grown-...Read More
SGS Canada is launching a new service for the metals and mining industry - Field Analytical Services and Testing (FAST), in North America and Australia. FAST provides real-time data acquisition in the field by pairing portable instrumentation and machine learning. It will bring instrumentation into the field, provide data within 24 to 48 hours and, with the use of machine learning, enable real-ti...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
Tin premiums were flat everywhere on Tuesday March 5, with news of Indonesian export relief yet to have any tangible effect on the European markets, while market participants in the United States sought rumored discounts and Chinese premiums remained static due to a closed import window. European market awaits Indonesian supply flows US buyers seek discounted material Chinese demand falters.Europe...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' sales fell for the second consecutive month, ashigh rough prices and slim midstream profits softened demand from buyers,sightholders reported. Sales of $490 million in February were 13% below ayear ago amid weak interest in lower-value goods, the miner said Tuesday. De Beers mainlykept prices steady, prompting concerns from clients, many of whom had beenhoping the company wou...Read More
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 say Zimbabwe is open for business; you c...Read More
De Beers Group Industry Services on Tuesday announced that all four of its diamond verification instruments (DVIs) submitted for testing as part of the Assure programme had received “outstanding” results.The Assure programme is a joint collaboration between the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) and Signet Jewelers, with input provided by other participants in the diamond industry and...Read More
De Beers Group today announced the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) for the second sales cycle of 2019. Sales of De Beers' second "cycle " stood at $490 , a drop of 13 percent compared to the sales figure of De Beers' second sight in 2018, which generated $563 million. "Demand for rough diamonds remained consistent during the second sales cycle of 20...Read More