Australia's largest gold producer, Newcrest Mining, (ASX: NCM) is acquiring a 70% joint-venture interest in Imperial Metals' (TSX: III) Red Chris copper and gold mine, located in British Columbia, Canada, as part of an ongoing push by the world's top bullion miners to get even bigger.The Melbourne-based company, which is also the world's No. 3 gold producer by market value, is paying Imperial $806...Read More
Copper and zinc bucked the complex's downtrend to finish up 0.2% and 0.9% respectively at close of trade on Monday March 11. All other base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange consolidated down, failing to be buoyed by positive US retail data, choosing instead to follow the downward trajectory of weakening EU economies.Zinc or swim Zinc edges ever closer to the psychological $2,800 per tonn...Read More
The European ferro-vanadium market fell in the week ended March 8 due to aggressive negotiations amid sluggish demand, while ferro-vanadium prices in China and the United States softened slightly. Chinese ferro-vanadium market softens on lack of foreign buying interestEuropean ferro-vanadium prices slump on aggressive offersEuropean V2O5 edges down amid limited buying interestUS ferro-vanadium sli...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 11 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange and Fastmarkets launched three new cash-settled derivative contracts on Monday March 11 to provide effective risk management tools for the aluminium, alumina and cobalt markets. The LME is at the heart of yet another warehousing conundrum, with pressure mounting...Read More
Aluminium producer EGA's net income dropped by 64% year on year in 2018 due to high raw materials costs, it said in its company results released on Monday March 11. Net income in 2018 fell to AED1.2 billion ($325 million) from AED3.3 billion ($900 million) in 2017. "The aluminium industry is going through a challenging period with higher prices for our raw materials and lower benchmark prices for...Read More
The Noranda Income Fund (NIF) will buy half of its zinc concentrates supply from Glencore based on floating spot terms from May 2019 to April 2020 in a bid to capitalize on rising treatment charges (TC). Glencore Canada is in a four-year agreement to supply all of NIF's zinc concentrate feed through April 30, 2022, while NIF will sell all of its zinc metal output to Glencore during the period, the...Read More
The Comex copper price saw a modest increase in morning trading on Monday March 11 with the market remaining mainly rangebound until further news on the US-China trade talks is revealed. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.70 cents to $2.9005 per lb. "While the rally in copper prices since the start of the year is driven by stronge...Read More
After years of hoping and waiting, things may be finally looking up for the world's uranium mining sector."The outlook for the uranium market has, without a doubt, significantly improved over the past year," says the Bank of Nova Scotia's report on energy released in mid-January. It's not a perfect picture yet, but the balance between supply and demand appears to be moving gradually toward more st...Read More
The London Metal Exchange (LME) and Fastmarkets have today launched three new cash-settled derivative contracts to provide effective risk management tools for the aluminium, alumina and cobalt markets.The LME will offer these hedging mechanisms settled against the following Fastmarkets MB prices:Cobalt standard-grade, in-warehouse, free market $ per lb in warehouse Alumina Index Fob Australia $ pe...Read More
The aluminium billet premium in Germany fell by 6% on Friday March 8 to its lowest in nearly a year on bearish European macroeconomic concerns and weaker market fundamentals. Fastmarkets assessed the premium for prime-quality billet delivered duty-paid on a spot basis into the Ruhr region with 30-day payment terms at $430-460 per tonne on Friday, down from $465-485 per tonne. The German bille...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading on Monday March 11 despite poor economic data today and from Friday.Zinc was recently up 1.6%, recovering after last week's lackluster performance. It has $2,800 per tonne in its sights, having previously been capped below that level by producer selling."On Friday, zinc was only metal today to see above-avera...Read More
Bahraini rebar producer Unirol last week increased its rebar production capacity to 275,000 tonnes per year from 175,000 tpy with the launch of a new unit, a company executive told Fastmarkets on Monday March 11.The company uses direct-reduction iron (DRI) pellet as raw material, sourced locally, and is now offering material that is officially labeled 'Made in Bahrain', chairman and chief executiv...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) hasbegun building a 21-acre industrial jewelry park it believes will generatenearly $6 billion in annual revenue. The India Jewellery Park in Mumbai will cost approximatelyINR 144.67 billion ($2 billion) to construct over the next few years, and willemploy about 100,000 workers when completed. The project will enhancemanufac...Read More
The CIS export billet market was rather quiet in the week ended Monday March 11. Producers preferred to stay back from the market and assess the situation, indicating offers within the range of $460-465 per tonne fob Black Sea.Meanwhile, customers showed little interest in imported billet because they considered the offer prices to be too high, and could not relay those costs to buyers of finished...Read More
RAPAPORT... MID House of Diamonds was the premier Israelipolished-diamond exporter for the fourth year running, according to a list thenation's Ministry of Economy and Industry published recently.The company, whose exports rose 12% to $196 million in 2018,was one of several in the top 10 that saw an increase. Niru Diamonds took the second spot, moving up from third in2017, with its expor...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry manufacturer Frederick Goldman has purchasedlab-grown-jewelry brand Love Earth to accelerate its entry into the synthetic-diamondbusiness. "The market for lab-grown diamonds is expanding rapidly,"Frederick Goldman CEO Jonathan Goldman said last week. "We have spent the pastyear studying how we would enter this business. Our purchase of the Love Earthbrand has expedited tho...Read More
Strong demand for vanadium as a result of China's revised rebar standard is likely to boost vanadium price momentum again this year, industry speakers said at Fastmarkets' Asian Ferro-Alloys conference in Hong Kong taking place on March 10-11. Global vanadium production is estimated to reach 103,564 tonnes in 2019, up 14% from 90,500 tonnes in 2018, Mark Smith, chief executive officer of Largo Res...Read More
Lengthy delays in securing mining permits and licences, onerous and inappropriate regulatory requirements, lack of funding for entrepreneurs, and a Mining Charter and implementation guidelines which are impractical for small operators - these are just some of the problems that confront start-up and existing alluvial diamond miners in the Northern Cape like Amo Marengwa and Lyndon de Meillon.Under...Read More
The International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) has delivered a broadly positive short-range outlook for the long steel markets in March, even though prices continue to struggle on lackluster demand, largely because of concerns about protectionist trade measures."The global long steel products market is currently in a positive mood amid good demand worldwide," Irepas said in its...Read More
The South China Morning Post reported that Russian diamond miner had finally succeeded to convince its Chinese customer base to trade in a currency other than US dollars, "as it looks to get around US sanctions." Evgeny Agureev, Alrosa's director of sales, told the Post "on the sidelines of the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show that it has signed up Chow Sang Sang Jewellery on a long-te...Read More