In less than two weeks, the Zambian government is set to introduce a new series of tax measures: rocketing tax rates have prompted some copper producers to shut down their operations, while others have cut production and costs to keep their businesses running in the world's sixth largest copper producing country. A tax regime comprising a new sales tax and an increase in mineral royalty tax (...Read More
Hilde Merete Aasheim has been appointed new president and chief executive officer of aluminium producer Norsk Hydro, effective May 8.She will succeed Svein Richard Brandtz??g, who steps down after 10 years as CEO.Brandtz??g, who became CEO of Hydro in March 2009, has been working in Hydro for 33 years and will remain with the company...Read More
RAPAPORT... Debswana, De Beers' Botswana joint venture, has launched a new project set toextend the life of its Jwaneng mine until 2035. The Cut-9 expansion, which will cost Debswana approximately$2 billion, is expected to produce an estimated 53 million carats of roughdiamonds, the company said Monday. "With global consumer demand for diamonds reaching recordlevels in 2018, the extension wi...Read More
RAPAPORT... A pink diamond from Namibia's offshore drilling programfetched $17,000 per carat at a tender in Antwerp. The 5.71-carat stone fetched $97,076 at the sale, the firstDiamond Fields Resources has held since resuming mining in 2018, it said lastweek. The company also sold 47,298 carats of high-quality whiteand colored rough stones for $1.1 million, it noted. It sold all the diamonds...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mining operations at Alrosa's Mir deposit won't resume until at least 2030, as the company carries out work on the site that could take up to 13 years. It will take approximately five years for the miner to conduct deep-levelexploration and designwork that will enable it to open the site safely. That will costthe company RUB 2 billion ($30.9 million), Alrosa said Monday. Alr...Read More
Russian state-controlled miner Alrosa will assess the quality of Zimbabwe's diamond reserves over the next six months but would only start mining if it can take a majority stake in such a project, the company's chief executive said on Monday.Zimbabwe is seeking to attract investment and has scrapped legislation that restricts foreign participation for some commodities. It has yet to do so for diam...Read More
Plate prices in the United States have inched up following a round of $2-per-hundredweight price increases and despite deep concerns among service centers sources about the staying power of higher prices.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cut-to-length plate stands at $47.50 per hundredweight ($950 per short ton), up 1.1% from $47 per cwt previously but down 3.1% from $49 per cwt at the beginn...Read More
Albert Milton, the managing director of Botswana's Debswana Diamond Mining, announced that Debswana aims to keep production at around 24 million carats this year, Reuters reported. Debswana is a joint venture between De Beers and Botswana's government. In 2018, Debswana's production increased with six percent, reaching 24.1 million carats, its highest output in the past four years. Th...Read More
Botswana's Debswana Diamond Mining, a joint venture between De Beers and the southern Africa country's government, have awarded Thiess' subsidiary CIMIC a $1.2-billion contract to extend the lifespan of their Jwaneng mine.Jwaneng, which began operations in 1982, is currently 650 metres deep, but its owners want to deepen the pit to 830 meters (2,700 feet), which will allow continuing operations f...Read More
Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod remained stable month over month in the United States, although sources offered varied reports on market activity. Fastmarkets AMM again assessed the price for cold-heading quality wire rod at $46 per hundredweight ($920 per short ton) North American delivered duty paid Great Lakes region on Friday March 15 and that for high...Read More
Alrosa reported last week that net profit had risen with some 15 percent to reach $1.4 billion in 2018. The announcement followed earlier reports that the company's sales volume had dropped with eight percent compared to 2017. Higher price levels for goods sold, however, caused sales to rise $4.4 billion, a value increase of six percent, the leading diamond miner said. "The key financial d...Read More
LONDON – Russian State-controlled miner Alrosa will assess the quality of Zimbabwe's diamond reserves over the next six months but would only start mining if it can take a majority stake in such a project, the company's chief executive said on Monday.Zimbabwe is seeking to attract investment and has scrapped legislation that restricts foreign participation for some commodities. It ha...Read More
The number of new passenger car registrations in the EU decreased by only 0.96% year-on-year in February 2019. This made it the sixth consecutive month to show a decline but there were also signs of recovery, the European Automotive Manufacturers Assn (ACEA) said on Friday March 15.New car sales in Europe totaled 1,114,692 units in February 2019, compared with 1,125,472 vehicles sold in the corres...Read More
More than 450 students, GIA (Gemological Institute of America) alumni, job seekers and industry professionals connected with 56 companies looking to hire and 23 career coaches offering expert advice at GIA's New York Jewelry Career Fair on Friday, March 8. The annual event paved the way for new talent and those looking to enter the gem and jewelry industry with a unique opportunity to network dire...Read More
Reuters reported that the World Bank is to lend Angola, a country blessed with enormous mineral resources, $1 billion to fund social security and water projects, the office of Angola's president Joao Lourenco relayed earlier this week. Angola, which is Africa's second largest oil producer, and a leading diamond producer reportedly has been "pushed into an economic crisis by the fall in oil p...Read More
Import prices for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil sold into Vietnam widened down over the past week amid lower buying activity.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm SAE1006 HRC and equivalent grades sold into Vietnam - was $545-555 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday, down $5 per tonne at the lower end of the range.A...Read More
Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO), the world's second largest miner, is recommending shareholders to vote against a resolution requiring the company to release its direct emissions details and strategies on how its greenhouse gas emissions and those of its customers can be cut.In a letter from chairman Simon Thompson, Rio urged investors to vote against the proposed rule change that would have the miner t...Read More
The Israel Diamond, Gemstone and Jewelry Administration of the Ministry of Economy released a list of fifteen of its leading polished diamond exporters for the year 2018.Some of Israel's leading diamond exporters have declined, sometimes for many years, to allow their names and data to be made public. The MID - House of Diamonds company continues as Israel's number one exporter, with $196 million,...Read More
With the credibility of economic analysts in the doldrums, following their miscalculations on US market growth during the holiday season of 2018, a recent report issued by the Bank of America Corporation (BofA) that retail sales are about to rebound, was therefore greeted with reservations by the media. In February, US retail sales dipped 0.1 percent, according to a recent report issued by Bank o...Read More
JOHANNESBURG – A deadly mine collapse in Angola has left at least 30 people dead. The incident occurred in Chipindo municipality in Angola’s south-west Huila Province as illegal gold miners mined for gold, the state media reported on Sunday.AdvertisementRadio Nacional de Angola (RNA) reports said the mine collapsed due to ground humidity.Huíla Province, about 904 km south o...Read More