RAPAPORT... Mumbai-based diamond manufacturer Asian Star believes jewelry demand will remain sluggish through the end of the quarter as the coronavirus weighs on consumer spending."Economic disruption caused by Covid-19 has changed consumer behavior, as people have become conservative in spending," the company said last week. "Consumer sentiment is expected to improve over a period of time.... The...Read More

RAPAPORT... New Jersey-based jewelry manufacturer Frederick Goldman has appointed Judah Zeigler vice president for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce.He will be responsible for developing and leading all of Frederick Goldman's efforts in the field, in particular overseeing initiatives to help retailers identify and make best use of digital growth opportunities, the company said Thursday. H...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Australian miners Lucapa hopes to resume operations at its Mothae mine, in Lesotho, which has been closed since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Mothae diamond mine is an important contributor to the Basotho nation and Lucapa's strong marketing proposal, we believe, will see the full value of the Mothae kimberlite mine unlocked," said CEO Stephen Wetherall in a sta...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Arctic Star is going it alone with plans to explore an area of Canada's Northwest Territories for diamonds.The Vancouver-based miner says it will invest $1.6m in a year-long drilling at the 25,000-hectare Diagras site, near the Arctic Circle, staring next spring, when work is most economic.Arctic Star is the 40 per cent partner in a joint venture with Margaret Lake Diamonds, w...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A rabbi's wife discovered on TV that a pearl and diamond ring she inherited was Van Cleef & Arpels, was worth $60,000 - twice as much as she thought.She told the Antiques Roadshow in the USA how her husband had been asked to officiate at the funeral of a man who wasn't a member of his congregation. "When she (the man's widow) passed, she left these two items...Read More

A look at hot-rolled coil prices around the globe.Blip or paradigm shift? Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States last month fell below those in China for the first time since at least 2013. The reversal of normal trends - Chinese prices are typically well below US levels - resulted from US domestic tags plummeting in July while Chinese prices recorded a third consecutive month o...Read More

RAPAPORT... Revenue at Gem Diamonds fell in the first half of the year amid a temporary shutdown of its mine and weak demand due to the coronavirus.Sales of rough diamonds from the Let??eng mine in Lesotho dropped 22% to $74 million by value, and also fell 22% by volume to 43,384 carats in the six months ending June 30, the miner reported Thursday. The average price inched up slightly to $1,7...Read More

Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States have continued to hold steady after neither producers nor distributors reported any impetus to offer cheaper prices or to book bigger tonnages.Buyers saw no urgency to book large inventory buys from the mills at the moment, because there is plenty of material on the ground at various service centers that can sell to each other at competitive price...Read More

Three-month base metals price on the London Metal Exchange were higher at the close of trading on Monday August 3, with positive manufacturing data prompting an afternoon surge in buying.Aluminium led the charge in a 2% rise at the 5pm close, against standout turnover.Aluminium's outright price closed at $1,752 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its highest closing price since February 13, while turno...Read More

Fastmarkets is extending its consultation on the launch of new copper material price and the potential discontinuation of its monthly assessment of the No2 copper scrap discount on a cif China basis. Fastmarkets is extending its consultation on the launch of new copper material price and the potential discontinuation of its monthly assessment of the No2 copper scrap discount on a cif China basis....Read More

A summary of Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema's financial results for the second quarter of 2020, as stated in its earnings report published on Friday July 31. In brief  The company increases copper cathode exports to offset the negative impact of a weaker domestic market for manufactured products in both Brazil and Latin America as a whole, it said.  Capacity utilization was reduc...Read More

A brief fire outbreak at one of Russian multi-metal miner Nornickel's Arctic power plants had led to the death of one worker, the company said on Monday August 3. Fastmarkets understands that the fire, caused by a short circuit, was confined to six square meters and was extinguished quickly, having no material impact on production at the plant. The fire is the latest in a line of incidents at the...Read More

The US automotive industry's recovery is a tale of two trends - production and sales - and while a strong rebound in production has a more immediate impact on demand for steel, so far the bounce back has been greater in sales.This has translated into a slower rebound in steel demand, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) chief economist Timothy Gill said. "The auto market situation has certainl...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were stable day on day on Monday August 3 due to a seasonal market slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?412.50 ($485.77) per tonne on Monday August 3, unchanged from Friday July 31.Monday's index was based on "workable" prices heard at ?,?410-415 p...Read More

88 Energy (ASX:88E) Prepares for Billion Barrel Farm OutSPONSORED88 energyLithium no quiet place for AVZSPONSOREDavz mineralsScoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.IronRidge shows its mettleSPONSOREDironridge resources However, that's exactly what's happened for Newcrest Mining at the Havieron project in Western Australia's Paterson Province.Read More

The metals and equity indices were mixed this morning, Monday August 3, with numerous crosscurrents affecting the markets.Data this morning showed China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed to 52.8 in July from 51.2 a month earlier, while Japan’s manufacturing PMI rebounded to 45.2 from 42.6 over the same comparison.But the continuing spread of the Covid-1...Read More

Ferrous scrap sellers in Brazil were expecting to raise their prices in new negotiations with steelmakers, with domestic consumption starting to recover and with increases seen in international prices for scrap and local prices for steel rebar, according to national ferrous scrap association Inesfa.After a lackluster first half of the year in terms of scrap demand, which led in turn to higher expo...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe resource estimate could easily have ended up as an addendum to the company's first (June) half profit report.Read More

Export flat steel product prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region surged by as much as $45 per tonne in the week to Monday August 3.Some suppliers managed to achieve higher sales prices because of rising raw materials costs and limited availability of material in the region.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $435-...Read More

Prices for domestic and imported merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States were again flat in July while demand was generally stable and modest gains in sales volumes were seen in some markets. Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US was $33.80 per hundredweight ($676 per short ton) on Friday July 31, unchanged since...Read More