RAPAPORT... The diamond mining sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis. There has been a significant drop in demand - when rough sales could even take place - forcing miners to reconsider their production programs for 2020. However, Lucara Diamond Corp. appears cautiously confident that it has the balance sheet, the sales platform, and the right product mix at its high-value Karowe mine...Read More

RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has appointed Rebecca Wooters chief digital officer to help expand its online offering in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic."Our omni-channel and digital transformation is even more important now with today's shift to online shopping," Signet CEO Virginia Drosos said last week. "Rebecca is joining us at a pivotal time in our...transformation journey, which we are acc...Read More

RAPAPORT... Angola is halfway through the construction of a $77 million diamond hub that it hopes will create revenue sources beyond the sale of rough diamonds.The hub is located in Angola's diamond province of Lunda Sul. It will contain a main diamond-cutting facility, a diamond evaluation and training center, and smaller manufacturing plants, Sodiam, Angola's state-owned diamond company, said la...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A diamond courier has allegedly disappeared from the Bharat Diamond Bourse, in Mumbai, India, with stones destined to be cut and polished in Surat.The so-called "angadia" is rumored to have become involved in a failed property deal as coronavirus hit trade, according to India's Economic Times.Angadias have become the cheapest and most trusted means of ferrying valuable consign...Read More

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has reduced its production outlook for the year amid the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on operations.The miner now expects to produce between 6.3 million and 6.4 million carats in 2020 from the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada, compared to its earlier outlook of 6.75 million to 6.95 million carats, it said last week. That figure represents to...Read More

The aluminium extrusion billet premium reached an all-time low in Brazil while demand remained timid due to the Covid-19-related economic slowdown in the country and sellers focused on securing bargain deals for their customers, sources said on Friday June 19.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 & 6060 extrusion billet premium, cif Brazilian main ports at $230-260 per tonne on June 19, down fro...Read More

Chilean state-run copper producer Codelco has decided to halt all of its construction projects in the north of the country, including the underground phase of Chuquicamata, while the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the region, the company said on Saturday June 20.The current operations of the open pit at Chuquicamata will be maintained, however, with workers from the city of Calama, 20km to the s...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Trade shows that were twice postponed in Hong Kong because of COVID-19 have now been canceled altogether.The Hong Kong International Jewellery and Diamond Show (pictured) and its sister event, the Gem & Pearl Show, will not now take place this year.Organizers had tried repeatedly to keep the events alive, moving them from March to May and then to August.But the final blow came...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday June 22, while a steady rise in Covid-19 cases over the weekend prompted a slight downturn across the rest of the complex.Copper's outright price on the LME was the standout performer over the morning, recently trading at $5,866 per tonne, improving from Friday's closing price of $5,849.50 per ton...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Colin Shah is to step up as chairman of India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).He will steer the industry body through what he's described as "acute uncertainties due to the ongoing COVID 19 crisis in India and world over".GJEPC, established by the government in 1966 to promote overseas sales, now represents 7,000 exporters in the sector. Mr Shah...Read More

Lead stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses rose by the highest percentage among the base metals, gaining 16.6% or 3,279 tonnes to 22,995 tonnes in the week to Friday June 19. The largest inflows were recorded at warehouses run by Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Tianchuan in Zhejiang, with rises of 1,232 tonnes and 1,632 tonnes respectively from 2,749 tonnes and 8,658 tonn...Read More

Production at Hydro's Paragomias bauxite mine, in the state of Par?? in northern Brazil, has been temporarily halted due to a power outage, the producer said on Monday June 22.Three power transmission towers overturned on June 20, cutting the power supply to the mine, the company said.The Paragominas mine delivers bauxite to the Alunorte alumina refinery in Barcarena via a 244-kilometer pipel...Read More

Despite fears of second waves of the Covid-19 virus, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally holding up well this morning, Monday June 22. But while prices are holding up well, they do seem to have lost upward momentum.Asian-Pacific equity and pre-market major western equity index futures were mainly weaker this morning.Gold prices gapped higher this morning, suggesting inve...Read More

Steel plate prices in the United States held steady for the sixth consecutive week after distributors determined that they mostly have sufficient stock and do not worry about availability if demand increases. Two rounds of price-increase announcements from plate mills still have not resulted in across-the-board higher prices, according to market participants. The hike announcements have enticed a...Read More

Global crude steel production decreased for the third consecutive month in May, with steelmakers responding to poor demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic by continuing to reduce output.Steel production from the 64 countries that report to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) totaled 148.8 million tonnes in May, down by 8.7% from 163 million tonnes in May 2019, according to data released on...Read More

The dramatic consequences of the Covid-19-related lockdowns across Europe, and the corresponding shutdowns of industrial activities, have resulted in an enormous disruption to the supply chains across all sectors of the steel industry.While the largest of these sectors, the construction industry, has by no means escaped the effects of the pandemic, sources believed that it could see a return of de...Read More

Trading activity in the majority of CIS markets was thin over the past week due to low demand, but CIS exporters of rebar and wire rod preferred to keep offers stable following the example of Turkish producers. Turkish steel mills last week kept their rebar export offers at $425-430 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, while bids for the material were no higher than $410 per tonne, Fastma...Read More

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe were little changed day on day on Monday June 22, despite poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?390.11 ($435.98) per tonne on Monday, up by just ?,?0.11 from ?,?390.00 per tonne on Friday June 19. The index was down by ?,?3.64 per tonne week on...Read More

Despite fears of second waves of the Covid-19 virus, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally holding up well this morning, Monday June 22. But while prices are holding up well, they do seem to have lost upward momentum.* Asian-Pacific equity and pre-market major western equity index futures were mainly weaker this morning.* Gold prices gapped higher this morning, suggesting...Read More

Liberty Steel Group UK, part of the GFG Alliance, hopes to double production at its Rotherham site to more than 1 million tonnes per year after altering its product mix to produce rebar while reducing its carbon emissions, the company said on Monday June 22.It has upgraded its Thrybergh Bar Mill in Rotherdam to produce rebar from September onward. This follows a series of successful trials of its...Read More