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Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has signed a provisional power supply agreement with Zambian state-owned utility Zesco Ltd after a long-term supply contract between the copper producer and the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) expired.Zesco is now transmitting power via CEC infrastructure to KCM operations while the two parties finalize their agreement.A 20-year contract between CEC and KCM, which op...Read More

The Northern European hot-rolled coil market was largely stable on Tuesday June 2, with prices remaining under pressure from slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?403.00 ($448.44) per tonne on Tuesday June 2, up by ?,?0.50 per tonne from ?,?402.50 per tonne on Monday.Tuesday's index was calculated ba...Read More

RAPAPORT... Titan Company anticipates a negative impact on its profit in the first half of the year amid "very marginal" sales due to the coronavirus-related lockdown in India.Government measures forced the jeweler to shut all its stores and manufacturing facilities from March 17 until the first week of May, when the restrictions were gradually eased. The shutdown hit operations "substantiall...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers will hold viewings of sight goods in locations other than Botswana, enabling customers to access the company's rough amid travel restrictions.The miner will introduce the provision in "relevant diamond centers" for the upcoming sight scheduled for June 15 to 19, a De Beers spokesperson told Rapaport News Monday. He would not say which cities would host the viewings.Botswa...Read More

RAPAPORT... The annual Rapaport Breakfast this Thursday will explore what's next for the diamond industry as it navigates the economic crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. "This will be one of the most important presentations I have ever made," said Martin Rapaport, chairman of the Rapaport Group, who will make his "State of the Diamond Industry" presentation online on June 4 at 12 p....Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, June 2, 2020, Las Vegas... Diamond trading is starting to regain traction in Hong Kong with some demand from China. Hong Kong is mostly open for business, but concerns are mounting about renewed protests following new Chinese security laws. New York's 47th Street remains closed as other parts of the US slowly begin to open. US riots over police brutality are also creating c...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Bulk sampling at Marsfontein, South Africa, has yielded encouraging results, according to the exploration company Botswana Diamonds. It has recovered a total of 111 macro diamonds, mostly from high-interest kimberlite, but also from dumped kimberlitic material left from previous mining activity. The company, which expanded from Botswana into South Africa and Zimbabwe, says the resu...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A gang swapped $5.3m of diamonds for a bag of worthless pebbles in an audacious sleight-of-hand heist at a top London jeweler.Detectives said the astonishing raid was like something from the Ocean's Eleven movie franchise, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt.The thieves posed as wealthy Russian businessmen to dupe luxury jeweler Boodles - founded in 1798 - out of seven stone...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Diamond Producers Association, representing the world's biggest producers, is changing its name to Natural Diamond Council in a move that will distance it from the lab-grown sector.The industry authority, whose members include Alrosa, De Beers Group, Dominion Diamond Mines, Lucara Diamond, Petra Diamonds, RZM Murowa, and Rio Tinto, is also adopting the new brand name "Only...Read More

The EU's plan to make electric vehicles a centerpiece of the continent's economic recovery has injected significant confidence into the global cobalt market, and has also renewed momentum for responsible sourcing across the whole supply chain, according to the head of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG).Recent government and industry association initiatives across the EU may also provide the boost requ...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price was the standout performer at the close on Tuesday June 2 on continued optimism over easing pandemic concerns, while continued unrest in the United States did little to cap upward price action across the complex.LME lead's outright price closed at $1,719.50 per tonne on Tuesday afternoon in a 2.5% rally that pushed the price to its highest settlemen...Read More

Spot treatment charges (TCs) for zinc and lead concentrate continued their downward trajectories in May even as some South American miners announced restart of operations after two months of Covid-19 related shutdowns. Miners are in need of cash and keen to resume production but they face the challenge of a rising number of coronavirus cases in the continent, which the World Health Organizati...Read More

Chinese buyers say they are no longer looking to import aluminium, with the fading arbitrage potential ending what was an unusual and profitable trade. The arbitrage for bringing aluminium into China reopened for the first time since 2016 on May 6, with a marginal profit of $4.22 per tonne, according to Fastmarkets' calculations. It widened to $61.82 per tonne on May 20 before slipping to a loss f...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price was the standout performer during morning trading on Tuesday June 2, climbing by 1.4% and continuing the buying momentum that emerged on Monday, while declining LME tin stocks support the price. The nickel price was recently at $12,770 per tonne, up 1,4% against Monday's closing price of $12,626 per tonne. Trading volumes have been moderate so far...Read More

US hot-rolled coil prices continue to bob around $25 per hundredweight ($500 per ton) with price increases keeping them from falling too far, while uneven demand and mixed June scrap trends limit the upside.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $25.10 per hundredweight ($502 per ton) on Tuesday June 2, up 0.5% from $24.98 per cwt on Monday and up 1.5% from $...Read More

CIS export billet prices increased on Tuesday June 2, with China resuming bookings and accepting higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The increased cost of iron ore, an upswing in China's domestic rebar market and production cuts planned in Tangshan province supported interest in imported billet.Fastmarkets' daily index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao was $101.32 per tonne on June 2, up...Read More

With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in May 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February, March and April this year.1. Egypt: finished steel2....Read More

Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased this week, but buyers preferred to wait to see whether price increases would be permanent, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 2.The reason for rising prices was the strong domestic demand in China.No deals were heard during the past week and steel demand was still soft after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that...Read More

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has initiated an inquiry as to whether imports of heavy steel plate from four nations and the island of Taiwan cause injury to domestic producers. The preliminary inquiry covers imports of hot-rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-alloy steel plate from Germany, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey, the CITT said in a public notic...Read More