The Hybrit initiative - SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall - has produced the world's first hydrogen-reduced sponge iron at a pilot scale, it said on June 24.The pilot plant in Lule??, Sweden has completed the test production of sponge iron and demonstrated that it is possible to use fossil-free hydrogen gas to reduce iron ore instead of using coal and coke to remove the oxygen. The sponge iron production...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 24 that are worth another look.The Brazilian capital goods association, Abimaq, will meet with China-based Baosteel and local trading house Comexport to pave the way for its members to import more steel amid rising prices and tight supply in the domestic market, the association said...Read More

Much greater investment is needed to expand supply chains to secure critical minerals and expand manufacturing in key materials needed for the energy transition, according to the Acting Undersecretary for Science and Energy at the United States Department of Energy.These investments must ensure sustainable production, refining, and recycling capacity domestically, while ensuring strong environment...Read More

Prices in the European titanium alloy and scrap market could fall in the near term amid signs of weaker scrap costs and little renewed consumer demand for third quarter deliveries, according to trade sources.While most industry ferro-titanium suppliers reported fairly stable prices this week, they also said trading activity has been quiet, much like the rest of the current quarter. Steelmakers tol...Read More

European manganese flake prices continued to surge in the week ended Wednesday June 23, boosting the premium for prompt material amid very tight stock availability in Rotterdam, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' price assessment for manganese, 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam, rose by 3% to $3,600-3,710 per tonne on June 23, up from $3,500-3,600 per tonne in the previous sessi...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 24 that are worth another look.The Brazilian capital goods association, Abimaq, will meet with China-based Baosteel and local trading house Comexport to pave the way for its members to import more steel amid rising prices and tight supply in the domestic market, the association said...Read More

The manipulation has become the foremost factor for the metals' pricing, but...by Chris Powell of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA)Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:GATA Chairman Bill Murphy, interviewed yesterday by Yankee Stacking, says the manipulation of the gold and silver markets is now worse than it has ever been relative to the fundamental factors of the monetary metals' pricing. The...Read More

What kind of technical damage has been done on the silver price chart?Gareth Soloway with Patrick V. on Silver Bullion TVWe are joined on Metal Money by Gareth Soloway, President & CFO of InTheMoneyStocks.com. In the aftermath of the most recent fall in silver prices, we ask Gareth about the 'technical damage' on the silver price chart and if sub-$20 silver is on the horizon.FULL SHOW NOTES AND LI...Read More

All base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange, except for copper, finished slightly higher on Thursday June 24, with the recovery continuing after last week's decline while the US Dollar Index consolidated on low ground to lend support to the complex.Nickel led the way on the LME, rising by 1.9% at the close of trading on Thursday to $18,407 per tonne, up from its Wednesday closing price of...Read More

Iron ore prices declined on increasing steel inventories and a high chance of stricter restrictions on steel mills ahead of centennial celebrations, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $213.46 per tonne, down $2.55 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $217.08 per tonne, down $2.26 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $183.86 per tonne,...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices increased on Thursday June 24 in response to futures gains on Wednesday, stimulating demand for restocking, sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,820-4,850 yuan ($745-749) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonneOctober rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchanged increased on Wednesday night to trade as a high of 5,022 yuan per tonne, up by 88 yuan per ton...Read More

Optimism driven by shortages and steady US demand. Some uncertainty regarding prices. Dealers concerned that current price levels may not be sustainable once inventory expands. GIA bottleneck persists amid record global submissions and over one-month turnaround at India labs. Rough market robust during Alrosa sale. De Beers June revenue better than expected at $470M. Lucara's Karowe mine in Botswa...Read More

RAPAPORT... When Pandora announced that it was moving to synthetics because the segment aligned with its sustainability goals, the natural-diamond trade responded by highlighting the tens of millions of people who depend on mined diamonds for income."The misleading narrative created by the Pandora announcement implying the natural-diamond industry is both less ethical and the impetus behind Pandor...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Kimberley Process (KP) intersessional meeting is taking place this week amid repeated calls to expand the definition of conflict diamonds and concerns that the scheme is not keeping up with sustainability and digital trends."The prevailing subjects that are today on the agenda of the international community, as well as that of the diamond industry, are human rights, environmental p...Read More

RAPAPORT... A pigeon's blood Burma ruby more than doubled its high estimate at a Doyle sale in New York last week that featured big hitters such as Graff and Cartier.The 3.90-carat ruby is set in a circa 1920 ring with a 2.65-carat, F-color, VS1-clarity diamond, according to the US-based auction house. The piece sold for $510,300 against an estimate of up to $250,000.Included in the same collectio...Read More

RAPAPORT... WD Lab Grown Diamonds has introduced a new brand it said offered fully traceable, US-grown and guaranteed conflict-free synthetic stones. The company, which has achieved a sustainability rating through SCS Global Services, noted Tuesday individual third-party certifications would accompany each Latitude stone.Latitude's chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamonds are graded by independent...Read More

(IDEX Online) - US sales of watches and jewelry in April were up by 176 per cent year-on-year, reflecting a robust recovery from the depths of the global pandemic. April 2020 saw total sales halved, as the first lockdowns and travel restrictions were imposed. Year-on-year sales have been steadily increasing since June 2020. In March 2021 there was a rise of almost 90 per cent, the first comparison...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Assets worth a total of $1.3bn seized from diamond fugitives Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, and businessman Vijay Mallya, have been returned to the banks in India from which they were allegedly defrauded.The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates economic crime in India, said on Tuesday that it had unraveled a web of dummy entities at home and abroad used to rotate and...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A 21.86-carat natural pink diamond from the Kao mine, in Lesotho, is be sold next month in Antwerp.Kao is one of the few sources of pink diamonds following the closure last year of Rio Tinto's iconic Argyle mine, in Australia, which provided 90 per cent of the world's pinks.The rough stone (pictured), discovered on 18 May and named The Pink Palesa, will be offered for sal...Read More

All base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange, except for copper, finished slightly higher on Thursday June 24, with the recovery continuing after last week's decline while the US Dollar Index consolidated on low ground to lend support to the complex.Nickel led the way on the LME, rising by 1.9% at the close of trading on Thursday to $18,407 per tonne, up from its Wednesday closing price of...Read More