(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced $31m of new funding to operate and develop its Karowe mine, in Botswana.It comes just days after the miner revealed the recovery of a 1,174-carat diamond at the deposit, which has a reputation for producing large, high quality, Type IIa stones.Canada-based Lucara is raising $22m from syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets and $16m in a private pla...Read More

Finnish mining company Terrafame has announced that production has begun at its new battery chemicals plant in Soktamo, Finland, the company said on Monday June 28.Terrafame announced the ?,?240 ($286.44) million investment for the new plant in 2018, and have since worked on putting together the site's fully integrated production process - starting at the company's on-site mines and ending with pr...Read More

The domestic nickel pig iron (NPI) price rose in the week to Friday June 25 in an active spot market while the ferro-nickel price also went up due to a bullish stainless steel outlook, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China at 1,200-1,210 yuan ($185.50-187.10) per nickel unit on Friday, up by 15-25 yuan (1.7%)...Read More

A Russian export tax on aluminium and other base metals levied to curb inflationary risk in the country has stirred expectations of further increases in an already bullish physical market.The Russian government approved temporary export duties Friday on 340 steel and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which are set to take effect from August 1 through December 31....Read More

Lithium iron phosphate batteries have recently regained their position as the preferred option among original equipment manufacturers in China, casting doubt on the forecast dominance of the alternative nickel-cobalt-manganese lithium-ion batteries in the country's electric vehicle battery supply chain.The situation has also raised questions about whether the change in sentiment would be mirrored...Read More

GFG Alliance and Liberty Steel's restructuring and transformation committee has announced its plans to restructure the group's steel businesses, the company said on Monday June 28."The developments [will] help to pave the way for a refinancing which will enable GFG [Alliance] to pay back creditors following the collapse of its main lender, Greensill Capital," the company said. "This in turn will a...Read More

Russia has approved temporary export duties on non-ferrous metals and steel products, including hot-rolled coil, which will come into effect on August 1 this year - and this will cause a spike in the country's HRC exports in July, market sources have told Fastmarkets.The country is the fourth-largest global steel exporter, but its government has set a base duty rate of 15% or $115 per tonne on HRC...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were rangebound on Monday June 28 after buyers held back from trading, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?1,189.20 ($1,419.30) per tonne on Monday, down by just ?,?1.94 from ?,?1,191.14 per tonne on Friday. The index was, however, up by ?,?18.20 per tonne week on week a...Read More

An environmental report on the project, required to allow the 2,400-acre land swap to proceed, was published in January in the final days of the Trump administration.Read More

Perpetua's sustainable mining to bring only US antimony supplySPONSOREDperpetua resourcesArgentina: the future of uraniumSPONSOREDblue sky uraniumE3 Net-Zero Lithium: the next generation of lithium productionSPONSOREDe3 metals corpOrford's summer news flow forecast to flood inboxesSPONSOREDorford miningCaerus has agreed heads of terms on a £300,000 (US$ 417,500) deal to acquire Cypru...Read More

A worker employed by a service provider was fatally injured from a fall while working at height.Underground mining had been suspended while an investigation was completed."Hoisting activities resumed on June 23 and production has since returned to normal levels," Hudbay said last week.It did not mention any impact on production guidance.Its Manitoba operations, comprising Lalor and 777, were expec...Read More

Domestic prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal district around Moscow rose in the week to June 28 on increased offers from local mills, sources told Fastmarkets.July offers from NLMK were heard at 72,500 ($1,004) roubles per tonne, up from 69,500 for June.Severstal was offering July-delivery rebar at 75,000 roubles per tonne cpt, sources said, unchanged from June.Tula Steel offered re...Read More

China's Hebei Iron & Steel Group (HBIS) and South Korea's Posco have signed a deal to establish a joint venture to produce automotive steel plate in China, according to a report from HBIS' official WeChat account published on Friday June 25. The planned new plant will have capacity to produce 900,000 tonnes per year of...Read More

Perpetua's sustainable mining to bring only US antimony supplySPONSOREDperpetua resourcesArgentina: the future of uraniumSPONSOREDblue sky uraniumE3 Net-Zero Lithium: the next generation of lithium productionSPONSOREDe3 metals corpOrford's summer news flow forecast to flood inboxesSPONSOREDorford miningDeep-South said it intended to "vigorously contest this decision by all means necessary"...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker on the morning of Monday June 28, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed.The spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 across parts of Southeast Asia, Australia and South Africa is causing concern about a 4th wave.Base metalsLME three-month base metals prices, with the exception of tin that was untraded, were down acro...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade. General Motors added $0.05 to $60.35 after Honda announced plans to manufacture its first two fully electric vehicles in North America on General Motor's platform.Boeing (BA $248.38) is expected to open lower after the FAA raised safety concerns over the new Boeing 777x aircraft. Certifica...Read More

Turkish steel producers made no deep-sea scrap bookings on the first day of the working week, but are expected to return to the market for August cargoes soon, market sources said on Monday June 28.The most recent deal was done on Thursday June 24, when a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a United States cargo at $499 per tonne cfr on heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) basis and $519 per tonne cf...Read More

Iron ore prices increased on Monday June 28 even while market participants prepare for stricter restrictions on sintering, blast furnace operations and transportation of raw materials from June 29 to July 1 in certain areas in China. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.62 per tonne, up $2.17 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $220.77 per tonne, up $2.02 per t...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices inched up in the cfr market on Monday June 28 on positive market sentiment following the bullish domestic coking coal market, while the fob market stayed largely stable to start the week. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $183.82 per tonne, down $0.29 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $306.50 per tonne, up $2.36 per tonne Hard cokin...Read More

Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices fell in the week ended Friday June 25 due to a weaker demand outlook for steel, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices Pellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $62 per tonne, down $0.40 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $241.32 per tonne, down $1.31 65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $300.81 per tonne, down $4.11 Key drivers Sentiment w...Read More