Sentiment positive despite seasonal slowdown. Dealers filling orders but struggling to replace goods at current price levels. Polished prices firm even as inventory rises. Buoyant US retail driving the recovery; July jewelry sales +83%, reports Mastercard SpendingPulse. Overseas exhibitors frustrated by restrictions preventing travel to Las Vegas shows. Manufacturing profit margins under pressure...Read More

All futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange were up on the morning of Thursday August 12, with most metals facing some form of supply headwinds - which bodes well for higher prices.Copper's three-month price was up to $9,601.50 per tonne on Thursday shortly after 9am, a 0.9% rise from $9,512 per tonne the previous day.The red metal was supported by the impending strike at Codelco's Andina m...Read More

A strike at Codelco's Andina mine in Chile will start at 8am local time on Thursday August 12 after unions rejected the latest offer from the company.The two unions - the main worker's union and the labor integration industrial union, representing some 800 workers - rejected the latest wage offer on Wednesday evening. The Andina Division of the state-controlled Codelco produced 184,400 t...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lusix, a producer of lab-grown diamonds, has received sustainability accreditation for its rough goods, enabling it to participate in the synthetics sector's push to present itself as ethically and environmentally sound.SCS Global Services carried out a third-party audit of the Israel-based company's operations that resulted in the producer receiving approval under the SCS 007 sta...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has awarded a $50,000 grant to help advance an initiative focused on eliminating the use of mercury in gold processing.The funds will enable Mercury Free Mining (MFM) and the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) to evaluate new ore-testing processes, MFM said Wednesday.  These have the potential to "significantly reduce or eradicate" the...Read More

RAPAPORT... "There's a lust toward trust," Leanne Kemp jokes as she explains the movement driving businesses to embrace sustainability. Since 2015, the company she founded and heads, Everledger, has been on a mission to facilitate that trend, using its blockchain-powered platform to help diamond and jewelry businesses keep a transparent record of their products' provenance. Everledger is not...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Pop icon Beyonce is to become the face of Tiffany & Co, along with rapper husband Jay-Z, in a deal revealed yesterday by Harper's Bazaar.The singer appears on the cover of the magazine's Tiffany-sponsored September issue, wearing a +21-ct Tiffany diamond. She is also featured inside in an interview and photoshoot.The appointment of the superstar couple follows the ann...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States surged above $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton) for the first time, with market participants projecting that new records will be made before this rally runs out of steam.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.54 per cwt ($1,930.80 per ton) on Thursday August 12, up by 1.77% from $94.86 per cwt on Wedne...Read More

(IDEX Online) - BlueRock has announced the recovery of a 21.56-ct diamond at its Kareevlei mine, in South Africa.It's the company's biggest ever rough stone, and is likely to become its most valuable when it is sold at tender later this month.The "exceptional quality" stone is expected to fetch significantly more than $236,000, the company's current record, set by a 20.7-ct diamond...Read More

Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States rose slightly after three flat weeks, and market participants expect a continued upward trajectory despite prices for shredded scrap - rebar's key feedstock material - declining in August.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel rebar, fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday August 11, up by 0.51% from $49 per c...Read More

A summary of the financial results for German industrial group Thyssenkrupp for April 1 to June 30, 2021, the third quarter of its 2020/21 business year.In briefThyssenkrupp continued to improve its results for the third consecutive quarter on account of restructuring and performance measures amid a significant increase in steel demand and with almost all businesses contributing to the group's ear...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil across Europe were largely stable on Thursday August 12, due to the seasonal slowdown in activity, sources told Fastmarkets. Trading in European HRC slows down in the summer holiday season, with both producers and buyers largely absent from the market. Activity is expected to rebound closer to September, following the...Read More

Steel rebar and billet prices remained unchanged in Egypt in the week to Thursday, August 12, with demand still only moderate, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was limited in late July because of the Eid al-Adha festival on July 20-23.However, construction activity has picked up since the removal of the construction ban, the country's biggest...Read More

Future remains golden for Rox ResourcesSPONSOREDrox resourcesCashed-up Karora is doubling gold production at a blistering paceSPONSOREDkarora resourcesZinc-lead discovery helps Zenith double market capSPONSOREDzenith mineralsMining and the lack of external investmentSPONSOREDswannControl Risks analyst Claudia Navarra said that the Castillo government's ideological affinity to the Chavez-Maduro reg...Read More

Iranian slab prices for foreign customers continued to fall in the week to August 12, pressured by weak consumer markets in Asia and Europe.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran decreased by $20-25 per tonne week on week to $700-720 per tonne on August 11, from $725-740 per tonne fob on August 4.European customers were inactive due to the summer slowdown, w...Read More

In April, an environmental court in Antofagasta ruled the project complied with regulations and presented all information required for its evaluation and sent it back to the regulator to review.Read More

Future remains golden for Rox ResourcesSPONSOREDrox resourcesCashed-up Karora is doubling gold production at a blistering paceSPONSOREDkarora resourcesZinc-lead discovery helps Zenith double market capSPONSOREDzenith mineralsMining and the lack of external investmentSPONSOREDswannHigh prices for copper and growing prices for lithium at a time when miners are making record profits are seeing worker...Read More

Analysts noted there was currently a soft patch in metals demand.The copper and iron ore prices have softened from record highs reached in May, of US$10,747.50 per tonne and circa $230/t respectively.Spot copper was below $9,500/t on the London Metal Exchange yesterday and 62% Australian fines have fallen to $163/t according to MySteel."Slowing [Chinese] credit growth, especially when combined wit...Read More

It noted a strike at the BHP-managed Escondida mine and Codelco's Andina mine would put about 5% and 0.9% respectively of global copper supply at risk.Workers are set to vote on a contract offer in the coming days at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, which has a history of labour action including a 44-day strike in the first quarter of 2017.Andina workers have reportedly voted to strike...Read More

Turkish steel mills again stayed away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday August 12, while finished steel prices edged lower, sources told Fastmarkets.No new deep-sea cargoes were heard on the market today, continuing a trend of silence, although falling finished steel prices are beginning to weigh on market sentiment and purchasing decisions. The price of rebar in Turkey's domestic...Read More