RAPAPORT... Grib Diamonds registered sales of $35 million at its final tender of the year as rough prices rose amid robust demand for larger goods.Prices at the December 11 sale increased around 5% compared with the company's previous tender on October 25, Grib head of sales Antony Dear told Rapaport News Wednesday. A total of 450,000 carats sold, with rough weighing 2 carats and higher most...Read More

RAPAPORT... Phillips garnered $27.6 million from its flagship New York watch auction, led by Paul Newman's Rolex "Big Red" Daytona, which sold for $5.5 million.The price for the timepiece, purchased by an anonymous private collector, is the third-highest ever paid for a Rolex watch at auction, Phillips said last week. The December 12 auction, named Racing Pulse, also saw a record price for any Tag...Read More

RAPAPORT... This year could tie as the busiest on record for US retail imports, as consumer demand during the holiday shopping period led to a surge in shipments, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said.Imports for the full year are expected to reach 21.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), up 1% over 2019, despite predictions as recently as last month that 2020 would see a 3% decrease,...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) will present Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA) president John J. Kennedy with the 2021 Stanley Schechter Award.The accolade, which was established in 2002, recognizes industry leaders who have raised the jewelry community's reputation through their dedication, ethics and integrity. Kennedy is a former assistant commissioner and deputy general coun...Read More

The London Metal Exchange tin price was the biggest riser on Wednesday December 16, coming close to the $20,000 per tonne mark and setting a new year-to-date high, spurring most of the complex along with it while market participants eyed a congressional deal for a coronavirus stimulus package in the United States. Tin's three-month price rose by 1.1% to $19,925 per tonne on Wednesday at 5pm agains...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Antwerp's export of rough and polished diamonds fell again in November after both hitting a 2020 peak in September.Rough exports were $725m, down from $957m in October. Year-on-year this was a marked decline, down almost 15 per cent, after a sharp rise of 75 per cent last month.Polished exports fell by nine per cent in November to $612m, according to newly-released figures fro...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers reportedly increased rough prices by up to three per cent at its last Sight of the year in the firmest indication so far that demand is recovering from the pandemic.Insiders say it's the first time since COVID-19 that De Beers has put prices up, after offering discounts and unprecedented flexibilities to Sight holders since August.Yields from the 10th Sight of the yea...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Lucapa has announced the recovery of an exceptional 101-carat diamond at its Mothae mine, in Lesotho.The Type IIa stone has been measured as D color and is the fourth +100 carat diamond recovered from the southern lobe of the mine's kimberlite pipe since operations started in January 2019.The Australian miner, which partners with the Lesotho government, said it looked forward...Read More

The lead and zinc scrap markets in the United States remained strong heading into the final weeks of 2020 while increased demand for scrap from foreign buyers as well as demand for new, replacement car batteries kept market sentiment firm."New battery demand is still heavy and expected to continue until March with a harsh winter forecast," one consumer said. "A lot has changed in a short period. E...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.The London-headquartered miner said it would achieve sustainable production from its first underground mining panel - known as "Panel 0" - by October 2022, with the project's development capital -Read More

A collaboration between metals and mining companies including Anglo American, Glencore and Tata Steel have released a proof of concept carbon tracing platform to trace emissions across the value chain using distributed ledger technology. The venture - a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and seven global companies that make up its Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative (MMBI) - aims t...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.The global activity dispersion index averaged 53, up from the 50.3 recorded in October, however the volatility of regional activity was striking, Marex Spectron's global head of analytics Dr Guy Wolf said.Capacity utilisation rebounded in China, where the index rose from 42.2 in October to 48.6.Scoped for...Read More

Chilean copper producer Codelco renewed its labor agreement with the workers' unions representing employees at the Ventanas division located in the country's central Valpara?-so region, the state-owned miner said on Tuesday December 15.The new contracts will be effective for 36 months from February 1, 2021 for Union No.1 and from May 1 for the Turnados Union, Codelco said. Similar to the deal...Read More

Elysis has completed construction of its Qu?(C)bec, Canada research and development facility, taking the joint-venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto one step closer to commercializing carbon-free aluminium. The technology, which was first developed at the Alcoa Technical Center near Pittsburgh in the United States, eliminates all direct greenhouse gases from the aluminium smelting process, instead p...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.The agency, using data provided by S&P Global, said some US$458 million was budgeted for exploration in 2020, with spend dominated by the search for copper.Read More

Global nickel premiums were largely unchanged in the week to Tuesday December 16, while in China, prices for nickel pig iron (NPI) and nickel sulfate responded positively to improved buying interest and strong nickel prices on the LME. European and US premiums both steady in thin marketChina's NPI and nickel sulfate prices up; plate premiums static LME price spike keeps European premiums firm desp...Read More

Wire rod prices in the United States have jumped higher in response to significant scrap price increases, with mills passing those costs along to consumers, as well as a falling dollar, which has pushed import prices even higher - making them less competitive against domestic supply, Fastmarkets has learned.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, f...Read More

Galvalume prices in the United States have climbed to their highest in more than two years due to demand outstripping supply - a situation that likely will not be remedied in early 2021, market participants said."Not everyone who buys Galvalume can get what they need," a producer said. "I see Galvalume rising further."Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US at $48 per...Read More

Domestic European prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil increased over the week to Wednesday December 16 due to low availability and an increase in feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?730-750 ($887-911) per tonne on December 16, up by ?,?20-50 per tonne from ?,?680-730 per tonne a week earlier.The assess...Read More

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally firmer this morning, Wednesday December 16, with prices holding up in high ground, backed by optimism that vaccines will lead to stronger recoveries next year, while the weaker dollar and concerns about inflation were also supportive.* Japan’s flash manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) c...Read More