(IDEX Online) -  Mountain Province is preparing to resume operations after a Covid outbreak closed its Gahcho Kue mine for almost a month. At least 19 workers at the site (pictured), in Canada's remote Arctic tundra, tested positive for the virus.The unscheduled closure is a further blow for the miner, which reported diamond sales down almost 18 per cent to to $208.2m in its full-ye...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While much commentary has been written about Asian economies performing far better than those elsewhere this year during the global Covid-19 pandemic, it is stainless steel markets in Europe and the United States that are ending the year in better shape than their Asian counterparts.We do not talk of demand levels or demand g...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Anya Taylor-Joy wore over $2.3m of Tiffany & Co diamonds as she won a Golden Globes award for The Queen's Gambit.The 24-year-old actress appeared at last night's virtual event with a $250,000 platinum and diamonds pendant, a pair of $1.9m platinum and diamond earrings and a $160,000 platinum and diamond ring.US-born Taylor-Joy (pictured) paired the pieces with a green...Read More

(IDEX Online) - February saw another mixed bag of prices movements. Larger rounds - those over three carats - fared well but smaller fancies suffered.RoundsThere was mixed activity in goods of 0.70-cts and smaller during February, with slightly more downward movement in the 0.80 to 1.00-ct sizes, and a clear upward trend in larger goods of 3.00-4.99-cts.  Price rises dominated among 0.50...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...Read More

The price of tin fell throughout the day on Monday March 1 to its lowest in two weeks at the close of trading on the London Metal Exchange, while the fortunes of the rest of the base-metals complex was mixed following strong losses on the previous Friday.Tin's three-month price was down to $23,460 per tonne on March 1, its lowest 5pm closing price since February 12.The metal was rallying until Fri...Read More

Hot Chili knock, knock, knockin' on tier 1 doorSPONSOREDhot chiliThe stars have aligned and shine bright over a certain hillside on South Australia's Copper Coast - just a couple of hours drive from the capital city of Adelaide.It's there, on the Yorke Peninsula, where Rex Minerals' Hillside copper-gold project resides. It's shovel ready with 2 million tonnes of relatively easy-to-develop copp...Read More

Prices in the CIS export steel slab market picked up in the week to Monday March 1 with bookings heard at higher prices in Italy. Higher costs for raw materials and raised prices for finished flat steel prices supported the uptrend in the slab sector.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $450.49 per tonne on March 1, down...Read More

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service on Monday March 1 rescinded a January decision that would have cleared the way for a land swap deal for the Resolution Copper project involving Native American land in Arizona.According to an update on the project website, the USDA on March 1 "directed the Forest Service to withdraw the notice of availability and rescind the...Read More

The benchmark A380.1 secondary aluminium alloy price and the London Metal Exchange's North American special aluminium alloy contract (Nasaac) spiked to more than six-year highs, supported by healthy demand even as a semiconductor chip shortage disrupts automotive supply chains.Fastmarkets assessed aluminium alloy A380.1, delivered Midwest at $1.10-1.11 per lb on Thursday February 25, up 2.31% from...Read More

Ecobat has hired Sebastian Rudow as managing director of Berzelius Metall, the holding group for the company's German and Austrian assets. Rudow joins from European lead rival Recylex, which he has led...Read More

Fastmarkets plans to launch two new prices on a CIF China, Japan and Korea basis - nickel sulfate, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne, and nickel sulfate premium, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne.Fastmarkets Research estimates that the current demand for class 1 nickel units for use in electric vehicle (EV) batteries accounts for a minimal 3-4% market share, but this is forecast to inc...Read More

U.S. equity index futures moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures gained 36 points in pre-opening trade. Strength was trigger by strength in Far East equity markets. The Shanghai Composite Index added 1.21% and the Nikkei Average advanced 2.41%. China is expected to announce its five year economic plan tomorrow.Berskshire Hathaway advanced $4.99 to $245.50 after releasing its annual report....Read More

Publication of Fastmarkets' assessment of blister copper refining charges (RCs) for February was delayed due to a reporter error.The price assessment for copper blister 98-99% RC, spot, cif China, is normally published on the last trading day of the month.The price should therefore have been published on Friday February 26. It was instead published on Monday March 1. The price was $160-170 per ton...Read More

UC Rusal has signed and started the drawdown of a loan worth 45 billion roubles ($603 million) from VTB and Gazprombank to fund the capital expenditure of its Taishet aluminium smelter (TaAZ), it said on Monday March 1. Under the terms of the syndicated loan agreement, VTB will provide 30 billion roubles and Gazprombank will provide 15 billion roubles over a period of up to 15 years. The funds rai...Read More

Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe moved up day on day on Monday March 1, supported by short supply, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?740 ($893.16) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?2 from ?,?738 per tonne on Friday.The index was up by ?,?15 per tonne week on week and ?,?26.67 per tonne...Read More

Turkey's total volume of flat steel exports fell by 33.55% year on year in January, despite a 202.30% increase in cold-rolled flat steel shipments, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The main reason for the decrease was the imposition of duties on Turkish hot-rolled coil in Europe, the country's largest export destination, which led to a sharp drop in hot-ro...Read More

Domestic prices for flat steel in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were broadly stable over the past week, supported by cautiously optimistic sentiment amid rising exports and expected shortages because of maintenance at key suppliers, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 1. Hot-rolled sheet Trading activity in the region was subdued amid seasonally slow demand. Market participa...Read More

Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow fell in the week to Monday March 1, due to seasonally slow demand and aggressive pricing by some producers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, was 50,000 roubles ($670) per tonne, including 20% value-added tax, on March 1, down by 4,000-...Read More

Turkey's flat steel import volumes decreased by 11.98% year on year in January 2021, according to the latest statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The country imported 637,818 tonnes of flat steel in January this year, compared with 724,601 tonnes a year ago. The main reason for decreasing imports was weak demand for imported steel in October 2020, when some of the bookings for...Read More