(IDEX Online) - A research team based in Australia has successfully produced diamonds for the first time at room temperature.Lab-grown diamonds require high pressure and temperatures of 800C, but scientists say they have created diamonds in the lab with no heat, and in a matter of minutes. The manufacturing method mimics the violent impact of meteorites on Earth, which is known to have create...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Five blue diamonds weighing a total 85.6 carats has been sold to to a partnership between De Beers and Diacore for just over $40m.The Letlapa Tala Collection, from Petra's iconic Cullinan mine, in South Africa, were offered at a competitive tender.The miner said it was the first time five rough blue diamonds of significant size, colour and clarity had been offered for sale at...Read More

Spot lead premiums rose in the United States this week while lead premiums are coming under pressure in India following a surge in the commodity price, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 24. London Metal Exchange on-warrant zinc stock in Singapore sheds dropped by 6,900 tonnes from a week ago to 67,525 tonnes on November 24. Overall "live" stock is down by 7,550 tonnes in the past one we...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained broadly steady ahead of the national Thanksgiving holiday, although market participants anticipated further increases given recent mill announcements and supply concerns headed into 2021.Fastmarkets daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $39 per hundredweight ($780 per short ton) on Wednesday November 25, nearly fl...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Customs officers seized more than $20m of designer jewelry being smuggled through one of the busiest border points between Canada and the USA.It was undeclared and unmanifested, said US Customs and Border Protection officers based at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.The jewelry, valued at $20.7m, was destined for a New York auction house, where it was to be appraised and eventually sold...Read More

(IDEX Online) -  Tiffany & Co reported a 52 per cent increase in Q3 net earnings to $119m, proving it could weather the Covid storm, and that it could defy LVMH claims that it had been mismanaged during the pandemic.Sales in China soared by 70 per cent and e-commerce doubled to 12 per cent of total net sales.Total worldwide net sales returned to the billion dollar level, down just one per...Read More

Iskenderun Demir Celik (Isdemir), a subsidiary of Turkey's biggest steel producing group Erdemir Group, has started planned maintenance at its blast furnace no 2. The maintenance will last 44 days starting from Tuesday November 24 and is not expected to have a major effect on the company's output, Isdemir said. Isdemir produces steel billet, slab, wire rod and hot-rolled coil at its facility in Is...Read More

Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe moved up this week following a continued rise in feedstock costs and a lack of imports, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 25.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?660-680 ($783-807) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?640-660 per tonne one week previous.The availability of hot rol...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.Jefferies said copper demand from renewable energy could rise to 6.Read More

The price rise in the CIS steel billet export market has temporarily stopped because sentiment in Asia has subsided, although mills have kept their offer prices high, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 25.Offers of steel billet from Russian and Ukrainian mills were heard within the range of $470-500 per tonne fob on Wednesday this week, little changed from Tuesday.Most mills were offer...Read More

Iran's export prices for steel billet and slab continued to rise over the week to Wednesday November 25, and new deals were expected to be made soon, Fastmarkets has learnt.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, export, fob ports Iran, was $440-445 per tonne on November 25, rising from $430-438 per tonne on November 18.Last week, billet was sold at $425-438 per tonne fob Iran.No de...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Wednesday November 25, as were those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, but overall they seem to be consolidating in high ground, with copper having set a fresh high for the year at $7,360 per tonne earlier this morning.* US president-elect Joe Biden’s transition to the White House has boosted global confidence...* ...thi...Read More

CME Group's busheling futures contract traded a total of 198 lots (3,960 tons) on Tuesday November 24.The front-month December contract was unchanged from the previous session at $352 per ton but traded three lots at $350 per ton, one lot at $351 per ton and one lot at $352 per...Read More

Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States have maintained their upward momentum, with processors and dealers reporting that they were thankful for rising prices - despite continued tight supply - ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday, celebrated Thursday November 26."Even with higher prices, we are having trouble keeping the flow of scrap into the yard. What is out there is being fought har...Read More

Export appetite for US deep-sea ferrous scrap cargoes was muted in the week to Wednesday November 25 despite a spate of activity at the beginning of the month.Still, market sources were quick to point out underlying market strength, with reported container shortages and rising ocean freight rates expected to bolster the export market in the near future. No cargo sales booked from the US East Coast...Read More

Turkish steel mills resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases despite higher prices, due to growing demand for finished steel and increased competition for scrap, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 25.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 10,000 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $341 pe...Read More

Russian steelmaker Metalloinvest, which is the largest global supplier of hot-briquetted iron (HBI), may increase its shipments of the material by 10% by early 2023.The company started modernization of one of three HBI plants at its Lebedinsky GOK asset in mid-November. The project was scheduled for completion by early 2023.Once the modernization is completed, the plant's capacity will increase by...Read More

Canadian forest product stocks continue moving higher. West Fraser Timber moved above $75.06 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday November 25thU.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. October Durable Goods Or...Read More

The recent surge in container freight costs and availability of cargo space continue to disrupt trade flows in minerals and metals, with trading companies finding themselves unable to dodge the soaring shipping rates.A combination of fewer vessels on the water, an imbalance in trade flows to and from China, and competition between cargoes has kickstarted a rapid increase in shipping costs for...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were mostly stable on Wednesday November 25, with mill margins still healthy despite mixed expectations on steel demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $127.41 per tonne, down $0.01 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $127.69 per tonne, up $0.02 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:&n...Read More