Gold ore. Photo by James St. John, Wikimedia Commons. Airborne survey results from Red Lake Gold's 212 sq. km Whirlwind Jack project in Ontario suggest that the LP fault zone extends for at least 12 km westward onto the property.In the fall, Red Lake Gold completed a 2,045 line-km airborne survey on a 50 metre spacing which was flown on a low-level grid pattern and covered the eastern portion of...Read More

A consistently low US Midwest aluminium premium continued to deter participants from any sort of arbitrage activity between London Metal Exchange sheds in Asia and the United States. The aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US was most recently at 14.5-16 cents per lb on December 31, unchanged since December 3 when it fell from 15-16 cents per lb. Market participants told Fastmarkets the cur...Read More

The outlook for US aluminium scrap prices in 2020 appears gloomy on the surface while the market in the United States remains plagued by oversupply, market sources say.But pockets of optimism remain, with some participants suggesting that prices have now bottomed out."It changes every day. One day people think [China's] going to take more product, more copper and aluminium, and the next day everyo...Read More

Crude steel production in Argentina dropped by 21.60% year-on-year in November 2019, according to recent figures from the country's steel association, Acero Argentino.Output came to 357,500 tonnes in November, against 456,000 tonnes a year earlier, the association said late last week.The performance of the main steel-consuming sectors in Argentina remained weak during the month, with the country.....Read More

Turkey has increased the import duty imposed on steel rebar, removed the duty reductions allowed on cold-rolled coil imports by producers of coated coil, and removed the duty on pig iron imports, according to the Turkish Official Gazette on December 31, 2019.According to the new regulations, the import duty on rebar is now 30%, up from the previous 10%.The 2% import duty on pig iron is now 0%.And...Read More

Happy New Year! Diamond market gaining confidence for 2020 after relatively good holiday season. Polished prices stable, supported by US and Chinese holiday demand. 1 ct. RAPI -0.2% in Dec. and -5.3% for full year. RAPI for 0.30 ct. +1.7% in Dec. due to China orders, amid positive outlook for Jan. 25 lunar festival. Hong Kong luxury weak as protesters start year with massive demonstration. Dealer...Read More

Hollow steel sections prices in Europe were unchanged this week, with trading still on pause following the Christmas break, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?590-600 ($661-672) per tonne on Thursday, unchanged since the previous assessment.Many market participants have y...Read More

Polished market quietwith very few foreign buyers in Mumbai over the New Year holiday. Manufacturersraised production since Diwali but continue to operate below capacity. Roughdemand improving amid shortage of better-quality (RapSpec A3+) goods and inanticipation of first-quarter inventory replenishment. Local jewelry marketlimited by high gold prices. RoundRead More

The price of steel H-beams across Europe remained unchanged on Thursday January 2, with many market participants not yet returning to work after Christmas, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?550-570 ($616-638) per tonne on January 2, unchanged from the previous assessment.Most market participants still remained...Read More

RAPAPORT... Israel has an opportunity to forge a new specialism in diamond synthesis as its polishing sector diminishes, according to a leading hi-tech executive and founder of a lab-grown venture.The country's once-thriving diamond-manufacturing industry has mostly shifted to India, with only a trading sector remaining, noted Benny Landa, a pioneer of digital printing and chairman of Israel-based...Read More

The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was largely unchanged on Thursday January 2, due to slow trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, was largely stable at ?,?439.17 ($492.27) per tonne on Thursday January 2, compared with ?,?439.39 per tonne on December 31.Market activity has...Read More

RAPAPORT... Last year will go down as a difficult one for the diamond industry. While manufacturers took the biggest hit with thin profit margins, tight liquidity and excess supply, miners also suffered as rough demand slumped. Plenty of global events also affected the trade, from stock-market volatility to street protests in Hong Kong.The Rapaport Weekly Market Comment is a much-read summary of s...Read More

(IDEX Online News) - The old year ended with more of a fizzle than a bang, at least where polished diamond prices were concerned. December 2019 prices started at 120.90 and ended at almost the same point - 120.93 - with a slight dip mid-month.   OutlookDemand for polished goods remained low in December, this was especially true for the larger, higher-priced items even though their p...Read More

RAPAPORT... For Andrea Hansen, a Blue Nile ad that ran during the 2015 holiday season perfectly captures the problem with jewelry retail. In it, a young man is looking at engagement rings through the window of a mom-and-pop store when a cringe-worthy salesman in a cheap suit bursts forth asking if he needs help. The gent promptly flees, and the point is made. (See video at end of article.)"Th...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Auction site eBay has released its annual "Most Interesting and Expensive Purchases" of the year list. While watches and jewelry couldn't compete with the biggest buy on the site - the 20th annual power lunch with Warren Buffett to benefit GLIDE, which sold for: $4.6 million, they put in a good show. The top-selling jewelry items included a gold ring featuring a 5.01 yell...Read More

RAPAPORT... It was another big year for big diamonds, with several stones that raked in big bucks, set records, or otherwise made headlines. These were the stones that caught our attention in 2019.Biggest money makers1. Big blueIn November, Petra Diamonds sold a 20.08-carat, type IIb, gem-quality blue diamond recovered at its Cullinan mine in South Africa for $14.9 million, or $742,032 p...Read More

Gunnison mine, Arizona. Image from Excelsior. Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) confirmed Thursday it has started mining operations at the Gunnison copper project in southern Arizona.Following a commissioning program that has been ongoing for several weeks, Excelsior received regulatory approval in late December to begin mining operations at Gunnison. Delivery of mining fluids to the copper orebo...Read More

Turkish steel mills remained quiet in the deep-sea scrap import market on Thursday January 2, with most suppliers staying out of the market due to the year-end holidays, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkey's deep-sea scrap import market has been silent since December 20, when a Baltic Sea cargo was booked at $303 per tonne cfr.Sentiment, however, has now turned negative becaus...Read More

The pig iron export market in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained in holiday mode in the week to Thursday January 2. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $320-325 per tonne on Thursday January 2, up from $315-322 per tonne a week earlier.Suppliers...Read More

* Copper resistance at 100-week moving average of $6,245 * LME copper stocks at lowest since March 2018 (Updates with closing prices) By Pratima Desai LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose towardseight-month highs on Thursday as demand expectations wereboosted by economic measures in China and optimism that theworld's top metals consumer would also sign a preliminary tradedeal with the Unit...Read More