The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange moved lower during morning trading on Monday January 6 despite low turnover, with price action pressured by a fresh inflow of more than 3,000 tonnes, while the LME zinc price was the most resilient over the morning period. Nickel's outright price was recently seen at $13,665 per tonne, topping morning losses with a downturn of just under 1%...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up at the close of the morning trading session on Monday January 6, with the complex partly buoyed by the return of participants following year-end holidays and positive trade headlines.But gains were mild against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the result of a United States-led airstrike killed Iranian...Read More
The global finished steel market in 2020 is set to be weighed down by a continuation of last year's weaker end-consumption rates, but there are bright spots coming in the longer term, Fastmarkets analysts forecast. In some ways, 2019 looked very similar to the year before in the world's steel markets as momentum continued to slow from the supercharged year of 2017. From an apparent consumption vie...Read More
Turkey produced 30.86 million tonnes of crude steel in January-November 2019, down by 10.36% from the corresponding period the year before, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (T???oeD).The drop in output was largely attributed to subdued end-user demand and weakening export markets for Turkish steel.The European Commission (EC) imposed definitive safeguard duties on imports of a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company earned $6.4 million from its last rough sale of 2019, bringing its total for the year to $55 million.The miner sold 3,274 carats from its Lulo mine in Angola for $3.4 million at an average price of $1,037 per carat, it reported in December. Additionally, the company sold a total of 6,617 carats of rough from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, netting $3 million at...Read More
RAPAPORT... Consumer confidence fell slightly in December, The Conference Board reported, forecasting that spending would not improve significantly in early 2020.The business-data provider's Consumer Confidence Index decreased marginally in December to 126.5 from 126.8 in November, reflecting Americans' lower short-term expectations for income and jobs. Consumers' assessment of current market...Read More
Turkey imported 549,549 tonnes of flat steel in November 2019, up by 53.15% from the corresponding month in 2018, when 358,826 tonnes arrived in the country, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said last week.The reason for the sharp year-on-year increase in imports was that Turkish flat steel imports had fallen considerably in November 2018, partly as a result of a political dispute with the...Read More
Turkish exports of flat steel products fell by 46.11% year on year to 406,321 tonnes in November 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).This compares with a volume of 753,915 tonnes in November 2018, TUIK said.The decrease was also due to the fact that Turkish flat steel exports had increased by 139% year on year in November 2018.Coated flat-steel exports fell considerabl...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers and Dominion Diamond Mines have submitted paperwork indicating their desire to expand exploration at their current projects in Canada.In a December 31 permit request to Canada's Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, De Beers noted interest in exploring 11 new targets at the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine by the end of February.Of the 11 locations, three are currently ready for drill...Read More
RAPAPORT... Nonprofit organization Mercury Free Mining (MFM) will trial new equipment that may eliminate mercury in gold processing.MFM will begin scientific testing of Goldrop, a new separation process created by Sluice Goose Industries. The experiment will take place in conjunction with the Ghana National Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association (GNASSM) and the University of Miners and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong slid in November as social unrest continued to hinder inbound tourism and weaken consumer sentiment.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts fell 44% year on year to HKD 3.34 billion ($428.9 million) during the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. Sales across all r...Read More
Despite environmental issues being on the agenda, including the announced switch from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF)- to electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking process, profitability has been and will likely remain the key driver for Chinese steelmakers when it comes to choosing steelmaking raw materials, Fastmarkets analysts forecast. This has been evident in the decoupling of 62% Fe and 65...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association (IDCA) has elected Haridas Kotahwala as president to succeed the outgoing Nilesh Sheth, the organization said Friday.Kotahwala, of Royal India USA, was voted in unanimously at the New York election on November 26. Members elected Nitin Jobanputra from Sanghvi Diamonds as vice president to take over from Sujan Doshi.The board's executive c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A panel debate about the future of diamonds will take place at the upcoming Vicenzaoro January show. The debate, which has been organized by The Futurist CEO Paola De Luca, will be introduced by Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO. The speakers are designer Tomasz Donocik; Esther Ligthart, jewelry blogger and writer, David Brough, editor and co-founder of Jewellery Out...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa Diamond Company Limited said its production hit a record high in 2019. Annual production reached 49,120 carats with sales from the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho and the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola in totaling $55 million. During Q4 they produced 287 +4.8 carat diamonds, making a combined total of 1,164 such stones during the year including five diamonds sized over...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior Gibb River Diamonds has stepped up to the plate at the now defunct Ellendale diamond mine, in Western Australia, with the company accepting Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston’s offer to apply for new tenements at the project area.The Minister has also invited India Bore Diamond Holdings to apply for other tenements at the site.AdvertisementThe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The non-profit organization Mercury Free Mining (MFM) will test a new technique that could end the use of toxic mercury in artisanal gold mining. The new technique has been developed by Sluice Goose Industries and uses the Goldrop gold separating processor, which it says is significantly more efficient than traditional gold panning. The process will be tested over a 10-da...Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesProvincial governor Rodolfo Suarez issued law 9209 to reform water protection law 7722 of 2007, which effectively prohibited mining through banning the use of cyanide (used in gold processing) and sulphuric acid (used in copper processing).Suarez also announced his support for 19 mining projects including those seeking to exploit u...Read More
Turkish steel producers have returned to the deep-sea scrap markets for February cargoes with prices remaining largely stable, sources said on Monday January 6.Bookings of four deep-sea cargoes were heard after the daily indices closed late on Friday January 3.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10), 8,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in most global markets were stable in the week ended Friday January 3 amid an absence of significant spot trading activity due to the year-end festivities.Turkish market remains quiet. United States looks forward to strong start to new year. Taiwanese buyers cut bids. India continues to catch up with international markets. TurkeyTurkish imported scrap prices remained stable th...Read More