Key market indices closed higher at the end of last week after the US and China signed the long-awaited phase one trade deal, ending 18 months of market tumult.The palladium price achieved a new record, breaking through the US$2,500 an ounce mark on Friday as demand continues for the metal used in autocatalysts. It was back around $2,300/oz on the spot market this morning.Its gains follow rhodium'...Read More

The figures are for the month prior to unprecedented power outages which impacted the mining industry in December. Stats SA said the largest negative contributor was platinum group metals, down 13.5% and contributing negative 3.6 percentage points.Iron ore and coal were down 7.5% and 0.7 percentage points and 2.8% and 0.7% respectively.Stats SA said "other" non-metallic minerals were a signif...Read More

Adriatic Metals PLC (ASX: ADT, LSE: ADT1) is a precious and base metals explorer and developer, with the first mover advantage, via its 100% interest in the polymetallic Vare?? Project in Bosnia & exploration deposit at Rupice. Adriatic's short-term aim is to expand the current JORC resource at Rupice, as well as conduct exploration on a number of other prospects within the property. We learned fr...Read More

Bob Moriarty of 321gold explains why he has invested in this silver explorer with a project in Colorado. Metals other than gold have finally gotten their wake-up call. Last week rhodium shot up to $7700 up from $575 three and a half years ago. Platinum broke $1000 to settle at $1027 and even silver was up.South Africa has gone the Zimbabwe route. They are murdering white farmers and set the price...Read More

Some basic logic must come to the table inthe Gold pricing mechanism. The easiest way to keep the Gold price down is NOTTO USE IT IN TRADE, NOR IN BANKING RESERVES, and to relegate it to thesidelines as the barbaric metal. Some deep amusement comes always in hearingthat Gold does not have value, does not earn a yield, and has no uses. Watchingthe destruction in bond principal value leads the obser...Read More

Chinese steel production increased in 2019 amid stronger demand from the construction sector, according to data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics on Friday January 17.2019 outputCrude steel: 996.34 million tonnes, up 8.3%Finished steel: 1.2 billion tonnes, up 9.8% ...Read More

Market participants in China say they are not worried by the expected increase in steel imports from the United States, even after the two major economic powers signed the phase one economic and trade agreement on Wednesday January 15. While the agreement does not set out the increase in quantity of US-origin steel exports China will accept, Chinese market participants do not expected the increase...Read More

Central China-based Henan Luoyang Iron & Steel is to sell its 1.04 million tonnes per year of crude steel capacity to a mill in southern China's Guangdong province, according a notice released by the Henan Industry & Information Technology Department on Tuesday January 14.Seller: Luoyang Iron & SteelLocation: Luoyang city, Henan...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday January 17 that are worth another look.Import prices of flat-rolled steel in South America made no clear trend for the past week while negotiations between sellers and buyers for March shipments intensified and put some markets under pressure ahead of the Chinese New Year break (January 24-30).Aluminium billet premiums in Brazil...Read More

The London Metal Exchange will on February 1 introduce a reporting process that will increase transparency into levels of off-warrant stocks. The exchange announced the plans in November 2019 and aims to attract more metal back in LME sheds. It is controversial, but its passage into the LME rulebook on February 1 follows a consultation last year. Some market participants are now saying the LME sho...Read More

A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More

If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More

Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More

The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday January 17 that are worth another look.Import prices of flat-rolled steel in South America made no clear trend for the past week while negotiations between sellers and buyers for March shipments intensified and put some markets under pressure ahead of the Chinese New Year break (January 24-30).Aluminium billet premiums in Brazil...Read More

RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook has acquired Enzo Jewelry, a colored-gemstone brand with around 60 retail locations in mainland China.Enzo, founded in 2004, targets "modern, sophisticated and self-confident women who demand fashionable jewelry with a highly distinctive style," Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook noted Friday. The brand aims to grow in mainland China through self-operated and franchise stores,...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has suspended its diamond-sealing service after fraudsters tampered with packets and replaced stones with treated ones. A small number of packages were "compromised" after leaving the GIA with their seals closed, the organization said in a statement Friday. The "third parties" swapped the original goods with natural diamonds that had undergone...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto expects a decline in diamond production in 2020 as it reduces output at its Argyle mine in Australia, which is set to close in the fourth quarter.The company will produce between 12 million and 14 million carats for the year, compared with 17 million carats in 2019, it said last week. The miner also expects to retrieve lower grades at its Diavik mine in Canada, further i...Read More

RAPAPORT... Richemont's jewelry sales increased 9% in the third fiscal quarter as strong growth in Europe, the US and China offset weakness in Hong Kong.Jewelry proceeds from Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati rose to EUR 2.16 billion ($2.40 billion) in the three months ending December 31, Richemont reported last week. The results were the first to include Buccellati following Ric...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto has announced its Q4 and full-year figures for 2019 with production at both the Argyle and Diavik mines down 8 percent over 2018. The miner said these results were due to lower recovered grade at Argyle, which was partially offset by stronger mining and processing rates. At Diavik, the drop was due to lower ore availability and grade from the underground operations....Read More