(IDEX Online) - Lucara Diamond Corp. has recovered an unbroken 549-carat white diamond that it says is of "exceptional purity." The stone was recovered from the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana.The huge find follows the recent recovery of a gem-quality 176-carat stone from the same ore block - the EM/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe. It also delivered other high-value diamonds including the 1,758-carat...Read More

Diamond miner Lucara Diamond Corporation has recovered an unbroken 549 ct white diamond "of exceptional purity" from its Karowe mine, in Botswana.The diamond was recovered from direct milling of ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe. This follows the recent recovery of a gem-quality 176 ct diamond from the same ore block.AdvertisementThe EM/PK(S) continues to produce large...Read More

MOSCOW - Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest diamond mining company, will hold its March auctions in Moscow and Israel after Hong Kong postponed two jewellery shows because of the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Wednesday.Demand for diamonds in China, the world's second-largest market after the United States, had already weakened last year because of trade tensions and democ...Read More

Expectations of robust steel mill restocking have been tempered by demand fears that have knocked iron ore prices by over 10% since before the holiday, but big questions remain about ex-China supply factors such as risks to Brazilian production.Supply and stocks The wider iron ore stock situation is key here: Concerns about seaborne supply resume.  Heavy rainfall and mining issues a...Read More

Turkish steel mills have started to show more interest in deep-sea scrap cargoes following the latest drop in prices, sources said on Thursday February 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $260 per tonne, 3,000 tonnes of shredded at $265 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $270 per tonne cfr. The previous U...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesWoodMac's best case scenario is that demand from this sector would be delayed to later this year. "As a result, we believe that there is now a significant downside risk to our forecast of 0.9% Chinese total copper consumption growth for 2020."China accounted for about 47% of the total global copper consumption in 2019.Artemis all s...Read More

Prices are steady so far since domestic supply constraints and disruptions to seaborne availability have been counterbalanced by demand-side weakness from lower steel output. Supply and stocks Containment measures for the virus have delayed the restart of domestic China coking coal mines after the Chinese New Year holiday, curbing domestic availability.  Supply from Mongolia, that sells...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe copper-zinc project has a measured and indicated 17.26 million tonne resource at 2.61% copper-equivalent and a 10.71Mt inferred resource at 1.67% Cu-eq. Kutcho said metallurgical results last year had improved on the copper and zinc recoveries compared with a 2017 prefeasibility study and the silver recovery also improved....Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Thursday February 6 amid concerns that a new cyclone will affect shipments from Western Australia, while Chinese port prices fell because of limited spot demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.17 per tonne, up by $1.86 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.50 per tonne, up by $2.35 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr...Read More

Seaborne coking coal market was largely quiet on Thursday February 6, although Canadian miner Teck Resources said it was expecting to sell fewer cargoes in the first three months of this year.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $150.65 per tonne, down $0.04 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $158.85 per tonne, down $0.21 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01...Read More

South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel reported an almost 70% decline in operating profits in 2019 amid tightening margins between its raw materials buying prices and steel sales prices.In brief Operating profit of 331.3 billion Won ($277 million) in 2019, down by 67.7% year on year. Consolidated sales of 20.55 trillion Won, down by 1.3% year on year. Profits fell more sharply than sales due to raw...Read More

The broad-based rally across markets continues with investors focusing more on the improving economic data than they are on the uncertain economic impact of the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Claims by Chinese media that a treatment for the virus had been found fueled the rallies yesterday, but the World Health Organization talked down the news.Asian equity indices up either side of 2% this mornin...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to drop on Thursday February 6 on thin trading, which forced some mills to put more focus on exports to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,570-3,580 yuan ($511-512) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,270-3,280 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward by 20 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said he had sold sev...Read More

China's rebar prices were flat on Thursday February 6 amid inactivity, though some optimism emerged following the Chinese government's announcement of import duty cuts for certain products from the United States. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,360-3,400 yuan ($481-487) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, unchangedChina will halve its 5% and 10% tariffs on $75 bil...Read More

U.S. equity index futures continued to move higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 11 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 215,000 versus revised 217,000 last week. Actual was 202,000. Consensus for fourth quarter Productivity was an increase of 1.2% versus a decline...Read More

Weak demand for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China is expected to hit domestic Chinese cobalt prices and could see Chinese demand for imported hydroxide fall. But, seaborne prices for processed materials could become tight because China is the world's largest processor of cobalt, some of which is exported. Supply and stocks Production halts (Mutanda) have caused concern about tightness, but...Read More

China imported 1,623 tonnes of cobalt metal in 2019, up 54.6% from 1,050 tonnes in 2018, according to official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets. Fourth-quarter shipments totaled 527 tonnes, up 24.3% from 424 tonnes in the third quarter and up eightfold from 58 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018. Chinese appetite for seaborne cobalt metal grew in 2019 due to a narrowing of the import arbi...Read More

Tight spot availability, mainly resulting from the extended Chinese New Year holiday, as well as transportation disruptions during the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak have underpinned the cobalt sulfate price in China. Fastmarkets' price assessment of cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China rose to 52,000-53,000 yuan ($7,456-7,600) per tonne on Wednesday February 5, up 4% from 50,000-51,000 yuan per t...Read More

Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works,...Read More

A summary of the financial results for Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu for the fourth quarter and full 12 months of its 2019 financial year.In briefThe company noted the effects on its earnings of "exceptionally low deliveries across all business areas" and high nickel prices.High import volumes as a result of US trade wars were blamed for the struggles of the European market and the intens...Read More