Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent price fall in the iron ore market signals the start of a downturn, after prices averaged at the highest level in almost a year in June. A combination of both supply-related events in Brazil and demand factors in China have put pressure on prices. Vale has received permit to resume mining operations in Itabira, whi...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent announcement about Vale's resumption of operations in Brazil, along with new concerns about a slump in demand because of heavy rainfall in China, has resulted in the end of the iron ore price rally. There has also been pressure from tight steel spreads, with the operating margins for Chinese steel mills shrinking...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices climbed further last week and we expect the elevated levels to remain into the next month. In particular, further upside will come from blast furnace (BF) capacity, which was reduced in Europe, Japan and the United States and has now come back online after restrictions started to be removed. With Covid-19 spr...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices have shot up as market participants have judged the supply risks from Covid-19 higher at this point in time when there is already a tight seaborne market. Despite the efforts to ramp up, Vale is struggling to catch up with its pre-dam disaster export volumes and its slow recovery has only been hit further by...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More

RAPAPORT... Belgium's diamond trade slowed in June, with polished exports down 44% year on year to $469 million, according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). However, the rate of decline eased following heavier drops in April and May, when the global industry shut due to the coronavirus. US orders rose 4% to $173 million in June, indicating a gradual recovery as the importa...Read More

RAPAPORT... Global rough-diamond production fell 7% to $13.48 billion last year, reflecting lower output in Botswana and Canada, according to new data from the Kimberley Process (KP). Production volume slipped 12% to 130.3 million carats, while the average price increased 6% to $103.41 per carat.Russia ranked as the top producer, bucking the negative trend with an increase of 3% to $4.12 bill...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe is poised to offer a diamond stockpile of over a million carats for sale as it seeks foreign currency.It hopes to net up to $100m, according to a report in today's Sunday Mail newspaper.The Minerals and Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, which has controlled all the country's diamond sales since 1983, says it plans to hold an auction in the near future, after can...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Botswana, the world's top diamond-producing country by value, is to seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to deal with the consequences of COVID-19.The country is in economic crisis, even though the virus has claimed just one life, on 31 March, and as of today there are just 277 active cases.At least 181 confirmed cases have been tra...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesA delegation of mayors met with the mining commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Chile's lower house, to review the impact of COVID-19, and the dramatic increase in cases in the north in recent weeks.State-owned copper miner Codelco, has throttled back its northern operations, suspending its Chuquicamata smelting operation and dev...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesDrilling hit mineralisation about 40m below the 1,500-foot level of underground exploration drifts. Highlights included an interval of 4.9m grading 2.16 grams per tonne gold, 24.9g/t silver, 2.39% copper, 0.31% lead and 3.27% zinc for 6.2% copper equivalent."The resumption of our phase 1 drill programme … has continued to co...Read More

PRESCOTT, Ariz.- The Prescott National Forest today withdrew its decision to proceed with a controversial mine, the River Bend Placer Mine project, on the Hassayampa River. The withdrawal comes after the Center for Biological Diversity delivered a forceful objection to the project's impacts on the globally imperiled Phillip's agave (Agave phillipsiana), a rare plant domesticated by Native American...Read More

Looking for stocks to buy this month? Here are three suggestions of good stocks to buy now. One is a gold miner, one is in the real estate industry, and the other is a telehealth company.Eldorado GoldTo protect yourself from the unknown, you should consider buying gold stocks. Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD)(NYSE:EGO) is a good pick in this sector.This mid-cap miner has assets in Canada, Turkey, Greece, R...Read More

A little over a year ago today, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were gathering momentum. Fast forward to the summer of 2020, and Bitcoin has managed to test its 52-week highs. Before this year began, I’d suggested that investors should pour into gold rather than betting on Bitcoin or its digital brethren. Has anything changed now that we have made our way into the second half of this year...Read More

Newmont Lake project site. Image by Crystal Lake Mining via Instagram. Enduro Metals (previously Crystal Lake Mining) has announced assay results for drill core extracted by a previous operator from its 551-sq.-km Newmont Lake project in the Golden Triangle; the company also released the results of one hole recently completed at the property in British Columbia.The previously unsampled core retu...Read More