The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange continued its sell-off at the close of trading on Wednesday November 13, recording moderate turnover, while tin's outright price teased a break below nearby support.Zinc futures on the LME closed at $2,422 per tonne on Wednesday, the lowest closing price for the metal since October 16. Turnover was broadly average at just over 7,400 lots exch...Read More
Global zinc premiums were left with little room to maneuver against exchange-stock drawdowns and high import losses this week, while persistent backwardations in the metal's forward curve kept spot trading opportunities minimal. New Orleans LME warehouse stocks are at an all-time low but this failed to support the US zinc premium due to bad demand. High import loss leaves Chinese zinc marke...Read More
Premiums for full-plate nickel cathodes in China declined in the week to Tuesday November 12 as import arbitrage margins shrank, while in Europe premiums were flat and in the United States briquette premiums edged up. Asian nickel premiums drops; arbitrage profits shrinkUS briquette premium up at lower end, while plate premium holds firmEuropean market subdued on lack of physical appetite despite...Read More
SASKATCHEWAN - Forum Energy Metals reached an agreement with Orano Canada whereby it will grant to Orano a series of options to acquire up to a 70% interest in the Fir Island uranium project on the northeast margin of the Athabasca Basin.In a press release, the firms said that Orano has to spend $6 million on the property on or before Dec. 31, 2023, to earn the full 70% Interest. Prior to this, th...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is seeking to launch a new cash-settled main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium contract settled against a Fastmarkets price, the exchange said on Wednesday November 13.The contract, which will be settled against the monthly average of Fastmarkets MB's aluminium P1020A spot cif MJP price, is likely to be launched in the second half of 2020, subject to regulatory appro...Read More
Chinese copper smelters will continue to lead benchmark copper concentrate negotiations despite approaching Japan's Pan Pacific Copper (PPC) to negotiate the annual deal from a stronger position, sources said. During late-October's LME Week, talk emerged that Chinese smelters would accept an agreement set by PPC, Asia's largest copper smelter outside China, if it settled a number earlier than duri...Read More
Steel producers in Turkey expect output to increase in the last quarter of 2019, the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (T???oeD) said on Wednesday November 13.Turkey produced 25.29 million tonnes of crude steel in January-September 2019, down by 10.09% from 28.12 million tonnes in the corresponding nine-month period of last year.This meant that Turkey recorded the highest rate of decrease among...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the Southern Europe domestic market was unchanged this week but market participants expect increases in the near future because of significantly higher ferrous scrap costs, they told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 13. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?455-465 ($501-512) per tonne on Wed...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the Northern Europe domestic market continued to move up this week with mills seeking to reflect rising scrap costs in their rebar sales, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 13. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?475-485 ($523-535) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?10 per tonne wee...Read More
Export billet prices from Iran have surged in the week to Wednesday November 13 with mills starting sales of their January-rolling material, Fastmarkets has learnt.Last week, several cargoes of January-rolling billet were reported sold to traders within the range of $360-365 per tonne fob for further sale to Asian markets."There is very little tonnage left now from the January allocation,"...Read More
RAPAPORT... Australian jeweler Michael Hill has launched a line oflab-grown diamond engagement rings priced at up to AUD 15,999 ($10,920), in aneffort to appeal to a larger consumer base. "We understand that our customers appreciate having genuineoptions when it comes to diamond jewelry - so now...customers will have anadditional choice in diamonds," the company said. The collection, which c...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' November sales totalled $390 million, the highest for five months, as the roughmarket stabilized and the miner reduced prices to trigger demand.Proceeds from the ninth sales cycle fell 12% compared with the equivalent period last year, the company reported Wednesday. The figure includes lastweek's sight in Gaborone, Botswana, as well as auction sales.The slowdown was less pro...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has appointed Jeffrey Post and Tammy Storino as governors to its board, to help steer the organization's mission andstrategic initiatives. Post, a research geologist at the SmithsonianNational Museum of Natural History, is also the curator-in-charge for themuseum's National Gem and Mineral Collection, the GIA said Tuesday. He hasserved as...Read More
RAPAPORT... In a jam-packed program, the Dubai Diamond Conference set the stage well for its main bout: finally, a match-up between the lab-grown and mined diamond producers. At its core, the debate among panelists in the discussion titled "Market Disruption - the Advent of Lab-Grown Diamonds," boiled down to one fundamental question: What makes a diamond valuable? In one corner, representing the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has welcomed two new members to its Board of Governors. They are Dr. Jeffrey Post and Tammy Storino.Dr. Post is a research geologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and is also the curator-in-charge of the museum's National Gem and Mineral Collection.He has also served as chairman of the department of mineral science...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today said it provisionally sold $390 million worth of rough diamonds at its ninth Sight of the year, which took place earlier this month.This compares to sales of $442 million in 2018. Sight 1Sight 2Sight 3Sight 4Sight 5Sight 6Sight 7Sight 8Sight 92019$500 M$496 M$581 M$416 M$391 M$250 M$287 M$297 M $390 M (provisional)2018$672 M$563 M$524 M$554 M$581 M$533 M$50...Read More
RAPAPORT... A fancy-deep-blue diamond ring by Moussaieff fetched nearly$12 million at Christie's Geneva auction Tuesday, becoming the most expensivepiece of jewelry sold this season, the company said. The rectangular-cut, 7.03-carat, VVS2-clarity stone sold toa private collector for $11.6 million, against a presale estimate of $10million to $14 million. In total, Christie's garnered $55.3 mil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds PLC has announced the recovery of the first diamonds from diamond-bearing gravels and unprocessed stockpiles surrounding the Marsfontein Mine. The stockpiles are believed to contain commercial-grade diamonds."I am delighted with the rapid progress the team has made on-site and it is noteworthy that the first diamonds were recovered within two...Read More
RAPAPORT... A rare fancy-deep-grayish-blue diamond ring with a highestimate of $8 million is set to lead Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels sale in NewYork next month.The cushion-cut, 7.55-carat, type IIb, SI2-clarity stone,called the Indian Blue, is valued at $6 million to $8 million, and displays ared phosphorescence typically found in diamonds from the Golconda mine inIndia, or from South Africa...Read More
HARARE – Zimbabwe will vigorously enforce a policy to force companies to develop their mining assets and not keep the land for speculative purposes, mines minister Winston Chitando said on Wednesday.Chitando said some investors had not developed gold and platinum assets that they had held dating back to the 1960s and the mines ministry had asked some companies to justify why they should keep...Read More