Brazilian flat steelmakers were ready to announce to distributors an increase in their prices for early October, because of reduced competition from imported material, according to national flat steel distribution association Inda.Producers were announcing a 10% price increase to remove discounts that have been granted to domestic buyers, according to Inda president Carlos Loureiro."By October 7,...Read More

RAPAPORT... An emerald and diamond bracelet by Graff fetched more than four times its highestimate at Bonhams, leading an auction that saw many pieces crush presale estimates.  The piece, which was the subject of a fierce bidding war,features 13 step-cut Colombian emeralds, the largest of which is 2.56 carats,interspersed with an equal number of step-cut diamonds. It sold to a privatebuy...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC) has unveiled aredesigned diamond exchange, featuring the world's largest diamond-tradingfloor and special windows that will enable it to hold ruby and sapphiretenders. The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), located in Almas Towers, nowhas 41 tables, fully secured with cameras, as well as special lighting thatallows buyers to examine diamonds an...Read More

RAPAPORT... A Cartier twin sapphire and diamond ring fetched more than double its low estimate at Skinner Auctioneers. The piece, which was created in the 1950s, features twoKashmir sapphires weighing 5.34 and 4.91 carats, and tapered, baguette-cutdiamonds. It sold for $873,000 at the September 17 Important Jewelry sale inBoston against a presale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. Skinner als...Read More

RAPAPORT... WD Lab Grown Diamonds has appointed jewelry-industry veteranSue Rechner CEO. She will be responsible for growing the brand and expandingthe company's market reach. Rechner, who held executive roles at Movado, FrederickGoldman, Citizen and Seiko, was most recently global president of outdoorfootwear and apparel brand Merrell. She will succeed founder Clive Hill, whowill continue to...Read More

The DMCC has unveiled the redesigned Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) in the Almas Tower. The DMCC says the redesigned trading floor is the largest in the world.The new facility has 41 tables, secured with cameras, state-of-the-art technology and specialist lighting and can host 200 buyers at once. Although it is designed for diamond trading, the old tinted windows have been replaced by white crystal...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales fell 22% year on yearto $569,059 in the second fiscal quarter amid production of smaller,lower-quality stones. The company sold 3,760 carats, including a 20.66-caratgem-quality rough, for an average price of $151 per carat during the periodending September 30, it said last week. Although the volume of sales from its Krone-Endora at Venetia proj...Read More

RAPAPORT... Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has led a $20 million investment in technology company Everledger, which provides blockchain services to the diamond industry.Everledger will use the money from the Series A funding round to finance its growth. The company, whose clients include G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab, Chow Tai Fook and Hari Krishna Exports, alsoreceived investments from Graph...Read More

Steel H-beam prices in Europe were unchanged this week but recent feedstock price falls have caused uncertainty which is delaying further buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 25.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?560-600 ($616-660) per tonne on September 25, unchanged week on week."The market is more than quiet. So...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Alrosa Diamond Inspector, the first portable Russian instrument for diamond verification, has received high results in the ASSURE testing program run by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA). The testing was carried out by UL Verification Services, Inc., an independent laboratory in the U.S. The DPA program is designed to standardize the effectiveness of tools and specia...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) has high expectations for its final auction of the year. The corporation sold 316,000 carats at its most recent tender. In the next sale, which is anticipated for November, according to The Herald, MMCZ hopes to sell 400,000-500,000 carats of goods. While Zimbabwe expects to almost double its production this year - 4.1...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The lab-grown diamond sector continues to strengthen its leadership. WD Lab Grown Diamonds has appointed Sue Rechner, former global president of Merrell, as its CEO.Read was also president of Victorinox Swiss Army and CEO of Victorinox Swiss Army Watch and has leadership experience with global brands such as Movado, Seiko, Citizen and Frederick Goldman."I see WD as a leading force...Read More

Botswana Diamonds, together with its associate Vutomi, has signed a contract mining and processing agreement with Eurafrican Diamond Corporation (EDC) to mine and process the diamond-bearing gravels and residual stockpiles on a portion of the Marsfontein farm, in Limpopo.Botswana Diamonds chairperson John Teeling indicated that partnering with EDC paved the way for commercial production to restart...Read More

London-listed Petra Diamonds has recovered a 20.08 ct blue gem-quality Type IIb diamond from the Cullinan mine, in South Africa's Gauteng province."Today's recovery not only demonstrates the quality of Petra's asset base, as the Cullinan diamond mine remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds, but it again confirms the prevalence of exceptional stones in the Cullinan orebo...Read More

Stellar result for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxThe event heard from a mixed of big producers and "smaller … underappreciated base metals miners", host Jefferies said.The bank's analysts said management teams from Freeport McMoRan, Anglo American, Vale, Teck, HudBay Minerals, Ivanhoe Mines, OZ Minerals, KAZ Minerals, Lundin Mining, Ero Copper, Taseko and Northern Dynasty Minerals expressed a genera...Read More

Stellar result for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxProject manager and 50.79% owner of TRQ, Rio Tinto, had flagged a cost blowout and delays to the US$5.3 billion underground expansion in July due to challenging ground conditions.Read More

Stellar result for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxThe company said the accident involved a civil contractor at a surface cement batching plant.Ivanhoe said the Kamoa-Kakula project had gone more than 7.5 years without a lost-time injury and this was the first fatality.Stellar result for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarx"We are all deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life at the Kamoa-Kakula project and our thoughts a...Read More

Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for November shipments, confirming another downturn in the prices, sources said on Wednesday September 25.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $228 per tonne, 15,000 tonnes of shredded at $233 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $238...Read More

The physical iron ore markets were largely inactive on Wednesday September 25 because of a key industry conference in China and the current restrictions on that country's steelmakers.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.34 per tonne, down by $0.49 per tonne62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.73 per tonne, down by $0.49 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao:...Read More

The seaborne coking coal market gained some strength on Wednesday September 25, with bids for cargoes to be loaded in the last two months of this year emerging above prevailing transaction prices.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.60 per tonne, up $5.41 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $153.98 per tonne, down $1 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.50 per tonne, unchange...Read More