(IDEX Online) - Angola's diamond trading reforms have seen a steep rise in revenue, with 120 companies now eligible to buy stock that was previously available to just eight "preferential customers".Sodiam, the state-owned diamond company, says gross revenue has averaged an 8.5 per cent increase since the new trading policy was introduced in 2018. Total gross revenue for 2019 was $1.29 billion...Read More

(IDEX Online ) - Alrosa has launched a website for its new Luminous Diamond brand, as it seeks a new market for the lower-value fluorescent stones.The Russian state-owned diamond mining company says the first jewelry pieces will be available for sale later this year, although no date has been fixed.It describes them on its website as having "inner light".Fluorescent diamonds lose 15 to 35 per cent...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has launched a new consumer-marketing campaign aimed at empowering women to buy jewelry for themselves.March Is Me Month will coincide with International Women's Day, which takes place on March 8, as well as Women's History Month. The goal of the campaign is to get women to buy themselves a piece of fine jewelry during the month, no matter the...Read More

Iron ore prices and volumes for Brazil-origin material have been affected by heavy rainfall in the first quarter of 2020, according to iron ore and steel producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN).The company has seen lower volumes of iron ore sales from its operations in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state because of poor weather in the region. It expects operations to be back to no...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices dropped on Thursday March 5, with a premium mid-volatility cargo fetching a price lower than some market participants' expectations because of concerns about the weather in Queensland, Australia.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.64, down $3.11 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $174.23, down $1.63 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DB...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe inferred resource is up 90% to 373.6 million tonnes at 0.31% copper, 58.5 grams per tonne molybdenum and 0.05gpt gold, using a 0.2% copper cut-off.Read More

A summary of the financial performance of Brazilian steel and iron-ore producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) in the fourth-quarter and full-year 2019, as reported on Wednesday March 4.In brief CSN's slab output was significantly lower throughout 2019 while its blast furnace (BF) No3 was idled for revamp work over more than three months until late October. Steel sales volumes were down in...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Thursday March 5 amid fresh concerns about Brazilian shipment volumes in the current quarter, with the traded price for the benchmark Brazilian low-alumina brand moving up during the day.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.57 per...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesChina's economic activity has reduced to the extent that there have been news reports the government asked copper producers in Chile and Peru—which supply 50% of its copper concentrates—toRead More

The United States' ferrous scrap export market has gone quiet on the East Coast amid expectations that prices will fall when the next sale to Turkey is completed.A drop in reinforcing bar prices and demand has provided enough motivation for Turkish mills to stay out of the market for now.Rebar bids in Turkey have declined to $425 per tonne fob from recent sales at $440 per tonne, one East Coa...Read More

Broad-based government action to lower interest rates and make money available to the markets have helped underpin the financial system and confidence, and that has led to some risk-on in some sectors this morning, Thursday March 5. Following on from the United States Federal Reserve’s emergency 50-basis-point rate cut on Tuesday, Wednesday saw the US House of Representatives approve an emerg...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable on Thursday March 5 although supply continued to rise, with an optimistic outlook for demand providing some support to the market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,520 yuan ($504-506) per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,300-3,310 yuan per tonne, widening upward by 10 yuan per tonneTrading...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices edged up on Thursday March 5 on strengthening demand and improved sentiment in the market.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,430-3,450 yuan ($494-497) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,280-3,330 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonneSales are gradually improving this week, with a few big traders each selling 1,000 tonnes of rebar during...Read More

Weakness in cobalt metal prices along with growing concerns of disruptions to downstream battery operations in South Korea amid an outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) are weighing heavily on the Chinese cobalt sulfate market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China was 53,000-55,000 yuan ($7,615-7,903) per tonne on Wednesday March 4, a drop of 2,000 yuan per...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 76 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 212,000 versus 219,000 last week. Actual was 216,000. Consensus for Fourth Quarter Non-farm Productivity was growth at an annualized rate of 1.4% versus a de...Read More

Benchmark prices for cobalt metal and payables for intermediates are largely holding on to modest gains made in recent weeks, with sellers happy to hold out for higher numbers, despite only cautious restocking. Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator min 30% Co, cif China held at 67-69.5% of the standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) on Wednesday March 4, where it has been since February 19...Read More

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

Mark Bristow used his keynote address at the 2020 PDAC conference to stress the importance of exploration for miners."It's geologists and exploration that drive value creation and delivery in our industry," said Bristow, president and CEO of Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD). "The need to invest in its human capital as well as the physical activity itself is pressing.""Discovery and development...Read More

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O'Regan made his first appearance at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto last week, knowing he would be under the spotlight as the new man in town from Ottawa. Since taking on the ministerial portfolio last November, O'Regan has faced a series of issues that affect the resources industries in Canada, most n...Read More

The Republic of Guinea has selected a China-backed consortium to develop blocks 1 and 2 of the Simandou deposit, which holds estimated reserves of more than 2 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore.The SMB-Winning consortium includes Singapore-based owner Winning Shipping, Chinese aluminum producer Shandong Weiqiao, China's Yantai Port Group, and Guinea-based transport and logistics firm United Min...Read More