RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales rose 19% year on year to $216.7 million in August as the miner reduced rough prices to spur demand amid an improvement in the diamond market.The month saw the company's first revenue increase since February, as manufacturers sought rough goods to fill shortages ahead of the holidays. It was also the highest sales value since the start of the coronavirus crisis.Rough sale...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has received allegations of human-rights abuses at its Williamson mine in Tanzania, including claims of killings and on-site violence.Security guards at Williamson shot or seriously beat people at the mine, causing deaths and serious injuries, UK law firm Leigh Day claimed Wednesday. Most of the alleged abuses were the acts of private contractors that Petra had depl...Read More

The placement of two major operations on care and maintenance has removed around 15% of this year's forecast production of nickel used in lithium-ion batteries from the market and demonstrates how tight the market can become, the president of Giga Metals Corp said. Martin Vydra said that the Goro and Ambatovy operations, located in New Caledonia and Madagascar respectively, represent around 71,000...Read More

UNI Diamonds and IDEX, along with other data driven companies, come together to create the first fully-transparent price guide for the natural polished diamond industryThe Diamond Price Guide, secured by QEDIT's Privacy-Enhancing Technology, will be continuously updated, using real-time inventory data from industry manufacturers and wholesalersTEL AVIV: SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 - UNI Diamonds,...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond billionaire Nirav Modi would be a suicide risk if he were extradited to India, his lawyer told a British court.He would also be unlikely to get a fair trial on charges of defrauding the Punjab National Bank out of $1.85bn because his case has become so "politicized".Modi, 49, (pictured) was India's most wanted man until he was arrested in London in March 2019,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer a D-flawless diamond over 100 carats in Hong Kong next month, taking the unusual step of selling the stone without setting a reserve price.The oval-shaped, 102.39-carat, type IIa stone is one of only eight white diamonds of that quality over 100 carats ever to appear at auction, Sotheby's said Thursday. Global manufacturer Diacore cut and polished the diamond over...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported its best monthly sales figures since February, with a $216.7m total for rough and polished.Between April and July monthly sales averaged just over $30m.The recovery has been sparked by increased demand, especially in the US and China, and the company's offer to buyers of greater flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic.The Russian state-owned miner said last...Read More

RAPAPORT... August saw Belgium's first increase in polished-diamond exports for 16 months, after a long period of inactivity led to a buildup in demand."There's definitely demand and shortages in certain categories. People are buying again," Karen Rentmeesters, senior communications manager at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), told Rapaport News Tuesday.Polished shipments out of the co...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Exports of polished diamonds form Belgium were up 6.3 per cent in August, compared with the same month last year, in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.Total sales were $343m, according to figures released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) on Tuesday. Carats sold were down 8.3 per cent to 156,795.Exports were down over 50 per cent by dollar value in the first half of 2020 b...Read More

Triland Metals Singapore Pte Ltd (TMS) has appointed Nicholas Quek as its head of sales & trading, effective September 1. Quek, who joined TMS in April 2019, most recently worked at Raffemet Pte...Read More

New Day Aluminum Holdings has signed a letter of intent with Cemtech Materials Corp to supply it with bauxite residue for use in the cement production process - a deal that will have an environmentally beneficial impact, New Day said.The agreement, made through New Day subsidiary Noranda Alumina, begins in the fourth quarter and will see the bauxite residue used as the raw material for iron, repla...Read More

The three-month copper price was the standout underperformer during morning trading on Thursday September 10, after a complex-wide sell-off emerged during the Asian trading session, while LME nickel futures continued to correct firmly below the $15,000-per-tonne threshold. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $6,637 per tonne, down by more than 1.7% from Wednesday's closing pric...Read More

A rebound in the United States' Nasdaq Composite Index on Wednesday September 9 may have underpinned broader markets, but the base metals were less convinced with most ending the day in negative territory.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower again this morning.Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity index futures, exclu...Read More

Brazilian imports of flat and long steel decreased year on year in August amid increased prices in China, according to figures released by the country's economy ministry early this week.Imports of flat steel products dropped by 30.3% year on year in August, to 66,302 tonnes from 95,116 tonnes a year before. In comparison, Brazilian imports of flat steel products...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States are closing in on $27.50 per hundredweight ($550 per short ton), while some mills have begun looking to up the ante and raise prices to as much as $30 per cwt ($600 per ton).Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $27.40 per cwt ($548 per ton) on Thursday September 10, up by 1.1% from $27.11 per cwt on Wednesday Sept...Read More

Prices for domestic steel reinforcing bar in the United States rose for the first time since January, after buyers mostly accepted mills' price increases. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US climbed to $29.25 per hundredweight ($585 per short ton) on Wednesday September 9, up by 4.5% from $28 per cwt previously, where the price had remained since mid...Read More

Imported steel billet prices increased again in Egypt this week because of higher offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 10.No bookings were heard during the week, however, because of ebbing end user demand amid weak domestic construction activity, Egyptian sources said.Construction in Egypt has been slow since a construction ban was imposed in the country on May 25, which is...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipAuroch taps into further nickel potentialSPONSOREDauroch mineralsAVZ closes on financing for tier-one lithium projectSPONSOREDavz mineralsThe company is ramping up production to 1.35Mtpy milled by the second quarter of 2021 on time and on budget. An updated life of mine plan de...Read More

Turkish steel billet prices have increased this week because of the increasing scrap values, sources said on Thursday September 10.Steel billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to raise their offer prices for exports into Turkey following the recent uptick in Turkish import scrap prices, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix),...Read More

Turkish domestic long steel prices have increased over the past week on the back of firm scrap costs and a weakening Turkish lira, sources said on Thursday September 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, exw Turkey, was 4,050-4,080 lira ($541-545) per tonne, including 18% VAT, on Thursday, up from last week's 3,950-3,960 lira per tonne ex-works.M...Read More