As of Thursday March 19, more copper, zinc and lead producers have reduced or halted operation in light of the rapidly changing conditions arising from travel restrictions in place across South American countries.Fastmarkets has summed up the latest list of disruptions and developments in South American base metals:Chile, the biggest copper producing country, restricted travel into the country and...Read More

US hot-rolled coil prices are in a holding pattern as the market waits for the shock of automotive plant shutdowns to spread across the steel supply chain.Fastmarkets' steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.40 per hundredweight ($568 per ton) on Thursday March 19, up 0.6% from 28.23 per cwt one day prior but down 2.4% from $29.09 per cwt a week earlier.Inputs were received...Read More

Tata Steel Europe will cut its steel output in the UK and the Netherlands to address the reduced flat steel demand in Europe, the company said on Thursday March 19.Widespread operational stoppages among EU car manufacturers have affected the demand for flat steel, and increasingly more steelmakers are either stopping or cutting their output.Tata Steel has already made production adjustments at som...Read More

Automotive manufacturers in Europe have announced temporary production shutdowns at sites across the continent because of the problems being created by the measures taken by governments to restrict the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.On Wednesday March 18, BMW, Toyota and Jaguar-Land Rover listed their sites that were intended for closure, while previous shutdowns included Groupe PSA,...Read More

Steel billet import prices in Egypt fell in the week to Thursday March 19, but there was no resulting pick-up in demand, sources told Fastmarkets.The spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Egypt has caused trade to decrease significantly, and many offices have been closed, sources told Fastmarkets.As of March 19 there were 210 confirmed infections in Egypt, with si...Read More

Diamond markets under pressure as coronavirus pandemic spreads economic crisis and reduces demand. Declining stock and commodity markets rattle consumer confidence. US retail shutting down as Tiffany & Co., Macy's, Saks, J.C. Penney close stores, signaling dramatic shift to digital stay-at-home economy. Polished trading stalled due to travel restrictions and fear of falling prices. JCK Las Veg...Read More

Prices in the Commonwealth of Independent (CIS) export billet market slumped on Thursday March 19 following the sharp drop in import steel scrap prices in Turkey a day earlier.Russia's Abinsk Electric Steel Works offered billet at $360-365 per tonne fob Black Sea, against $390-392 pertonne heard earlier in the week, while other CIS-based mills adopted a 'wait-and-see' mode."We are not offering at...Read More

RAPAPORT... New York's Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) has shut due to the coronavirus outbreak in the US, the organization said in a note to members earlier this week."We do not take this action lightly, but our first duty is to protect our members and our community," the notice read.The move, effective March 16, followed consultations with state and local medical and legal professionals and with...Read More

(IDEX Online)- Lucapa has recovered a top-quality 64-carat from its Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho.The Australia-based miner says it's a D-colour Type IIa gem. It brings to 12 the number of +50 carat diamonds recovered from the mine since commercial production started in January 2019. There have also been three +100 carat diamonds from Mothae, which yielded over 30,000 carats in...Read More

RAPAPORT... Luk Fook expects a sharp fall in both revenue and profit for the full fiscal year amid a lockdown in all its major markets due to the coronavirus."Based on...data for...January and February, and the preliminary assessment of the operational situation in early March, there will be an acute drop in the revenue for the fourth quarter," the retailer said Wednesday. "It is therefore hi...Read More

JSE-listed Basil Read’s mining arm Basil Read Mining subsidiary Blasting and Excavating (B&E)has entered into a partnership with India- based original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) Revathi Equipment and other local partner Paramount Tracks to acquire several C650 autonomous drills.“We are taking a step forward to introduce specialised technology to limit safety risks for our most im...Read More

RAPAPORT... Prices at Gem Diamonds' latest small-stone tender dropped 18% versus its previous sale in November due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic crisis, the company said Thursday."The results of the Let??eng small-diamond tender are resilient given the difficult circumstances under which the tender was held, caused by the ongoing COVID-19 situation," said Gem Diamonds CE...Read More

(IDEX Online)- Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds has postponed its March sale of rough stones because of coronavirus.Antwerp, where it sells its stones, is today introducing drastic measures to halt the spread of Covid-19, which include the closing buildings and commercial sites.Mountain Province reported an "exceptional year of production" in 2019 at Gahcho Ku?? (C), in Northwest Territor...Read More

London-listed Gem Diamonds has had to cancel its Letšeng large tender, owing to travel and other restrictions imposed by various governments, including in Belgium, where the tender would have been held from March 16 to 25.In its place, Gem has launched a “flexible direct sales process” for these large and high-quality diamonds that had seen significant demand during the tender v...Read More

(IDEX Online) - AGS Laboratories has suspended all diamond grading for a month, because of coronavirus.The facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been forced to close in a bid by the state governor to halt the spread of Covid-19.All "non-essential businesses" are included in the closure order, which became effective yesterday and which will remain in place for at least a month.The lab, founded in 1996...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa, Petra Diamonds and Lucara Diamond Corp. are among the companies putting special procedures in place in preparation for a possible coronavirus outbreak, while still continuing operations at their mines.Alrosa, which has not had any cases of infection among workers, is requiring all employees returning from abroad to adhere to a two-week home quarantine, with a commitment to...Read More

RAPAPORT... Indian banks have agreed to offer special concessions to diamond exporters to help them deal with late payments resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.Companies will have extra months to repay loans they take to fund overseas shipments, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said in a note to members on March 13.Exporters' ability to recover payments from custom...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 64-carat, high-quality stone from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, it said Wednesday.The D-color, type IIa diamond is the 12th over 50 carats the miner has unearthed since reaching commercial production in January 2019. The deposit has also yielded three stones over 100 carats, including a 220- and a 127-carat diamond, which were discovered in Nov...Read More

(IDEX Online)- De Beers plans to go ahead with its third sight next month, despite a travel ban to Botswana, where the sales are held.Flights from 18 high-risk countries - including China, India and Belgium  - have been banned in a move aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus.Many of the 80 sight holders will struggle to attend and may send representatives or buy blind at the sight, which...Read More

RAPAPORT... The American Gem Society (AGS) has canceled its Conclave amid gathering restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic."The decision was made in light of a national state of emergency that was declared on Friday of last week and amidst growing concerns of the...outbreak," the organization said Monday.While AGS will not reschedule the event, which was slated to take place in Denver,...Read More