(IDEX Online) - Prices for March followed a similar pattern to recent months, with no movement at all in the majority of carat, color and clarity categories and a mix of fluctuations in those which did see change. Smaller stones, (up to 0.39) both round and fancy, were at a virtual standstill.The trend among changes that were seen in the 1.00-1.24ct rounds was generally up, by around three per cen...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Capital and liquidity requirements across all the markets in which it operates are continuing to be met, Standard Bank Group FD Dr Arno Daehnke said during an investor call.Daehnke disclosed that the bank was benefitting from building up increased capital levels over the last few years in line with Basel requirements. As at December 31, the group had a...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have fallen further due to order cancellations and muted market conditions because of low oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $26.39 per hundredweight ($527.80 per short ton) on Wednesday April 1, down by 1.6% $26.83 per hundredweight on Tuesday March 31 and down by 6.8% from...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States could fall as low as $400 per short ton ($20 per hundredweight) in less than a month, despite recent efforts by domestic mills to cut production, because the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to hurt steel demand, sources told Fastmarkets.As of Wednesday April 1, a number of steel producers in the US - including U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal USA and AK Steel -...Read More

Diamond producer Lucara Diamond Corporation has implemented a crisis management strategy to protect the health and wellbeing of its employees in Botswana and Canada amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Lucara's 100%-owned Karowe mine, in north-central Botswana, remains fully operational under new measures and guidelines implemented by the Botswana government earlier this week.AdvertisementThese measures...Read More

The Brazilian branch of Toyota Motor Corp has decided to postpone the restart of its operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, following other automakers either considering or already enforcing longer idle periods in the country.Production was expected to resume at Toyota's four plants in the southeastern state of S??o Paulo on Monday April 6. After further gauging demand and availability...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesCopper production will grow by 1.9% in 2020 to 21 million tonnes, down from the 3.4% growth originally forecast by GlobalData."Production growth in China is forecast to be around 6%, which is down from the 9.6% forecasted before the outbreak. Lockdowns in Chile and Peru will reduce the output in two markets that currently account f...Read More

Dual-listed Botswana Diamonds’ wholly-owned subsidiary, Sunland Minerals, has been awarded six new prospecting licences by the Botswana government.The licence tenure is for a period of three years until March 31, 2023.AdvertisementThe licences cover an area of 4.32 km2 in the Central and Kgalagadi districts, colloquially known as the Kalahari.Moreover, the government has renewed four existin...Read More

Spain's Ministry of Industry, Trade & Tourism has finally confirmed the steel industry is considered "essential" and can continue operating, albeit at a slower pace, the Spanish steel distributors association, UAHE, said on Wednesday April 1.The Spanish government issued a royal decree on March 29, ordering the shutdown of all non-essential activities and businesses from March 30, with a rest...Read More

London-listed Gem Diamonds has raised $12.1-million during the first round of its Lets?OEeng flexible tender sales process on March 26.The Lesotho-focused miner in March launched the flexible tender sales process, following a large tender that had to be cancelled owing to travel and other restrictions imposed by various governments, including in Belgium, where the tender would have been held from...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Rockcliff said Tuesday indicated tonnes had grown 42% to 1.17Mt grading 3.Read More

The mood in the European market for hot-rolled coil has been downbeat but prices have remained stable despite limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 1.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, fell by just ?,?0.26 per tonne to ?,?472.50 ($519.73) per tonne on Wednesday, from ?,?472.86 per tonne on March 31.Wednesday's index was ca...Read More

Diamond miner Petra Diamonds reports that Peter Hill will succeed founder Adonis Pouroulis as nonexecutive chairperson as of March 31.The miner previously noted in its interim results on February 17 that additional board changes would also take place this calendar year. These include independent nonexecutive director Varda Shine assuming the role of chairperson of the remuneration committee, ...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesIndonesia's Ambassador to New Zealand Tantowi Yahya said Graeme Thomas Wall died and two Indonesian civilians were injured in the incident on Monday.He said police believed the group of eight attackers were members of an armed criminal group.Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe West Papua National...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesKatanga's subsidiary Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) agreed in December to buy land next to its mine from Gécamines and said it would pay an initial $150 million.However, Congolese prosecutors have issued an injunction preventing the company from consummating the deal until the investigation, announced in December, has concluded...Read More

Stainless steel scrap dealers and processors in the United States are now concentrating on keeping employees safe and healthy while stainless prices continue to fall on weaker demand and market uncertainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic."The focus here has been on staying healthy while trying to continue operations," one dealer said.So far, most pricing respondents have indicated that many peddler ope...Read More

Brazilian miner Vale is seeking alternatives to waste disposal at its Brucutu iron ore mine to produce at 80% capacity this year, up from 40% currently, the company said on Wednesday April 1.The mine is located in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, with capacity to produce 30 million tonnes per year of iron ore.The Brucutu mine used the Norte/Laranjeiras tailings...Read More

China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was released earlier on Wednesday April 1; it rebounded to 50.1 in March from 40.3 in February, which supports the rebound in the official PMI data released on Tuesday - another sign that purchasing managers reported conditions were just “better” in March than they were a month earlier.But the same was not true in Ja...Read More

The direct-reduced (DR) iron pellet market is under pressure due to depressed steel demand resulting from global Covid-19 quarantine measures, while negotiations on the premium for second-quarter shipments continue. Fastmarkets' assessment of the iron ore DR-grade pellet premium, Middle East reference, was at $30 per tonne on Tuesday March 31, down by $1 from $31 per tonne on Februa...Read More

Turkish steel producers remained quiet in the deep-sea scrap import markets while suppliers were unwilling to sell at current price levels, sources said on Wednesday April 1.The mills were mostly shunning scrap purchases because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, which brought steel trade to a halt and caused mills to close or cut production.After several steel mills in the Izmir region were...Read More