The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity. At under $1,500 per tonne, aluminium cash prices on the London Metal Exchange are at levels last seen in 2015 and not far shy of the lows seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Estimates are that as much as half the world's smelters are now under water, meaning cuts and/or closures are inevita...Read More

Fastmarkets is suspending the publication of four monthly aluminium arbitrage calculations.The calculations are as below: MB-AL-0351 Aluminium import arbitrage, cfr Owensboro - origin LME warehouses, SingaporeMB-AL-0352 Aluminium import arbitrage, cfr Owensboro - origin LME warehouses, BusanMB-AL-0353 Aluminium import arbitrage, cfr Owensboro - origin LME warehouses, JohorMB-AL-0354 Aluminium...Read More

Howmet Aerospace is reducing costs and suspending its dividend in response to the halt of customer operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is affecting its own facilities. The company - created last week by the separation of Arconic Inc into two standalone companies - said that certain original equipment manufacturer customers in North America and Europe had suspended manufacturing ope...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers is using its mining sites in Botswana and its technology production center in the UK to help the fight against COVID-19.Debswana, the company's joint venture with Botswana, is making facilities available for the government to use as treatment or isolation centers, parent company Anglo American said Monday. It's offering two of its ambulances, and compiling databases of re...Read More

RAPAPORT... Mining at Rio Tinto's Argyle deposit in Australia is proceeding as usual, despite a lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.The company has received full approval from the Western Australian state government to continue its production operations prior to the mine's expected end of life later this year, it told Rapaport News Monday. Operations are also in full swing at Diavik, the C...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday April 6, with prices nearing the $4,900-per-tonne resistance level amid low turnover, while the tin price was supported by a fresh outflow. Copper's underlying price on the LME was recently seen at $4,892.50 per tonne, climbing from an intra-morning low of $4,841 per tonne. Turnover remains modera...Read More

RAPAPORT... The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has adopted Get Diamonds as its official trading platform, the organization's president Ernie Blom told Rapaport News. The WFDB's executive committee agreed in a Zoom meeting on Sunday night to support the platform, which until now has been run by the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE). That includes funding its development and preparing a...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Monday April 6, as were gold and silver prices.Continued declines in the daily Covid-19 death tolls reported in Italy and France have lifted hopes that the virus can be brought under control, as seen in China. China's financial markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday, but other Asian-Pacifi...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Billionaire British jeweler Laurence Graff has launched a perfume range inspired by his 302.37-carat emerald-cut Lesedi La Rona diamond.A collection of six fragrances are being sold in bottles shaped like the iconic stone at $340 for 100ml.Mr Graff, 81, paid $53m in 2017 for a rough 1,109-carat stone discovered by Lucara at their Karowe Mine, in Botswana. It was the world'...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' average selling price fell 6% to $1,615 per carat in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, the company said Monday.The miner brought in $6.7 million from its second flexible tender of large, high-quality rough from the Let??eng mine in Lesotho. The first flexible tender yielded $12 million. The company also sold $7.8 million during the quarter at...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Anglo American, parent company of De Beers, has detailed a wide-ranging package of health and social care measures for its 90,000 employees worldwide during the coronavirus crisis. It includes paying all its 47,000 employees in South Africa, during the current 21-day lockdown, and making its hospital and other healthcare facilities available to Covid-19 patients. The company is als...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining company Anglo American is going to remarkable lengths to support South Africa through the devastating Covid-19 crisis.The London- and Johannesburg-listed company, headed by Australian Mark Cutifani, is showing far-reaching corporate humanitarianism by taking firm steps to support employees, host communities, contractors, suppliers, hospita...Read More

RAPAPORT... Phillips has pushed back the date of its Hong Kong Jewels and Jadeite sale due to restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.The auction was slated for the week of May 31 to June 2 along with a number of other spring sales, including its Hong Kong watch auction, Phillips said Monday. Those events are now scheduled to take place the week of July 5."As we navigate through these...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A US jeweler who was shot in one of several robberies at his store has died of coronavirus-related complications.Randy Flatau, 70, had run Randy's Fine Jewelers, in Beaumont, south-east Texas, selling jewelry and watches for several decades.He hadn't traveled recently, but reportedly had underlying health issues.Relatives told the local KFDM TV channel he was a great man...Read More

Maximising available resources and optimising plant efficiency while minimising environmental impact is just one of the challenges that wet processing equipment manufacturer CDE continues to address.“Working in sub-Saharan Africa requires an understanding that each country has its unique challenges and advantages. We, therefore, cannot approach projects with a one-size-fits-all outlook, but...Read More

Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesAustralia-based junior IronRidge Resources takes big picture approach in AfricaSPONSOREDironridge resources Editor's Note: Mining Journal is making some of its most important coverage o...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesEditor's Note: Mining Journal is making some of its most important coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic freely available to readers. For more coverage, please see our COVID-19 hub. To subscribe to Mining Journal, click here.The Tweet said that despite the company implementing a strict epidemiological boundary a worker died d...Read More

The price of steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow declined over the past week with trading limited by concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 6.Last week, Severstal and Tula Steel, key suppliers to the region, tried to push rebar prices to 36,000 roubles per tonne cpt, citing better seasonal demand.Rebar demand in Russia slows i...Read More

Prices for flat steel products in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow declined over the past week with trading activity scaling down because of concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 6.On April 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended a stay-at-home order to help to curb the spread of Covid-19 until April 30, well beyond the original end-date...Read More

Vehicle production in Brazil fell by 21.1% year on year in March due to lockdowns introduced to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the last 15 days of the month, car manufacturer association Anfavea said on Monday April 6. Output was 189,958 units during the month, compared with 240,763 units a year before. Production also fell by 7% in comparison with February data, which was 204,200 units. Over th...Read More