The Angolan government is to launch a public tenderprocess during the remainder of this year for five mining concessions. These will be for diamonds, iron-ore and phosphates. This was announced late last month by the country’s Mineral Resources and Petroleum Minister, Diamantino Azevedo, during a visit to the city of Moçamedes (capital of Namibe province), the Macauhub news agency rep...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale is operating at capacity for 340-345 million tonnes per year of iron ore production following the restart of its Brucutu mine and partial resumption at Vargem Grande, ferrous director Marcelo Spinelli told analysts and investors during a conference call on Thursday August 1.Meanwhile, the company is working with Brazilian mining agency ANM to further increase output through dr...Read More
The gender gap in the mining industry will widen if it does not invest in attracting more women to associated careers, in view of the quickly evolving roles and skills required by the industry, particularly owing to Industry 4.0, says diamond company De Beers Group.“There is no doubt that the mining industry will benefit from being more diverse and inclusive, as this leads to greater resilie...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) down by 20.05% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, in a statement late on Wednesday July 31.The fall in earnings was because of provisions made to pay reparations for a tailings dam disaster, although these were partially compensated by higher iron ore prices.Vale's adjusted Ebitd...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds saw a decline in sales during its fiscal fourth quarter due to a drop in demand for small, lower-value diamonds that make up the bulk of its supply.The company reported sales of $12.7 million for the three months that ended June 30, representing a decline of 32% from the previous year. Sales for the fiscal year fell 9% to $56.9 million, according to Rapaport rec...Read More
HARARE – Zimbabwe will repeal its indigenisation and economic empowerment legislation dealing with ownership of foreign-controlled companies and replace it with a new empowerment law, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.Addressing parliament, Ncube also said foreign investors can now take majority stakes in the platinum and diamond sectors.AdvertisementThe empowerment law ado...Read More
Low-price transactions amid "panic selling" drove down market levels for premium hard coking coal on Thursday August 1. Deals were concluded at $169-170 per tonne cfr China for premium mid-vol brands late on July 31, while another trade involving similar materials took place at $167 per tonne cfr on Thursday, according to sources. Those compared with a trading level of $180 per tonne cfr heard for...Read More
TSX-V-listed junior Tango Mining, which operates the Oena diamond mine in South Africa, will sell its metallurgical coal and mining projects to focus on its diamond properties, it announced on Tuesday.The company owns a 74% interest in each of Kwena Mining Projects, Kwena Mining and Metallurgical Services and Kwena Springlake Projects.AdvertisementTango will sell the Kwena group to a director, Kev...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Thursday August 1, tracking a downtrend in the futures market.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $115.68 per tonne, down $1.47 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $114.18 per tonne, down $1.47 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $115.88 per tonne, d...Read More
Fastmarkets is extending until August 31 the consultation period for its proposal to launch a daily containerized steel scrap cfr Vietnam assessment.Fastmarkets made this decision because responses to the original consultation so far could not definitively define the liquidity of a daily spot market and its suitability for a daily price assessment.The proposed specification is as follows:Assessmen...Read More
The iron ore market continued to trend upward in July, with prices for 62% Fe materials rising to $120-per-tonne levels, which have not been seen since February 2014. Steady demand for steel products sustained prices for iron ore, and even production curbs in China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan implemented last month to improve air quality did not reverse the direction of the market, several sourc...Read More
Equities sold off after the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) suggested that its rate cut was simply a mid-cycle adjustment rather than the start of monetary easing; the US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 1.23%. Metals followed equities lower but better Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data may provide support; China’s Caixin PMI climbed...Read More
Stainless steel prices in East Asia declined over the past week with demand remaining sluggish after producers raised their offers in response to a strengthening nickel market.For instance, Yieh United Steel Corp (Yusco) and Tang Eng Iron Works - two major mills in Taiwan - announced at the end of July that they would increase their offers for grade 304 stainless hot-rolled and cold-rolled product...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters lowered their offers on Thursday August 1 amid a declining domestic market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,810-3,820 yuan ($553-555) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,810 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices dropped even though mills kept their official ex-works prices steady, with trading activity reported as being thi...Read More
Weakening demand coupled with declining futures weighed on China's rebar prices on Thursday August 1. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,920 yuan ($562-568) per tonne, down 20-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,820-3,850 yuan per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneRebar demand in the construction sector continued to drop due to bad weather. Rain has been forecast over la...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Thursday August 1, with zinc futures topping losses with a 2% price drop. The US Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time in a decade on Wednesday led investors to reduce risk-exposure, with commodity prices selling off as a result. Zinc's thr...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase to 213,000 from revised 207,000 last week. Actual was 215,000.Shopify advanced $23.69 to $341.57 after reporting higher than consensus second quarter earning...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday July 31 pricing session in Shanghai and London. Key drivers Cobalt hydroxide payables recover slightly in the second half of July alongside a slight recovery in cobalt sulfate prices in the last week of the month. Greater optimism in China comes from falling standard grade cobalt prices, which eases production margins. Inquiries and business both...Read More
China's imports of manganese ore from Ghana in the first half of 2019 overtook imports of Australian ore, Chinese customs figures show. China imported 2.58 million tonnes of ore from Ghana in the January-June this year compared with 2.39 million tonnes of Australian ore. In the same period of 2018, China imported 1.26 million tonnes of manganese ore from Ghana and 2.27...Read More
Advanced Metallurgical Group (AMG) reported a 53% year-on-year drop in second-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (ebitda) because of declines in vanadium and chrome prices.The Amsterdam-listed group's ebitda came in at $23.8 million, a drop from $50.7 million in the second quarter of 2018.It attributed the drop in ebitda mainly to the group's critical materials bu...Read More