Switzerland-based commodities trader Werco Trade has hired metal concentrates trader Theresa Nepote as part of a push to expand the company's commercial capabilities, it said on Tuesday August 6.Nepote will join Werco as a senior trader, enabling the company to diversify into additional markets, the company said. She most recently traded zinc, lead and copper concentrates at Bluequest Resources an...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.India's renewables target of 175 GW capacity (100 GW of solar and 75 GW of wind) by 2022 is an ambitious endeavour. Even with significant cost declines, Wood Mackenzie expects about 76% of the target to be met by 2022 and this would s...Read More

RAPAPORT... The project by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) testing lab-grown detectors has expanded to melee, a segment of the market highly prone to undisclosed synthetics.The Assure program reviewed 12 machines using asample of 1,000 mined diamonds and 200 synthetics, as well as 200 diamondsimulants. The stones ranged in size from 0.005 to 0.02 carats, with D to Jcolor.Six instrumen...Read More

UC Rusal has suspended operations at Russia's biggest alumina plant in Achinsk due to a series of blasts at a Russian military base nearby, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 6.Market participants said that a fire broke out at a nearby military base and an explosion was heard, which led Rusal - the largest aluminium producer outside China - to suspend its operations at...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. will launch an exhibition in Shanghai, China, tocelebrate the greatest jewelry masterpieces it has created over its 180 years. The "Vision & Virtuosity" display, which will run from September 23 to November 10, will followthe history of some of the luxury jeweler's most iconic pieces and moments. "There are many incredible objects in the Tiffany archivesthat...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 6 that are worth another look.Lithium producer Orocobre and joint-venture partner Toyota Tsusho Corp have started construction on what will be the first lithium hydroxide plant in Japan. UC Rusal has suspended operations at Russia's biggest alumina plant in Achinsk due to a series of blasts at a Russian military base...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Comstock Resources today tightened its grip on the Haynesville basin with a US$2.2 billion cash-and-stock deal to buy privately-held Covey Park.Robert Clarke, director, US Lower 48, at global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenz...Read More

RAPAPORT... AGD Diamonds has unearthed three rough stones over 100 carats from its Grib mine in Russia, including one it claims is Europe's largest.The company found the 222.09-carat stone on May 4, and named it Vladimir Grib in honor of AGD's formerchief geologist. The second stone, found on May 3, weighs 127.34 carats. Theminer has called it Elisey Verichev, paying tribute to the AGD veter...Read More

Brazilian automotive output totaled 266,371 units in July, increasing by 8.4% from 245,641 units in the corresponding a year before, with the domestic market showing continued signs of strength, vehicle manufacturers' association Anfavea said on Tuesday August 6.New locally produced vehicle registrations totaled 218,492 units in the month, up by 14.9% compared with 190,151 units in July 2018. Grow...Read More

RAPAPORT... Development work at the Mothae mine in Lesotho has paid off for Lucapa Diamond Company, with the discovery of a 64-carat rough, the highest-quality diamond found at thedeposit to date.  The miner recovered the D-color, type IIa stone at Mothae's higher-margin southern pit, it said Tuesday. Lucapa began production in that area in the past month, following the construction of a...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Shockwaves from Tsingshan's new stainless steel hub in Indonesia are reverberating across South East Asia and beyond, according to Wood Mackenzie.“Competitively priced exports of Indonesian stainless product have provoked varyin...Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, August 6, 2019, Las Vegas ... Diamond-market sentiment was weak in July due to tight profits and liquidity. The pressures facing cutters and dealers resulted from high rough supply at inflated prices during 2017 and 2018, even as polished prices were softening.The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat polished fell 0.9% during the month. The index was down 4% since th...Read More

In May 2019, like during the four previous months of this calendar year, jewelry sales continued to suffer. Watch sales, on the other hand, have been improving though the first five months of the year, albeit in low, single digit increments. In May, the fall in sales of jewelry registered at 8.7 percent, compared to May 2018, the sharpest fall for the year. As the various graphs show, in May 2018...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Wood Mackenzie's research analysts have over 40 years' experience understanding and forecasting natural resources industry performance across exploration, extraction and production, refining and financial markets.We produce annual, ha...Read More

Based on the success of last year's 'Fly to Buy' campaign, the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) today announced that the second 'Fly to Buy' event will be held from September through December 2019. The promotion is being held in collaboration with the Israel Ministry of Economy. 'Fly to Buy' offers overseas diamond buyers up to $1,000 to cover the price of their fli...Read More

CNN Business reported that the Chinese yuan had dropped sharply on Monday to its weakest level against the US dollar in more than a decade, raising fears of further dangerous escalation in the US-China trade war. The yuan fell after the People's Bank of China set its daily reference rate for the currency at 6.92, the weakest rate since December. China's central bank sets a "band" every...Read More

Walmart's $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart last year sent the retailer to first place on the list of biggest retail and e-commerce companies in India, according to Euromonitor. E-commerce giant Amazon ranked second, and Future Group and Reliance Group placed in the top five, India's Economic Times reported. The newspaper reported that Walmart is followed by its US rival Amazon in the...Read More

FREETOWN – At the foot of a slag heap some 40 metres high, Adi Kalie Bangura showed the black welts that dot his arms and legs that he says are the result of drinking and bathing in water contaminated by Sierra Leone’s largest diamond mine.The water “makes us get headaches and feel sick in our stomachs,” said Bangura, a traditional healer and community elder in Koidu, the l...Read More

Prices for rebar imported into the United Arab Emirates have decreased over the past week, with demand only moderate although some deals were heard, sources said on Tuesday August 6.The lower price for imports was because market participants in the Middle East region will be celebrating the Eid al Adha religious holiday most of next week, so some deals were made at discount prices.Domestic rebarLo...Read More

Junior miner Lucapa recovered an exceptional, D-color type IIA gem, weighing 64 carats at its Mothae mine in Lesotho. Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall said the gem is the best individual diamond recovered to the date from the Mothae mine in Lesotho, "further underlining its status as a source of large and premium-value stones. "The recovery of this exceptional 64-carat gem also represen...Read More