Slower buying activity and lower bids from customers have forced CIS wire rod suppliers to reduce their export offer prices at the end of this month, Fastmarkets learnt on Monday July 29.Russia-origin wire rod was available to foreign customers at $490 per tonne fob Black Sea, down by $10 per tonne week on week. A European trader was bidding around $485 per tonne fob. But this price was rejected b...Read More

RAPAPORT... Robyn Hawk, who authored a number of blogs on the jewelryindustry, passed away on July 16 at the age of 63 following a stroke.  Dubbing herself a "serial blogger," Hawk, who graduated fromthe Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 2009 with a degree in gemology,diamonds, colored stones and pearls, wrote for the Tucson Gem Show and postedarticles on the jewelry industry in...Read More

RAPAPORT... The war on conflict diamonds will remain at a standstilluntil the industry can agree on what constitutes systemic violence, accordingto World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) president Ernie Blom. The lack of agreement on the matter is preventing Africanproducing nations from accepting a broadened definition of conflict stones, asthey fear it might fuel unfair treatment agains...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alex and Ani has filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Bankof America, claiming its gender bias and greed have driven the jewelry company toward bankruptcy. Last year, the bank declared the company had defaulted on its revolvingloan, even though it was meeting all the terms of its line-of-credit agreement,Alex and Ani alleged in the suit, filed in a New York district court July 25....Read More

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) will soon unveil its renovated center for rough and polished diamond tenders, the bourse reported Saturday."The DDE is currently under renovation," the exchange said. "Once complete, it will be one of the biggest tender floors in the world with 40 tables, fully secured with cameras and specialist lighting for buyers to examine diamonds and precious...Read More

Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia rose over the past week after producers raised their asking prices because of high raw material costs, market sources said.The price hikes were expected because of the rise in the iron ore price, source in Southeast Asia said.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, was $118.31 per tonne on July 26, up $1.31 per tonne f...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil sellers cut prices on Monday July 29 amid weak demand, while the news that the government will exempt some companies from winter production cuts also weighed on market sentiment.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,840 yuan ($557-558) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,820 yuan per tonneSpot prices nationwide dropped following lo...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in Asia were mostly down this week due to ample supply of prompt and September-shipment materials.Fastmarkets' steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam assessment - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $510-520 per tonne cfr for the week ending Monday July 29, down $5 per tonne from $515-525 per tonne a week ea...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

Import prices for rebar in Singapore were unchanged on limited spot trading in the past week.The weekly Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis - was $485-495 per tonne for the week to Monday July 29, unaltered from the previous week.High inventory levels, especially...Read More

Avraham Eshed, a veteran Israeli diamond manufacturer, was named an Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary for the year 2019. The biennial Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary Awards aim to recognize and honor those men and women who have advanced and promoted Israel's diamond industry, at home and abroad. Eshed, who is both a manufacturer of large diamonds and high-value colored gemstones, follows i...Read More

The Angolan government hopes that the return of licenses to more than 200 companies and semi-industrial diamond mining cooperatives in seven provinces of Angola will allow for the creation of at least 20,000 jobs, Andr?? (C) Buta , the national director of Mineral Resources said.Buta, who spoke at the end of the delivery of 31 of the 81 licenses for semi-industrial exploration planned for Lunda No...Read More

RAPAPORT... Consumers prefer to shop in-store, and spend more on jewelrywhen buying in brick-and-mortar than when purchasing online, a study by Citibank's Citi Retail Services found. "As jewelry is such a personal item, buying in-store largelyprovides consumers with the confidence that comes after physically viewing andhandling a product," Leslie McNamara, chief marketing officer and head ofw...Read More

The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) said in ia recent report that in the second quarter of the year, 185 jewelry businesses had ceased operations, constituting a 21 percent drop compared to the second quarter of 2018. Among those 185 closures, 135 were retailers and 36 wholesalers and 14 jewelry manufacturers.  In general, the rate of companies closing is slowing down. JBT noted that at the end...Read More

Jewelry designers and manufacturers Alex and Ani LLC is suing Bank of America Corp. for more than $1 billion in damages and alleging discrimination. The female-led company argues that the bank fraudulently declared it in default of a $50 million line of credit last year and that it consequently is driving the jewelry firm toward bankruptcy. Bloomberg noted that this development is a "stark turnar...Read More

Despite being on the radar for many years, illegal mining remains a dangerous, unregulated concern for South Africa’s mining industry and the wider economy.Illegal artisanal mining in South Africa is among the most lucrative and most violent in Africa, and the practice is deemed one of the biggest sources of illicit gold on the continent.AdvertisementIt is estimated that about 30 000 illegal...Read More

Quality emerges at Galan's blue-chip lithium addressSPONSOREDgalan lithiumGEM analysed 194 mine development projects undertaken between 1994 and 2014 and found coal projects had the biggest overruns at 32% followed by gold at 31% and copper at 28%. In addition to cost overruns, the study found development time also overran by an average of eight months."These are associated to a mix of variabl...Read More

Joint venture partner and operator Newcrest Mining reported results from 2,800m of drilling, which extended Greatland's HAD006 from 838m to 1,216m and added two new holes, HAD010 and HAD011 had intersected high-grade mineralisation at depth.Highlights included 12m at 3.1g/t gold and 0.08% copper from 1,071m, and 52m at 7g/t gold and 0.17% copper from 1,122m, including 17m at 21g/t and 0.39% f...Read More

Look beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipThickened tailings deposition for closureSPONSOREDsrk consultingAustralian Vanadium targets growing energy-storage and steel marketsSPONSOREDaustralian vanadiumSaturn's high-grade discovery gives Apollo Hill a rocketSPONSOREDsaturn metalsMetal Tiger has agreed to invest A$500,000 for 15% of Cobre, and a further $2 million as p...Read More

Turkish steel mills have reported no bookings in the deep-sea scrap markets at the start of this week although they were still need to buy more material for August, sources said on Monday July 29.After booking four deep-sea cargoes last week, the mills stepped out of the deep-sea markets because of weak demand for finished long steel, those sources added."I believe the mills will need to buy few m...Read More