RAPAPORT... The coronavirus outbreak has threatened Lucara Diamond Corp.'s ability to hold tenders in Botswana, and had a heavy negative effect on rough prices, the company said Tuesday.The Botswana government has given Lucara permission to hold sales in Antwerp as a temporary measure, the miner noted. The country will enter a 28-day lockdown starting Thursday after recording its first three cases...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds garnered $12.1 million from the sale of rough diamonds through its new flexible tender process."The results of the initial round of the flexible tender sales process for a selection of Let??eng's large diamonds demonstrates the continued demand for these high-quality diamonds," Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick said Wednesday. "The [money] raised from the sale maintai...Read More
Teck Resources has suspended its 2020 production guidance due to the high degree of uncertainty associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and has reduced production at its Highland Valley Copper (HVC) operations to 80-85% of normal levels. The cut follows Teck's implementation of a temporary slowdown of operations and reduction of crews by up to 50% of regular levels at HVC from March 25. The measures...Read More
RAPAPORT... Emerald Expositions has canceled its Couture and Antique Jewelry & Watch shows amid restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The organizer scrapped the two events due to a government shutdown of unnecessary business operations, a moratorium on large gatherings, and travel restrictions, it said Tuesday. They were scheduled to run from June 1 to 5 alongside the JCK Las Vegas an...Read More
Thomas Hodge is the new head of London Metal Exchange average price trading at commodity broker Sucden Financial, the company said in a notice on Wednesday April 1. A specialist in quantitative approaches to trading, Hodge joins from base...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has furloughed a number of its employees to cut costs and ensure the long-term sustainability of its business."Due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 and the closure of our stores, we have moved quickly to proactively reduce expenses...to preserve liquidity," David Bouffard, Signet's vice president of corporate affairs, told Rapaport News Tuesday. "In addition...Read More
The owner of a jewelry store was shot dead during an armed raid in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Mark Vuono, aged 69, suffered a fatal gunshot wound on Saturday afternoon (28 March).It's the first homicide of a jeweler in the United States since January 2018, according to Jewelers' Security Alliance. The alarm was raised by a customer who entered the store at 2.45pm. ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds sold stones worth $12.1m at its first flexible tender sale, introduced as a result of coronavirus travel restrictions. Its sale of large, high quality diamonds from the Letseng mine, in Lesotho, should have taken place in Antwerp from 16 to 25 March. CEO Clifford Elphick said: The results of the initial round of the flexible tender sales process for a selection of Lets...Read More
(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