Key pricing data from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Thursday April 16. Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia was little changed from the previous day and steady from $225.40 per tonne a week prior. But the current index level remains 24% lower than a month ago. Key drivers: Fresh deal concluded on March 15 at $225 per tonne fob Australia with...Read More
Canadian minerals company Strongbow Exploration has announced the final assays at the United Downs project in Redruth, Cornwall, after a high-grade copper-tin mineralization was discovered in a previously unmined area of the county in south-west England earlier this month.Three samples were taken at the untapped site, which was discovered by Cornish Lithium on April 7 this year. A 14.96 meter inte...Read More
Diamond industry under stress as mining, manufacturing and retail centers remain closed during COVID-19 lockdown. US government starts $2.2 trillion stimulus to help relieve liquidity pressures as new unemployment claims exceed 20 million in April. US retail sales slide -6.2% in March. China retail reopening to light traffic. Chow Tai Fook 4Q China same-store sales -50%, Hong Kong/Macau -65%. Some...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa maintained its production forecast for 2020 as the company reduced its rough-diamond stockpiles in the first quarter despite weak market conditions.The miner expects production to rise 11% to 34.2 million carats this year, it said Thursday, but cautioned that its ability to sell will depend on the coronavirus situation. "The diamond industry started 2020 in a good shape as...Read More
Australian miner Panoramic Resources has suspended activity at its domestic Savannah nickel mine in the west of the country amid the mounting pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic on operations there, the company said on Wednesday April 15. The impact of the virus has hampered transportation, the availability and cost of the site's workforce and equipment availability, the company said, adding it has...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has created a partnership with a high-end diamantaire to cut and polish a portion of rough from the Mothae mine in Lesotho.The miner sought the deal after coronavirus lockdowns halted sales of its diamonds through regular tenders in Belgium, the company said Tuesday. The diamantaire purchased 3,963 carats from Mothae for $2 million, or $505 per carat. That i...Read More
RAPAPORT... Five major watch brands have pulled out of the 2021 Baselworld show, prompting organizers MCH Group to consider the event's future.Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudorwill launch a new fair in Geneva in early April 2021 alongside the Watches & Wonders show (formerly SIHH), they said Tuesday.The five companies cited Baselworld's postponement of its 2020 edition to J...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has increased its contribution to the coronavirus relief efforts in the Yakutia region to $4.2 million, it said Wednesday.The funds will be used to purchase medical equipment and supplies, as well as personal protective gear, in Russia's Yakutia region, where Alrosa mines. The miner will give RUB 25 million ($336,425) to local hospitals in the Mirny and Lensky districts, an...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales saw the largest monthly drop ever recorded, as stores were ordered to shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Total purchases fell 6% year on year in March, and 9% compared to February, according to data the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported. The slowdown was even steeper than the 4.3% decline in November 2008, during the Great Recession. NRF based these numbe...Read More
Rebar prices in the United States declined after the Covid-19 pandemic trimmed ferrous scrap input costs and raised concerns that construction investment may become constrained. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US slid to a new range of $29-30 per hundredweight ($580-600 per short ton) on Wednesday April 15 from $29.75-30.75 per cwt ($595-615 per ton)...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond jeweler Graff will contribute $1 million to help at-risk countries stem the spread of the coronavirus.The company will give the money through its charity foundation to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was created by the World Health Organization (WHO). The funds will be used to provide essential medical supplies in vulnerable communities and to accelerate the d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canada's Renard diamond mine is to remain closed, even though a coronavirus ban on its operations was lifted yesterday. Owners Stornoway Diamond say it will remain on care and maintenance because the rough market is so depressed. The company said 540 workers would be affected and 50 would remain on site at in the James Bay region of north-central Quebec. Work was suspended at...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The future of Baselworld, the world's largest watch and jewelry event, is hanging in the balance after an exodus of five big-name exhibitors.Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor all said they were pulling out of the show - rescheduled for January 2021 because of coronavirus - in protest at the new date and refund policy.The brands they have joined...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's ailing diamond industry is appealing for government help to cover minimum wages after the country's lockdown was extended to 3 May. Production in Surat, the world's cutting and polishing capital, is at a standstill and an estimated 225,000 migrants - half of its workforce - have returned to their home towns elsewhere in Gujurat. "While wages for March have be...Read More
With declining demand, fast-falling prices and short lead times at domestic steel mills, along with already existing tariffs and quotas on imports, foreign mills interested in the US market face a dilemma: whether or not to lower their prices to match the US level, sources said.If the answer is yes, how low would the price of foreign products have to be in order to attract buyers? That...Read More
Aim-listed Vast Resources has raised £600 000 through a placing of almost 400-million ordinary shares of 0.1p in the company at a price of 0.153p apiece.The placing was undertaken by Axis Capital Markets, which was appointed as a joint broker to Vast.AdvertisementThe cash raised from the placing will be used to maintain the company’s working capital in light of the anticipated con...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe dropped day on day due to low market activity and decreasing import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 16.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?455 ($497.33) per tonne on Thursday April 16, down by ?,?8.33 from ?,?463.33 per tonne on April 15.Offers from Northern European mills hav...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – All mining operations, excluding collieries supplying Eskom which have been permitted to operate at full capacity throughout the national lockdown, may now resume at 50% capacity during the remaining lockdown days, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.Thereafter, mining capacity would be permitted to increase with a risk-base...Read More
Liberty Steel Group will temporarily idle blast furnace (BF) No2 at its plant in Ostrava in the Czech Republic at the end of April due to the drop in demand resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Thursday April 16."This will allow Liberty Ostrava to better adapt to the significant slowdown in the European steel market, by reducing hot metal production by 20% and [with] more effi...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.The coronavirus is casting a shadow across commodity markets. It has undermined China’s economic sentiment, putting the country's growth outlook at risk. The full scale and impact of the outbreak remain to be seen, but it is cer...Read More