The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
The closure of some induction furnaces in China in 2016 followed by the government's crackdown on all unlicensed IFs in mid-2017 freed up some scrap volumes, albeit arguably of low-quality material. Chinese domestic scrap prices came under pressure from the increased supply, which prevented them from keeping pace with the rise in steel and other raw material markets in the fourth quarter of 2016;...Read More
Chile state development agency Corfo said on Thursday it reached a deal with world top lithium miner Albemarle Corp in a long-running contract dispute and would not file a previously threatened arbitration suit against the U.S-based producer.The dispute centered around a contract term that requires Albemarle to provide as much as 25 percent of its annual production of lithium at a discount to comp...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 success of China's economic reform programme will have a strong influence on the metals market this year. On balance, fundamentals have improved, but geo-political concerns continue to dog the market and whispers of economic slowd...Read More
Comex copper prices sank once again on Thursday morning in the United States, with persistent bearish overtones and short-covering hampering the red metal.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.60 cents to $2.6485 per lb. "Although we acknowledge that market participants prefer to adopt a cautious stance toward copper for now,...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
Strategic & Precious Metals Processing (SPMP) expects the initial production of pure antimony metal to take place in the next week at its antimony-gold project in Oman, SPMP parent company Tri-Star Resources said on Thursday January 24. Tri-Star has a 40% equity interest in SPMP, which is constructing the antimony and gold processing facility in Sohar, Oman. The project was initially expected to c...Read More
Diamond marketsquieter than usual in January. Dealers cautious amid sluggish US post-holidaydemand. Far East orders slow as jewelersfocus on Chinese New Year sales. Decline in Chinese tourist spending sees Tiffany& Co. Nov./Dec. sales -1% to $1B. Luk Fook 3Q same-store sales -10%. JBT reports US industry shrinks 4% to 25,102 jewelers in 2018. Roughsentiment weak as manufacturers facetight prof...Read More
Dealers concerned about slower-than-normal January trading.Far East demand quiet before Chinese New Year. Selective post-holidayrestocking by US retailers. SI-I1 doing well in most sizes. Melee market stableand showing signs of improvement. Manufacturers holding large inventory andmaintaining lower polished production. RoundRead More
Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC) today stated that it is on track with the works towards a feasibility study for a potential underground operation at its 100%-owned and operated Karowe diamond mine.The Karowe mine is located in northern Botswana and hosted the world's second-largest diamond, which Lucara unearthed in 2016.According to Lucara, the $14.8-million feasibility study that would allow them to ex...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's rough-diamond production fell 7% in 2018 amid theclosure of two of its assets, the miner said Thursday. Output for the year dropped to 36.7 million carats, as thecompany was no longer carrying out open-pit mining at the Udachnaya pipe. TheMir mine, which shut in August 2017 after a flood that killed eightemployees, also remains closed. The Russian miner reported sales vo...Read More
Global miner Anglo American (LON: AAL) ended 2018 on a high note, posting strong fourth quarter production results on Thursday despite setbacks at its iron ore operations in both South Africa and Brazil.Output of copper, one of the miner's main commodities, reached a five-year high, with overall output for the last quarter of 2018 rising 7% as a result of operational changes that boosted efficie...Read More
RAPAPORT... Eddie Levian has an air of confidence as he navigates LeVian's large and loud booth at the JCK Luxury show in Las Vegas. With musicblaring in the background, he stops mid-sentence during our interview about thejewelry brand's latest collection to focus on his retail partners. "If everyone could send a happy birthday message to mybrother, who couldn't be with us at the show this year,"...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' sales volume fell 4% last year due to weakeneddemand for lower-value diamonds in the second half. The miner sold 33.7 million carats of rough, compared with 35.1million carats in 2017, as clients bought fewer of its cheaper stones, itreported Thursday. De Beers' average price for sales - excluding some sales by itsjoint-venture partners - rose 6% to $171 per carat for t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) has hired Beatrice Sturtevant as managing director, it said Tuesday. Sturtevant was previously director of operations at AlexaTranslations and business unit manager for CLS Lexi-Tech, a division of global translation firm Lionbridge. The CJA, which has more than 1,000 members, is based in Toronto. Image: Beatrice Sturtevant. (CJA)Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies will unveil itsfull-capacity, artificial-intelligence (AI) grading lab at the upcomingInternational Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI). The launch followsan initial pilot of the lab, which opened in Israel in February. Sarine hasmoved the lab to a larger facility, and has transitioned it from the pilot stageto its full-scale commercial level, the company told Rapapo...Read More
The world's top diamond producer by output, Alrosa (MCX:ALRS) and China's Anjin have been chosen by Zimbabwe's government to partner with the state-owned diamond miner in exploring and digging for precious stones in the country.According to local paper The Herald, the move is part of the Zimbabwe National Diamond Policy, approved in December last year, aimed at reviving the country's diamond indus...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 24 that are worth another look.An ad hoc coalition of more than 45 groups from various industries in the United States has called on President Donald Trump's administration to end the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada and Mexico.Chinese steelmakers' narrowing margins and improvemen...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Online diamond trading platform IDEX and the Delgatto Diamond Finance Fund (DDFF) announced today a joint initiative that will make it easier for diamond and jewelry wholesalers globally to use DDFF's services to easily access capital. The DDFF specializes in collateral-based financing for diamond and jewelry companies. "For the first time ever, the industry has a fina...Read More