RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports dropped heavily again in May, according to Commerce Department data, with Covid-19 shutting the global market and devastating demand. May is usually the strongest month for shipments as exhibitors send goods to the JCK Las Vegas show, which was canceled this year due to the pandemic. US Trade Data for May 2020Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of rough from Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo mine in Angola plunged in the second quarter, as both the average price and carats sold fell sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic.Revenue slid 80% year on year to $2 million, the company said last week. Sales volume dropped 40% to 3,346 carats, while the average price slumped 67% to $594 per carat. The miner was unable to sell i...Read More
RAPAPORT... GemFair, De Beers' program for the artisanal sector, has partnered with two organizations on a training project to enhance mining practices in West Africa.It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft f? 1/4 r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Mano River Union, a cross-border association comprising Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Consumers in the state of Hawaii are purchasing engagement rings with an average diamond size of 1.20 carats, the largest in the US, according to Shane Co.The retailer and manufacturer, which claims to be the biggest privately owned jeweler in the US, surveyed data of its ring sales over a five-year period from 2015 to 2019. It also found the average diamond size across the countr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pair of matching heart-shaped fancy diamonds - a vivid pink and a vivid blue - fetched a combined price of $18.6m at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.The stones were sold as separate lots. It is not known if they were bought separately or by a single bidder.The vivid blue diamond is described as 5.04-carat fancy heart modified brilliant-cut diamond with VS2 clarity, m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The president of the Israel Diamond Exchange has made an impassioned plea for the government to help an industry that has lost $600m to COVID-19."We are turning to you with an urgent request to help the diamond industry, which is on the brink of collapse as a result of the coronavirus," says Yoram Dvash (pictured) in a personal letter to President Benjamin Netanyahu.He says 15,000...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A long-running dispute over the ownership of the Princie, a $40m pink diamond sold by Christie's, is to go to trial in the USA.The exquisite 34.65-carat stone was sold to the Qatari royal family in April 2013 - the highest price for any jewel sold by the auction house.But the family of the powerful Italian senator and newspaper magnate Renato Angiolillo, who died in 1973...Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe potential impact on copper supply is further aggravated by COVID-19 containment measures in place in Peru, which is restricting production there. Various mines in Chile are in collective bargaining processes to establish the next three-year agreements with workers. With many unions looking to suspend work to protect their membe...Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesIts new dispersion index put global activity at 50.7 for June, up from 50.6 in May.China's figures had dropped slightly from 54.6 to 53.9.Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesMarex Spectron's global head of analytics Dr Guy Wolf said there had been "a record amount of inactive capacity" in China during...Read More
Broader markets were upbeat this morning, Monday July 13, with Covid-19, weather-related supply disruptions and the threat of a labor strike at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile driving sentiment.* US earnings seasons starts this week, so expect a pick-up in volatility...* ...expectations are for bad results, but the market's reaction will depend on how bad they are. Base metals Three-month base m...Read More
Silver equities and related ETFs (SIL) continue moving higher. First Majestic Silver (FR) moved above $14.72 Cdn. extending an intermediate uptrend. Equal Weight Global Metals ETF (ZMT) moved above $35.86 Cdn. extending an intermediate uptrend.Auto ETF (CARZ) moved above $34.23 extending an intermediate uptrend. Check Point (CHKP), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $119.67 extending an intermediate u...Read More
Wallbridge Mining's (TSX: WM) drill program at the wholly owned 85.6-sq.-km Fenelon gold project has expanded the Tabasco-Cayenne shear zones by 100 metres down-plunge. In addition, infill work continues to hit high-grades near existing underground workings around the Main Gabbro shear zones and suggests near-surface zones of gold mineralization within Area 51.With 11 surface and 13 underground ho...Read More
When I was interviewing Jon North, the founder and CEO of 79North (CNSX: TWLV), about his exploration projects in Suriname, a small country at the top of South America, he told me about the many years he had spent working in West Africa and around the Sahel region - the semiarid belt south of the Sahara stretching from Senegal to Sudan.From the time he started working on the continent with his for...Read More
Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel reported that a pipeline belonging to Norilsktransgaz, which is part of the Norilsk Nickel Group, depressurized during the transfer of aviation fuel in the vicinity of the village of Tukhard, located on the Gydanskii tundra.In a media statement, the company said that the spill poses no threats to the health of people living in the area and that crews are alrea...Read More
Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Asiamet Resources: Copper's Best Kept SecretSPONSOREDasiamet resourcesIronRidge shows its mettleSPONSOREDironridge resources The low point in the game is probably over-cautious, while the more ambitious forecasts have a touch of Buzz Ligh...Read More
Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin (TSX: CEE; LSE: CEY) said today it is looking at expansion opportunities as soaring bullion prices and the country's decision to open up its riches to foreign capital unlock opportunities.Gold prices have hit nine-year-highs of about US$1,800 per oz. in recent weeks, boosting treasuries and spurring merger and acquisition activity.Chief executive Martin Horgan sai...Read More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.96% to 26,075.30 and the S&P 500 rose 1.76% to 3,185.04 during the July 6-10 trading week. Spot gold jumped US$24.20 per oz., or 1.36%, to US$1,798.60 per ounce.Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) rose by 26.02% to US$4.02 per share following preliminary production results for the second quarter from its Greens Creek mine in Alaska, Lucky Friday in Idaho, San Sebastian...Read More
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.75% to 15,713.82 during the July 6-10 trading week. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index rose 5.06% to 95.05, and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index climbed 8.12% to 99.07. Spot gold jumped US$24.20 per oz., or 1.36%, to US$1,798.60 per oz., and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index rose 5.55% to 358.9.Steppe Gold (TSX: STGO) rose by 35.5% to $2.71 per share. The company up...Read More
The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index rose by 8.17% to finish the trading week at 684.71. Spot gold closed at US$1,798.60 per oz. on July 10, a rise of US$24.20 per oz. or 1.36%.Shares of Vizsla Resources (TSXV: VZLA) jumped by 148% to $2.50 per share. The company announced a $25 million bought deal financing with Canaccord Genuity, which will purchase 13.37 million units of the company at $1.87 per...Read More
The potential impact on copper supply is further aggravated by COVID-19 containment measures in place in Peru, which is restricting production there. Various mines in Chile are in collective bargaining processes to establish the next three-year agreements with workers. With many unions looking to suspend work to protect their members from COVID-19, negotiations are expected to be testy."In the las...Read More