RAPAPORT... Sales at Richemont's jewelry brands increased 10% in the first fiscalquarter, as lower value-added tax and customs duties drove purchases in mainland China,the luxury retailer said Thursday. Proceeds from the group's largest product category - which comprises Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels - rose to EUR 1.83billion ($2.05 billion) in the three months ending June 30. At constan...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales in Chow Tai Fook's mainland China storesgrew strongly in the first fiscal quarter, while purchases in Hong Kong andMacau slowed. Retail sales jumped 24% in mainland China in the threemonths ending June 30, with same-store sales - at branches open for at least ayear - rising 11%, the jeweler reported Tuesday. Retail revenues in Hong Kongand Macau fell 6%, while same-store sales sl...Read More

RAPAPORT... A New York judge has refused to back down after ruling that Signet Jewelers' comments about the sexual-harassment claims it was facing could be part of a class-action suit against the retailer.On July 10, Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Signet shareholders could form a class action in their securities-fraud claim against the jeweler. The following day, Signet claimed it would seek a review...Read More

Speaking at a meeting of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which took place during the United Nation's 2019 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has advocated for the position of small and medium-sized enterprises. Sustainable economies rely on the contribution of SMEs, he said, but too often they fi...Read More

The Inside Retail Asia website reported that during the second quarter same-store sales of the world's largest jewelry retailer la Chow Tai Fook (CTF) in Hong Kong and Macau fell by 11 per cent. However, sales in Mainland China rose by 11 percent.  "The Hong Kong and Macau market was affected by a tough base of comparison and cautious consumer sentiment amid an uncertain macro environmen...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of rough from Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo mine doubled to $10 million in the second quarter, reflecting higher volumes and an increase in the average price, the company said Monday.Sales volume surged 63% to 5,573 carats, while the average price grew 22% to $1,800 per carat. Production at the deposit in Angola fell 24% to 3,868 carats, as Lucapa focused on processing...Read More

Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has raised £250 000, through the placing of 50-million shares with new and existing investors at 0.5p a share.This represents about 7.98% of the company's issued share capital.AdvertisementThe funds will be used to continue diamond exploration efforts in Botswana; to progress the Thorny River bulk sampling programme; to bring the Marsfontein dumps and gravels...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond production at Rio Tinto dropped 10% year on year inthe first half of 2019, as the miner recovered lower-grade ore at its Argylemine in Australia. The company's share of production at the Argyle and Diavik mines came to 8.3million carats for the six months ending June 30, the company said Tuesday.Argyle yielded 6.1 million carats, a 13% decrease compared to the same periodlast y...Read More

Diamond miner De Beers has revised its full-year production guidance downward to about 31-million carats, leaning towards the lower end of the previous range of between 31-million and 33-million carats, in response to weaker trading conditions experienced during the second quarter.De Beers is currently producing to demand and, in a statement issued on Thursday, the miner reported that the revision...Read More

Anglo American has raised its full 2019 production guidance for its Minas Rio operations in Brazil, but has cut its output estimate for the Kumba operations in South Africa.Full 2019 production guidance for Anglo American's Minas Rio operations in Brazil have been increased to 19-21 million tonnes, up from its previous estimate of 18-20 million tonnes, according to a second-qua...Read More

Physical iron ore prices continued to fall on Thursday July 18 with market participants becoming cautious about rising steel inventories and weaker prices in China.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.90 per tonne, down $1.37 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.82 per tonne, down $1.37 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for...Read More

Russian diamond miner Alrosa has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Zimbabwe national diamond miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to develop diamond deposits in the Southern African country.The agreement was signed by Alrosa deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko and ZCDC chairpersonn Killian Ukama in the presence of Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Alrosa CEO Sergey I...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, 190,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, traded at the August average of a 62% Fe index at a premium of $5.50 per tonne, laycan August 5-14.BHP, Beijing...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices remained largely muted on Thursday July 18, with trading activity confined to the cfr China segment despite mounting concerns about import restrictions at ports in the country.Two cargoes of premium mid-vol hard coking coal were traded at around $185 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets during the day. The cargoes were heard to have been sold by traders despite...Read More

Quality emerges at Galan's blue-chip lithium addressSPONSOREDgalan lithiumIts 10,000 tonnes per day beneficiation plant is the first large-scale plant to operate in the country. Within six months, the company plans to increase this to 30,000tpd and later to 60,000tpd.Mirador will annually produce 11Mt of copper concentrates containing 137 million pounds of copper, 34,000oz of gold and 394,000o...Read More

Fastmarkets will change a portion of the specifications of its fob DBCT and cfr Jingtang hard coking coal indices to align with those for materials typically sold in this segment of the seaborne spot market.These changes incorporate feedback obtained from the market during a month-long consultation. They will now be applied from Thursday August 1, instead of Friday July 19 as stated in the previou...Read More

Quality emerges at Galan's blue-chip lithium addressSPONSOREDgalan lithiumMVC produced 13.3 million pounds of copper at a cash cost of US$1.97/pound, and 0.2 million pounds of molybdenum, in the June quarter. The results were below forecast "as a result of continued low plant recoveries during the quarter"."In Q2-2019, as required by the mining plan sequence, Cauquenes material was still being...Read More

Australia's mining industry was born at Glen Osmond, now an eastern suburb of Adelaide, after the discovery of lead and silver in 1841. Within five years, seriously rich copper finds were made at Kapunda and Burra, with the latter supplying 5% of the world's copper for more than a decade. Gold fever also swept through the Adelaide Hills, which hosted Australia's first gold mine (the Victoria mine)...Read More

Optimism among China's hot-rolled coil exporters led to them resisting the pressure to lower their prices on Thursday July 18 despite a retreat in the domestic market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,900 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,840-3,860 yuan per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices weakened across the country with t...Read More

Misplaced optimism seems to be driving gains in the London Metal Exchange’s three-month nickel price, especially amidst weak global economic growth and ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China; granted there is growing concern over nickel supply from Indonesia but this remains a long-term play.Fresh global economic jitters and escalating US-China trade tensions have negative...Read More