RAPAPORT... The prevailing panic surrounding the rise of lab-grown diamonds is overshadowing the bigger challenge facing the diamond market: There is no profit in the trade. This long-term challenge is reaching crisis levels, as manufacturers lack liquidity and are reducing prices to raise cash. Banks are applying pressure on them to repay their loans and are hesitant to extend additional credit.T...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Europe was unchanged week on week, with market participants expecting price stability to continue into the summer holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 3.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?500-510 ($564-575) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, unchanged from June 26."We expect th...Read More
RAPAPORT...The Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA)has issued a "code red" warning ahead of Thursday's July 4celebrations in the US. The New York-based association,which provides crime information andassistance to jewelers across America, has warned that power interruptions atjewelry stores is a "red flag" for a break-in. Holidays such as July 4 areparticularly "high-risk," it said in a crime alert l...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Northern Europe fell back this week after a short-lived increase last week, despite mills being keen to push prices upward, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 3.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was ?,?570-605 ($644-683) per tonne delivered on July 3, down from ?,?575-610 per tonne one week earlier....Read More
RAPAPORT... UK-based consultancy Levin Sources haslaunched a responsible-sourcing service for small to medium-sized (SME)jewelers. Developed to support SME jewelers inestablishing ethical-sourcing policies and procedures, the new proposition was formallyinaugurated on June 27, to coincide with Micro-, Small and Medium-SizedEnterprises (MSME) Day. The service, which has already beenrolled out to tw...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 time is right for the mining industry to invest in new projects. The fundamentals are clear: we forecast supply gaps across a number of key commodities by 2028.Investors are understandably concerned that the mining industry will r...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
RAPAPORT... Retail sales in Hong Kongare set to fall by 5% in 2019, with the decline expected to be even sharper inthe luxury-goods market, which includes jewelry. The new estimate, publishedlast week by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is a downgrade on its previousforecast. The advisory firm had anticipated that Hong Kong's retail sales woulddip by 3%. Reasons cited for the lower forecastinclude th...Read More
Prices for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe widened downwards this week as domestic mills aimed to maintain current price levels, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 3.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?485-500 ($548-565) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, down ?,?5 per tonne week on week on the lower end from ?,?490-500 per...Read More
New patents that aim to eliminate fraud, improve traceability and revive the availability of finance in the diamond industry have been filed by Scarselli Diamonds, a polished diamond traders and jewelry consignee to the trade, and Benoit J. P. Flammang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beninvest & Associates. The patents center on DiamTek, a solution using permanent nano-laser tag...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Instituteof America (GIA) will offer remote learning to students in China, expanding its collaborationwith ShanghaiJiao Tong University (SJTU). The GIA's distance-educationprograms will allow participants to access equipment and gemstones in self-studystudent workrooms at SJTU, enabling them to complete the courses' practicalaspects. "Education is thecornerstone of GIA'...Read More
The weekly price assessment for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe softened this week amid reluctant buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 3.Market participants held back from buying while they waited to see the effects on pricing of an influx of imports, following the start of the new annual quota period for the EU steel import safeguards on July 1.Fastmarkets'...Read More
"I walked into the AGTA office twenty-two years ago and Mary Lou had already been with AGTA for nearly a decade. I quickly learned that Mary Lou was truly the "face" of AGTA to many, if not all of our members. And she was universally adored. That adoration stems from the person she is. A consummate professional, a vigorous champion of our members and the association, and honestly the most kin...Read More
PNG Jewellers have partnered with Forevermark, the diamond brand from the De Beers Group, to retail Forevermark diamonds across all their stores in India. The synergy of these two brands has brought about an ideal collaboration over the past few years to offer hallmark diamond jewelry. To highlight this partnership, PNG Jewellers have created an exclusive line of jewelry called the 'Fab5...Read More
The blogsite "Big Think" reported that scientists from the Yokohama National University in Japan had succeeded to "teleport" quantum information within a diamond. Their study is an important step in the field of quantum information technology. Hideo Kosaka, the Yokohama National University researcher who led the study, explained that the goal was to get data where it doesn't normally go. "Qua...Read More
Top US jewelry etailer Blue Nile has blacklisted Zimbabwean diamonds over reports of human rights abuses in Manicaland's Marange district. On its website Blue Nile says: "Blue Nile is committed to ensuring that the highest ethical standards are observed when sourcing our diamonds and jewelry. Because of the reported human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's Marange diamond district, Blue Nile wi...Read More
The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses have agreed for the 39th World Diamond Congress to take place in Hong Kong, November 2-5, 2020. "We are very pleased that we have been able to close the dates for the World Diamond Congress which takes place every two years," said IDMA President Ronnie VanderLinden and WFDB President Ernie B...Read More
The steel mills in Turkey have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for August shipments to replenish their stocks, sources said on Wednesday July 3.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $299 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $304 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $309 per tonne cfr.This compared with the...Read More
Greenland shines brightly in the rare earth spotlightSPONSOREDgreenland minerals'When top miners commit to an aspiration, that does trickle down'SPONSOREDdeloitteBlack Rock readies for race to graphite productionSPONSOREDblack rock miningE25 powering towards Butcherbird PFSSPONSOREDelement 25Management says the company is gaining critical momentum as it navigates the strategic shift from r...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Wednesday July 3, even as futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed higher after hitting a five-year peak a day earlier. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $124.75 per tonne cfr China, down $1.02 per tonneMB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $125.83 per tonne cfr China, down $0.41 per tonneMB 58% Fe Premium Index: $114.86 per tonne cfr China, down $0.18 per tonn...Read More