Nornickel, one of the world's top nickel producers, has announced plans to develop a mining project and nickel concentrator in its home country, Russia, to help it to achieve a projected 15% increase in nickel and copper production by 2025, Fastmarkets has heard.The company will invest 90 billion roubles ($1.37 billion) between now and 2023 in an attempt to develop the South Cluster mining project...Read More
Codelco's own refined copper output totaled 1.68 million tonnes in 2018, compared with 1.73 million tonnes in the previous year, the Chilean company said on Friday March 29 in its earnings report. Falling copper content in mined ore was one of the main reasons why overall production by the state-owned group reached 1.81 million tonnes during the year, below 1.84 million tonnes in 2017, according t...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close of trading on Monday April 1, supported by strength in both the Chinese and United States' manufacturing data despite continued market concerns over the health of the global economy. Despite reported strength from the manufacturing sector, US retail sales were weaker than expected in February at -0.4%, down from...Read More
RAPAPORT... Retail sales of jewelry and other luxury items declined inHong Kong in February, impacted by weakened consumer sentiment and the timingof the Lunar New Year. Revenue from jewelry, watch, clocks and other valuable giftsfell 10% year on year to HKD 7.25 billion ($923.1 million) for the month, the municipality'sCensus and Statistics Department reported Monday. Sales in all retailcate...Read More
The US copper price built on Friday's momentum with the base metals complex receiving a boost from strong Chinese manufacturing data on Monday April 1.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 1.25 cents to $2.9520 per lb. Overnight, the Chinese official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.5 in March, beating the exp...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based jeweler Chow Sang Sang saw a 13% rise insales in 2018, amid improved consumer sentiment and a spike in gold demand inthe first half of the year. Group sales came to HKD 18.81 billion ($2.40 billion) forthe year, as revenue from jewelry retail increased 18% to HKD 17.13 billion($2.18 billion). Proceeds from other businesses, including property, fell 21%to HKD 1.68 b...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for Asia Pacific continued to drop in the second half of March in the absence of Las Bambas output, while Chinese smelters are prepared to accept significantly lower spot TCs for the second quarter this year. Fastmarkets' spot copper concentrate index for Asia Pacific was calculated at $66.7 per tonne/ 6.67 cents per lb on March 25, d...Read More
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RAPAPORT... De Beers will allow its sightholders to disclose sourceinformation on diamonds they purchase from the company, after unveiling its "diamonds from DTC" program Monday. "We are proud of where our diamonds are discovered, how werecover them responsibly and the role our activities play in building thrivingcommunities," said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. "By enabling our customers t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 134-carat yellow, the second significant colored diamond it has found this year. It discovered the high-quality, type I stone on March 31 at its Let??engmine in Lesotho, the company said Sunday. The last yellow-diamond of that magnitude the miner reported on was a 151.52-carat stone, which it retrieved in June 2017. In March, Gem Diamonds sold a pink...Read More
RAPAPORT... Initiatives in Art and Culture (IAC) will present FerielZerouki with its award for leadership in responsible practice in jewelry. The honor is bestowed annually on members of the jewelryindustry, or part of a jewelry-focused organization, that have made atransformational contribution to ethical sourcing and responsible practice inthe global trade, IAC said last week. Zerouki, De...Read More
Prices for merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel were flat in the United States over the past month amid reports of mostly steady market conditions, while confirmed transactions for Mexican material have caused import prices to dip slightly. Fastmarkets AMM assessed domestic 2- x 2- x 1/4 -inch angle merchant bar at $37.05 per hundredweight ($741 per short ton) fob mill on Friday March 29, unchanged...Read More
Russian state-controlled miner Alrosa, the world's biggest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms, raised $11.8 million in its first New York diamond auction of the year, as it seeks to increase its activity in the United States.Rebecca Foerster, president of Alrosa, North America, said sanctions against some Russian companies did not diminish the appeal of Russian high quality diamonds.Alrosa...Read More
@import url(https://ofc.rapaport.com:449CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(styles/editnewscuteeditor.css); RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has updated thelanguage in its lab-grown-diamond certificates to conform to the recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines.The grading lab will no longer use the term sy...Read More
(IDEX Online News) - In general, for rounds March was all about reversing the trends of February, when the market dared a little, only to be whistled back in March. Parallel to trends in the previous month, prices of round diamonds under a carat remained rather stable, with a few goods, especially in the higher colors and clarities, losing a few percent. Prices of goods between 80 points and a c...Read More
Plate prices in the United States were steady last week but concerns have grown that they could come under pressure again in future weeks, market participants said.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cut-to-length plate was unchanged at $46 per hundredweight ($920 per short ton) on Friday March 29.Market participants have reported plate prices in a range of $45-57 per cwt.Lead times have s...Read More
RAPAPORT... Eurostar Diamond Traders, one of the biggest names in theAntwerp industry, has entered bankruptcy following a legal battle with itsbanks. The Antwerp Corporate Court ruled Thursday in favor of thatoutcome. Eurostar plans to appeal the decision, according to the company'schairman and founder, Kaushik Mehta. "For Kaushik Mehta and Eurostar, this is a verydisappointing day, which he...Read More
Macau's Executive Council announced during a press conference at Government Headquarters earlier this month that its government has drafted and submitted a bill that, when approved by lawmakers, would open the way for Macau to join the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). Once accepted, Macau could then import and export rough diamonds. According to a government spokesperson, the bi...Read More
Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds has determined that the proposed Cut 3 life-of-mine expansion at its 75%-owned Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho, is not currently economically viable.The Cut 3 expansion project would have increased the life of the mine by three years and result in 40% more carats compared with the current eight-year mine life.AdvertisementHowever, the company this week said that, at the cu...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has approved the acquisition of two Italian steel service centers, affiliated with Italian steelmaker Ilva, by ArcelorMittal and Italian company Coils Lamiere Nastri (CLN).The service centers in Legarno and Paderno Dugnano, Italy, were among the Ilva assets acquired by ArcelorMittal, the EC said on Friday March 29. It approved the acquisition under EU Merger Regulation...Read More