The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes has awarded $5.84 billion in damages to Tethyan Copper Co Pty Ltd (TCC), Antofagasta said on Monday July 15. The award was granted to the equally-held joint venture between Antofagasta and Barrick Gold Corp for arbitration claims filed against Pakistan following the denial of a mining lease for the Reko Diq project in Paki...Read More
Stainless steel prices in Asia are set to remain supported in the near term amid improved domestic demand in China and a surge in nickel prices following news of Indonesia's plan to ban the export of ores, including that of nickel, by 2022."My customers have stepped up their purchases of stainless steel, having limited their procurement rates earlier this year," a Wuxi-based trader who sells to th...Read More
Temporary production disruptions and a declaration of force majeure at ArcelorMittal Italia have had little effect on the European flat steel market, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 15.The steelmaker had temporarily hot-idled its blast furnaces (BFs) Nos2 and 4 at the end of last week. The equipment was idled due to a strike on July 11 that Italian trade unions announced after a fat...Read More
Buying activity in the CIS export long steel market was rather modest in the week to Monday July 15.Customers either preferred to refrain from bookings amid sluggish demand in their home markets, or were cautiously waiting for more clarity to emerge in the import scrap market in Turkey.Nevertheless, wire rod prices climbed over the week with a small CIS cargo reported sold at around $500 per tonne...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's rough-diamond trade fell to its lowest level since the financial crisis in the first half of 2019. Rough imports to the country declined 26% year on year to $4.36 billion during the period, according to recent data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). The last time inbound shipments were below that level was when the trade was recovering from the fina...Read More
Prices in Asia for hot-rolled coil (HRC) have fallen in the past week on hectic selling by traders, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 15.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $510-515 per tonne cfr on July 15, down by $5-7 per tonne from $517-520...Read More
RAPAPORT...ABN Amro has scaled back its financing of rough-diamondpurchases, citing a lack of profitability in the manufacturing and tradingsectors. The Dutch bank will only offer credit if the buyer canmake money from the rough, its Antwerp branch said in a letter to clients Friday.It called on the trade to show restraint by purchasing rough only when that is the case. "For some time, we and the...Read More
Turkey's biggest steel producer, Erdemir Group, has denied making an offer to acquire struggling UK long steelmaker British Steel, it said in a stock exchange disclosure late on Sunday July 14."In some news published in [the] international media and reflected in the [Turkish] national media, it was claimed that our company made an offer for the acquisition of British Steel," the disclosure said. "...Read More
RAPAPORT... Members of the Israel and Shanghai diamond exchanges are set to sign a cooperation agreement during the inaugural Israel Diamond Week that opens in the Chinese city on Tuesday.The three-day event marks the first time Israeli diamantaires are displaying their goods in an official capacity to members of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), which organized the meet in partnership wit...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore have narrowed upward over the past week on continued demand from end-users.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis - was $494-495 per tonne cfr on Monday July 15, narrowing upward by $4 per tonne cfr from a week earlier.There wa...Read More
Zimbabwean media reported that the country's diamond roduction is about to increase significantly as the Chinese firm Anjin Investments is about to resume diamond mining at Chiadzwa. At the same time, the Zim government is about to sign a new agreement with Russian miner Alrosa next week. Winston Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development said in an interview with the Star radio stat...Read More
RAPAPORT... India has introduced an import classification code solely for lab-grown rough diamonds, enabling the industry to keep better watch of syntheticsentering the country.The government has separated the Indian Trade Clarification(ITC) code for rough synthetic gemstones into diamonds and non-diamonds, theGem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported last week. Themove wi...Read More
A new era of cooperation between the Israeli and Chinese diamond industries will be launched this week, when the first Israel Diamond Week opens in Shanghai on July 16, 2019. Jointly organized by the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), the event will take place at the SDE from July 16 - 18, 2019. This is the first time that Israeli diamantaires have been of...Read More
Namibia's Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, said at the conclusion of the sixth meeting of the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) Council of Ministers that was held in Windhoek earlier this month, that he remains adamant that rough diamonds have the potential to contribute to improving the lives of citizens and not only generate revenue for the state. "For centuries...Read More
The price of steel slab imported in Southeast Asia and East Asia fell over the week to Monday July 15 because of the weakening prices in the downstream hot-rolled coil market weighing on market sentiment, market sources said.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, price was $510-515 per tonne for the week ending on Monday July 15, down by $5-7 per tonne from...Read More
Various news sources - national and international - picked up the news that a delegation from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) had arrived in Israel, and, among others, visited the Israel Diamond Exchange. The Indonesian delegation toured the four-tower diamond exchange complex and met with IDE and other officials. The Indonesian delegation was headed by Mufti Hamka Hassan, Vice Preside...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices bounced back on Monday July 15 after the futures market strengthened after the release of economic data for the first half, while expectations of a drop in supply provided additional support.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,870 yuan ($559-562) per tonne, widening upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per...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.Shockwaves from Tsingshan's new stainless steel hub in Indonesia are reverberating across South East Asia and beyond, according to Wood Mackenzie.“Competitively priced exports of Indonesian stainless product have provoked varyin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Michael Hill will hand out between AUD 10 million ($7million) and AUD 25 million (just under $17.5 million) to compensate retail employeesin Australia, after discovering it had been underpaying them. The jeweler had been wrongly applying the pay rates mandatedby the Australian government's General Retail Industry Award document, itadmitted in a statement Wednesday, following a review....Read More
Newfield Resources has progressed with blasting to access an underground mine decline at its Tongo diamond mine, in Sierra Leone.The company has excavated 42 600 m3 of material, with three blasts conducted so far and two blasts remaining, to bring the boxcut to the desired elevation for the portal access to be opened up.AdvertisementOnce blasting and excavation are completed, the boxcut side walls...Read More