RAPAPORT... Lab-grown diamond producer Green Rocks is launching a new facility in Israel, pledging to operate the center in accordance with a new sustainability standard.The production and research site in Nof Hagalil, northern Israel, will create "thousands of carats" of untreated synthetic diamonds, said Leon Peres, CEO of Green Rocks, in an online presentation last week. Headquartered in F...Read More

Activity in the European hot-rolled coil market has slowed significantly, with buyers holding back from making new deals and only a few producers making offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 14.Buyers have only been buying limited volumes if they have specific restocking needs or if they can secure back-to-back deals, they added.European distributors prefer to wait for the price trend to...Read More

RAPAPORT... Charm-bracelet maker Alex and Ani has filed for bankruptcy protection after accumulating high debts over the past few years.The company, which operates 74 retail outlets across the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, has been mired in financial challenges since 2018, chief restructuring officer Robert Trabucco said in a June 9 filing. The company's rapid growth created operational difficulties...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe declined in the week to Friday June 11, but they remained at a high level.Buyers have been holding back from acquiring large volumes of coil at high prices, preferring whenever possible to pause their purchases to better monitor global trends while also waiting for the European Commission (EC) to conclude its safeguarding investigation.On Friday, the E...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in the US more than tripled in May, fueled by a release of pent-up demand amid a further reopening of the economy, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.Sales in the category increased 203% year on year during the month, reflecting a comparison with May of last year, when many stores were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, jewelry spending also increased 45% ve...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Germany has, for the first time, apologized for the genocide in Namibia which claimed the lives of 75,000 tribes people - during which time it plundered untold reserves of the country's diamonds.German foreign minister Heiko Maas (pictured) has pledged $1.3bn aid to Namibia for the mass killings between 1904 and 1908 in what was then German South West Africa.Towards the end of...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Swiss watchmaker Bovet 1822 has crafted a bespoke pair of his-and-hers watches that double as the dashboard clock of the new ultra-expensive Rolls-Royce Boat Tail.The one-off handcrafted car is said to be the most expensive in the world, with an estimated price tag as a high as $28m.Bovet designed and made a pair of reversible watches, together with a dedicated aluminium and ti...Read More

(IDEX Online) - New owners of the troubled Ekati mine, in Canada, predict a 4m carat output this year, after rescuing it from Dominion Diamonds.A group of creditors took on $70m of outstanding debt and pledged $85m of working capital facility for the mine in Northwest Territories. The deal was signed in February.The newly-formed Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, owned by DDJ, Brigade and Western As...Read More

Tungsten West is in the "advanced stages" of preparing its initial public offering in London's AIM market, with production at the Hemerdon mine to start next year.The UK-based tin and tungsten mining company acquired the Hemerdon mine, located in the south west of England, in 2019. The mine has a projected output of 3,800 tonnes per year of contained tungsten and 500 tpy of contained tin, and shou...Read More

Fastmarkets has settled its premium for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the third quarter of 2021 at $172-185 per tonne over the London Metal Exchange cash price. The premium is 20.20% higher than the second-quarter benchmark of $148-149 per tonne and more than double the third-quarter of 2020 which settled at $75-79 per tonne cif MJP. The premium has risen for th...Read More

Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) edged higher in mid-June, with more material from mines in China and elsewhere boosting supplies, while the power cut problems that affected smelters in Yunnan province are seemingly resolved.Terms rise with smelters well-coveredTenders hit solid market prices Mining output rise boosts supplyFastmarkets' zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China rose to $70-85 pe...Read More

The three-month price of copper was down 0.6% from Friday's close on the morning of Monday June 14, while most other prices on the London Metal Exchange rose despite low traded volumes due to public holidays in China and Australia.The three-month copper price was at $9,943 per tonne on Monday at 9am, falling from $10,003.50 per tonne at Friday's close, which was the first time the metal had closed...Read More

Metals continue to languish in high ground during morning trading on Monday June 14, with tin being the exception as it continues to push higher on strong fundamentals due to supply disruptions. Broader markets generally upbeat with some, including the S&P 500 Index, near record highs. US 10-year treasury yields have fallen, not on haven buying, but because the market seems more sure that central...Read More

Flat steel producer HBIS Group Serbia plans to restart its blast furnace No1 on August 16 this year, the company said on Monday June 14.The furnace was shut down on July 5, 2020, due to "the [Covid-19] pandemic... and the market situation that prevailed at that time," the steelmaker said.The majority of European flat steel producers had idled equipment or reduced their output...Read More

Brazilian domestic flat steel prices increased in June and local steelmakers have announced another round of price rises for July. Brazilian flat steel producers successfully applied price increases for all their products, mainly because of low competition from imported material and higher costs. Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, monthly, exw Brazil wa...Read More

Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas will restart its No2 blast furnace (BF) at the Ipatinga mill, in southeastern Minas Gerais state, after almost eight months of downtime, the company said in a filing with the country's securities and exchange commission, CVM, on Monday June 14.The BF has capacity to produce 660,000 tonnes per year of crude steel and will be reignited as a result of Brazil's steel cons...Read More

The steel rebar price in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was largely unchanged over the past week, with market participants believing the price has touched a ceiling and not expecting further rises. Most local producers were still holding back their offers for July, although sources told Fastmarkets they expect a rollover of the latest prices. Tula Steel was heard offering rebar to...Read More

Metals continue to languish in high ground during morning trading on Monday June 14, with tin being the exception as it continues to push higher on strong fundamentals due to supply disruptions.* Broader markets generally upbeat with some, including the S&P 500 Index, near record highs.* US 10-year treasury yields have fallen, not on haven buying, but because the market seems more sure that centra...Read More

(Corrects paragraph 3 to show Ganfeng has a project in Mexico,not Canada) * Goulamina stake firm's first foray into Africa * Mali government has right to take 10% for free * Firefinch says mine has high-quality lithium asset By Tom Daly June 14 (Reuters) - Ganfeng Lithium Co , one of the world's biggest lithium producers, said onMonday it would pay $130 million for a stake in the Goulaminahard-roc...Read More

Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices rose in the week to Monday June 14, following increases for imported scrap prices, sources said.Steel producers in Turkey booked at least five deep-sea cargoes in the week to June 14, with another cargo heard booked following the closure of the indices on Friday.The most recent deal was done on Friday by a steel mill in the Iskenderun region, whi...Read More