RAPAPORT... Prices of fancy-color diamonds slipped marginally in the fourth quarter of 2020 as stability in the yellow category helped the sector stave off a heavier slump, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF)."Although 2020 was challenging in terms of logistics and travel, contrary to market expectations, fancy-color diamond prices proved to be resilient, with minor price decre...Read More

Base metals maintained their bullish momentum during the morning session on the London Metal Exchange on Monday February 15, with all except zinc hitting fresh year-to-date highs, despite the absence of Asian and United States trading. Tin rose by 1.5% to $24,095 per tonne in early trading, surpassing the 2021 high set on Friday, and up from Friday's closing price of $23,650 per tonne. This follow...Read More

RAPAPORT... India has recorded its third consecutive monthly rise in polished-diamond exports, with shipments increasing 9% year on year to $1.8 billion in January. That followed gains of 42% in November and 38% in December, reflecting a release of pent-up demand ahead of the US and Chinese holidays, as well as post-festival restocking. Rough imports jumped amid strong demand at Alrosa and De...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond and jewelry companies are accelerating their adoption of technology to bring greater efficiency to the market. As a result, innovation by businesses across all sectors of the pipeline is influencing the wider industry. The fifth installment of Rapaport's podcast series, "Technology and the Diamond Trade," sponsored by Sarine Technologies, features four companies that are m...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A fintech startup will tomorrow launch standardized diamond "coins" for investors in a move which could "reinvent the supply chain".Diamond Standard, based in Bermuda, will offer the first 5,000 diamond standard coins, each containing "a set of certified natural diamonds with identical geological scarcity" weighing 4.5 carats and to the exact value of $5,000.Each coin (pictured) al...Read More

Even with Chinese market participants on holiday, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange have for the most part been bullish on Monday February 15, with the exception of zinc. Major western pre-market equity index futures were stronger. The dollar index was on a back foot while United States 10-year treasury yields were firmer, suggesting risk-on. Base metals The three-month zinc pri...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Prices of fancy color diamonds fell marginally for a second consecutive quarter says the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).Blue gems were down year-on-year by 1.3 per cent, pinks 0.9 per cent and yellows 0.3 per cent in Q4 of 2020.The New York-based FCRF) has produced was unable to produce figures for Q1 and Q2 of the year, because business was too slow to provide sufficient d...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa sold $10m of rough at its first 2020 auction of special-size stones.The Russian state-owned miner described demand as "stable", although almost 20 per cent of lots weren't sold.It said it had buyers for 104 stones, all over 10.8 carats, with a combined weight of over 1,500 carats.Last week Alrosa reported total rough and polished sales of $430m for January, up six per c...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Monday February 15 due to good demand and long lead times, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?718.13 ($870.31) per tonne on Monday, down by ?,?1.87 per tonne from ?,?720 per tonne on February 12.The index was, however, up b...Read More

German flat steel producer Salzgitter has declared force majeure due to weather conditions that resulted in disruptions to deliveries, the company's spokesman told Fastmarkets on Monday February 15.The company hopes that the weather will improve in the middle of this week and that deliveries will start to run as normal.The Salzgitter-Beddingen freight station has been closed and shipments...Read More

Positive sentiment in the long steel market over the past week helped Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) producers to achieve wire rod sales at higher prices, sources said on February 15."Prices for wire rod have gone up after higher scrap bookings and more optimism in the market," one trader said. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey...Read More

Egypt's use of rebar was almost halved in January 2021, with the country consuming just 308,000 tonnes of the construction material - a 46.53% year on year drop from January 2019's 576,000 tonnes.El Marakby Steel's chief business development officer Ramy Saleh told Fastmarkets on Monday February 15 that, in January, rebar use was at its lowest level for more than 10 years...Read More

Neo Lithium moving closer to productionSPONSOREDneo lithiumPantoro charging towards second gold mineSPONSOREDpantoro limitedMaximus ready to resume search for more Wattle Dam richesSPONSOREDmaximus resourcesEnvironmental and social governance (ESG) is critical to the success of miningSPONSOREDonyen corporationMembers of Arizona's San Carlos Apache Tribe sought to stop the transfer on the grounds t...Read More

Russia's NLMK will increase shipments of slab to its subsidiaries as part of its Strategy 2023, the company told Fastmarkets. Earlier in February, NLMK idled a strip mill at its Belgium-based subsidiary NLMK La Louvi??re until March to install three new finishing lines. The revamp will enable production of thinner, stronger and more environmentally-sound steel, according to the company. The compan...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesSegerstrom was earlier the geology manager at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg project in Indonesia and later COO of Paramount Gold and Silver.He is also on the board of Almadex Minerals.Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesFollowing a week-long detailed field, core and data review, Bam Bam said Segerstrom was "very en...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royalties"One of our peers in the space, SolGold, has done extremely well and we're trying to emulate their success," says Hot Chili managing director Christian Easterday, speaking on a RESOURCEStocks webcast, ahead of his latest corporate presentation. He's just punched a plus-US$3.70/lb copper price into his slide deck and come up with an in-gr...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesThe junior's latest deal to secure Sala, one of the largest and highest grade silver mines in Europe prior to its closure in 1962, gives it more than 310 square kilometres of ground in central Sweden's infrastructure-rich Bergslagen region. The district has world-class base and precious metals mines such as Boliden's Garpenberg and Lundi...Read More

Turkish steel mills made no deep-sea scrap bookings on the first day of the working week because they were mostly focused on finished steel sales, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 15.Last week, prices rose by more than $22 per tonne week on week after two steel mills booked United States-origin cargoes at $410 per tonne cfr on HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.Steelmakers then turned their focus to...Read More

Even with Chinese market participants on holiday, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange have for the most part been bullish on Monday February 15, with the exception of zinc.* Major western pre-market equity index futures were stronger. * The dollar index was on a back foot while United States 10-year treasury yields were firmer, suggesting risk-on.Base metalsThe three-month zinc price w...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have rebounded in the past week thanks to the upturn in imported scrap values, market sources said on Monday February 15.The producers in the country resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings on Wednesday last week, dragging prices up by more than $22 per tonne week on week by Friday.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was...Read More