The past year was a difficult one overall for the metals, with the main standouts to the upside being a geopolitical risk-driven gain in gold, a China-driven rise in iron ore and a surge in uranium on broadening global support for nuclear power (Figure 1). A jump in global interest rates to near two-decade highs saw recession fears persist all year, and while one still did not actually eru...Read More

This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end t...Read More

Chile is the world leader in copper production, at 28.5% of the total in 2020, and this looks set to continue, with the country having the largest global reserves, at 23.0% of total. It is also the global leader for molybdenum, which is often found along with copper, and is a major lithium player, holding 51.1% of global reserves. Read More

Newfoundland has become a gold exploration hotspot over the past few years, with the sector seeing some of its strongest activity ever. While the province remains a small contributor to Canadian gold production, it has a substantial mineral industry well supported by the government, focused on iron ore, copper and nickel, and the surge in exploration suggests that gold output from the...Read More

Nevada is the core of the U.S. gold output, accounting for by far the majority, at 75.4% on average for the past year. The state looks set to remain a dominant player in U.S. gold, as it accounts for 49% of total U.S. reserves, with Alaska slightly ahead with 51% of reserves, but just 8.6% of current production. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of global gold output, making Nevada one of the largest gol...Read More

The Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia has historically been a major site of Canadian gold production, beginning as early as the mid 1800s. There was a wave of production in the 1990s which cooled as the gold price declined, but larger scale production resumed in 2017, and the area has seen surging exploration interest over the past year, given that the region has some of the largest...Read More

In this report we outline the Quebec gold mining industry, including its major producers, and a survey of many of the junior miners focused on the province. Quebec accounts for 34% of Canadian gold production (second to Ontario, with 44%) and remains a major focus for both producers and junior miners.Read More

Red Lake has been one of the most prolific gold mining districts in Canada and the world, with exploration having started in the 1920s, and production, which began in the 1930s, continuing to the present day. The district is known for the high grade of its gold, its infrastructure, and strong institutional support, given the long history of mining in the area.Read More

(IDEX Online) - The plane that crashed last Wednesday (27 December) in Canada's Northwest Territories was flying workers to build the winter road that supplies Ekati, Diavik, and Gahcho Kue diamond mines with vital supplies from February to March every year.Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident, involving a 49-year-old Air Tindi de Havilland DHC-...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A rescue operation is under way after a light aircraft crashed close to Rio Tinto's remote Diavaik diamond mine, in Canada's Northwest Territories.The two crew and eight passengers on board a de Havilland DHC-6-300 reportedly suffered only minor injuries when the plane came down yesterday (27 December) 300km north-east of Yellowknife.But strong winds and Arctic conditions...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Customs officers in Hong Kong have arrested four people in a crackdown on crime syndicate suspected of laundering money through $64m of bogus diamond transactions.They say it's the first-ever money laundering case they've ever smashed that had centered on "transnational diamond trading".Their investigation revealed that members of a crime syndicate had established diamond...Read More

(IDEX Online) - There are encouraging signs that more US couples plan to wed, says Signet, the jewelry giant that says bridal accounts for half its total revenue.The number of marriages has been in steady decline for decades, and the Covid pandemic prompted an "engagement gap", with lockdowns limiting opportunities for romance.But Gina Drosos, Signet Jewelers CEO, (pictured) says there are, finall...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Consumer spending on jewelry in the US slipped by 2.0 per cent over the holiday period, despite an uptick in the economy, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Overall retail sales for 1 November to 24 December (excluding automotive) increased by 3.1 per cent year on year.Spending on restaurant meals showed the biggest growth, up 7.8 per cent, followed by apparel, at 2.4 per...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The US is closing the loophole that has, for almost two years, allowed the importation of rough diamonds from Russia as long as they are cut and polished in India or elsewhere.A new White House Executive Order broadens existing restrictions immediately to include diamonds and other Russian goods "even if these products are then transformed in a third country".President Joe Biden si...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A visitor to a state park in Arkansas, USA, discovered the "piece of glass" he picked up was actually a 4.87-carat diamond.Jerry Evans and his girlfriend were visiting the Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, which charges day trippers $10 a day to sift the soil - and lets them keep any gems they find. "I thought it might be a piece of glass, it was so clear. I re...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, says the G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds, due to take effect next week, may prove impractical to implement."With the best will in the world, the average customs agent will not be able to look at one diamond and another diamond and go, 'That's the Russian one'," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.Cook (pictured) questione...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The government of Namibia says G7 plans to channel all diamonds into the EU via a single point of entry will be costly and complicated.Tom Alweendo, the Minister of Mines and Energy, is calling on G7 nations to reconsider their plan, due to some into effect in a few days time, on 1 January 2024."We are deeply concerned about the potential consequences of these restrictive measures,...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa, Russia's state-controlled diamond miner, produced 34.6m carats during 2023, in line with its forecasts, according to the Tass news agency.That's a slight drop on its 35.6m carat production in 2022, but suggests US sanctions and voluntary bans on buying Russian goods have so far had a negligible impact.Alrosa's biggest rival, De Beers, produced 34.6m carats in...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The G7 sanctions on Russia, which take effect a week from now, will harm the entire diamond pipeline, says the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB).It says the likely implementation of a single-entry point for all rough diamonds (probably Antwerp) will be expensive and time-consuming, and suggests multiple points of entry, including Mumbai, Israel, Dubai and African diamond-p...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Burgundy Diamond Mines has reported a 40 per cent increase in Q4 sales from Ekati, in Northwest Territories, Canada.It sold 1,975,198 carats (a 55 per cent year-on-year increase) for $170m, as retail demand recovered and the industry took "responsible actions" to manage the supply chain. In the previous quarter, Q3 2023, it sold 784,000 carats for $90m.Australia-based Burgundy...Read More

IDEX Online) - A Special Notified Zone (SNZ) - designed to ease rough imports from big miners - is to be launched at the newly-opened Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB).The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), representing almost 10,000 manufacturers, says it will be the biggest diamond SNZ in India.The 4,500 sq ft premises will feature 15 cabins, a high-security monitoring room, and a 24/...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A 66-year-old man has been convicted and sentenced in connection the murder of jeweler in Connecticut, USA.Thomas Liberatore was handed a 32-year sentence for his role in what police described as the "cold-blooded murder" of Mark Vuono, 69, in March 2020.Two accomplices, Paul "Tony Pro" Prosano, 63, and Robert Rallo, 59, were sentenced previously to 30 years and 40 years respective...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A grading lab in Italy has issued a fraud warning after three one-carat diamonds, all submitted on the same day, were found to be CVD lab growns.The stones, all round brilliant F / VS1, were all accompanied by paper GIA grading reports from different dates in May 2023 which described them as natural.The weights, dimensions and GIA inscriptions all appeared to match, but there was a...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Mejuri, a luxury jewelry startup based in Toronto, has become the latest brand to market lab growns alongside mined diamonds.Its first lab grown collection of stud earrings, tennis bracelet and necklaces, priced from $648 to $10,500, will initially be offered to Mejuri+ loyalty members and to all customers in March 2024.The company, founded in 2015, plans to introduce new styles an...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers reported rough diamond sales of $130m of during its last sight of the year, as the polished market started to show some signs of recovery.The UK-based miner expressed cautious optimism that rough trading conditions were gradually improving.Average sales across all 10 cycles this year were $362m. So despite a 51 per cent increase from October's record low of $86m, Nove...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Rolex has been fined $100m by France's Competition Authority for prohibiting the sale of its watches online.The Swiss company has long claimed that restrictions on its authorized retailers are necessary to prevent counterfeiting and parallel trade in its watches. But the Autorite de la Concurrence, France's antitrust agency, ruled that it restricted competition.It sa...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Japan, as one of the G7 nations, will join the ban on importing of non-industrial diamonds from Russia.But the move is more symbolic than anything, given that total imports amounted to under $400,000 in 2022.The Japanese government announced the diamond sanctions as part of new round of sanctions being implemented in view  of what it described as "the current international sit...Read More

Yesterday's issue drew a very heavy mail.We solicited your opinion concerning the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling to strike Mr. Trump from the Republican primary ballot.We thank you for your responses.In summary: The ruling wrung the gizzards of most readers.They believe the Colorado Supreme Court conducted itself... how do we style it... extrajudicially.Reader Jason M. talks for many when he says...Read More