Novolipietsk Steel (NLMK) - the largest steel producer in Russia - will start the rolling mill modernization at its Belgian subsidiary NLMK Clabecq, the company said on Tuesday October 20.A ?,?30 million ($35 million) plate rolling mill upgrade will include the installation of a new descaling system with two new descalers and the modernization of the four-stand finishing mill, NLMK said.Despite th...Read More

Vale's iron ore production increased both year on year and quarter on quarter in the three months to September as a result of the resumption of previously halted operations in several mining sites, it said late on Monday October 19.The Brazilian mining major produced 88.68 million tonnes of iron ore in the third quarter, up by 2.3% from the 86.70 million tonnes produced a year earlier, and 31.2% h...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday October 16 that are worth another look.Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) is set to reach full capacity by the end of November, with a planned restart for the idled blast furnace (BF) in the latter half...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 20 that are worth another look....Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have crossed the $33.50-per-hundredweight ($670-per-short-ton) threshold, and most signs indicate that they will continue to march upward, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated $33.54 per cwt ($670.80 per ton) on Tuesday October 20, up by 0.4% from $33.39 per cwt on Monday October 19 and...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday October 20.Please click...Read More

Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico stayed on an uptrend in the week ended October 16, with increases on all grades and in all regions, on high demand for the steelmaking raw material.Sources reported price increases of 100-300 pesos ($5-14) per tonne for both prime and obsolete scrap between late last week and early this week.In addition, some companies that had been quiet in Mexico's central Baj?-o r...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 20 that are worth another look....Read More

A strengthening of the yuan against the dollar is resulting in higher export offers for Chinese minor metals and ferro-alloys while also making buyers in China more willing to pay higher for imports.Following a strong economic recovery in China after the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese currency hit a 17-month high against the dollar on Friday October 9 - the first working day...Read More

London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices except aluminium were trading up at the close on Tuesday October 20, buoyed by an upswing in United States equities markets. US stock markets opened higher today, bolstered by the looming deadline for a regional stimulus package to fight the fallout of Covid-19. So while talks in the US senate went down to the wire, LME buyers and sellers had th...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices plummeted on Tuesday October 20 after market participants lowered their estimates and said the spot market was declining. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.98 per tonne, down $3.90 per tonne  Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $126.78 per tonne, down $3.51 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.02 per to...Read More

https://media.blubrry.com/silverdoctors/p/content.blubrry.com/silverdoctors/EVGreyerz-SD-Oct20-Audio.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Stitcher | RSSWe're not in the beginning of the end. We're in the end of the end. The global economic collapse is accelerating, and so is the destruction of...Egon von Greyerz of Matterhorn Asset Management (Gold...Read More

Things have become overwhelmingly tight for all those Comex approved smelters...by J. Johnson via JS MinesetGreat and Wonderful Monday Morning Folks, This is not a normal start of the week because the Sunday night open had Silver and Gold trading lower, but now? Gold is up $10.10 with the trade at $1,916.50 and close to the high at $1,917.70 with the low just above the double zeros. Si...Read More

Fastmarkets is proposing to amend the settlement criteria for its MB-AL-0001 aluminium P1020A (MJP) quarterly premium, cif Japan, $ per tonne.This year, and in part due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, market dynamics have shifted, and fewer participants engaged in the MJP quarterly contractual discussions, with some choosing not to take part at all.Fastmarkets believes that there may...Read More

Weak demand from the aerospace sector will maintain the pressure on the tantalum sector in the short term, Dharam Kotecha, director at minerals trader Halcyon, said during a virtual conference hosted by the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre last week."In terms of short-term demand, in what was a buoyant aerospace industry, [Covid-19] will create a big hole when the international travel i...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports continued to decline in September, with China the only country to see an improvement.Total shipments fell 12% year on year to CHF 1.6 billion ($1.77 billion), the seventh consecutive monthly decrease. Although the decline was softer than in previous months, the market is still heavily reliant on Chinese orders, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tue...Read More

RAPAPORT... Patrick Merrin has stepped down as interim CEO of Dominion Diamond Mines, deeming it "appropriate" to focus on his position at the rough producer's parent company.Merrin, who is chief operating officer at the Washington Companies, took on the lead role at Dominion when Shane Durgin left in February. The miner's full executive team will run the company temporarily until a solution is fo...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Plumb Club, an alliance of jewelry suppliers, has launched a collaboration with New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) to help design students enter the industry.The project connects students in FIT's jewelry-design program with Plumb Club members, offering them mentoring, internships and exposure to potential employers, the trade organization said Monday. Students w...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has called off its formal sales process, as its lenders have acquired majority ownership in the company in exchange for writing off sizeable debts.The groups reached the agreement following discussions on a long-term restructuring plan for the company that would allow it to pay back the $650 million in secured debt it currently owes, Petra said Tuesday. The miner had bee...Read More

RAPAPORT... WD Lab Grown Diamonds has hired heads of marketing, merchandise and operations as the US-based producer expands under private-equity ownership.Brittany Lewis joined WD earlier this year to lead marketing and merchandising, the company said last week. Her background is in branding, marketing and digital transformation for startups.Meanwhile, Caleb Wood has come on board as chief op...Read More