The waiting time for aluminium at Istim's warehouse in Port Klang, Malaysia rose to 71 days at the end of October, according to the London Metal Exchange's latest queue report.The queue is up from 61 days at the end of September at LME-approved Istim warehouses.There has been a queue for aluminium at Istim warehouses in Port Klang every month so far in 2020.Queues for aluminium continue to build i...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva garnered $36.8 million, with a fancy-purplish-red diamond selling for a record price, the auction house reported Wednesday. The sale, which took place the previous day at the Four Seasons Hotel, saw 89% of the 156 lots sold, representing 95% of the auction's total value. An online sale was still taking place at press time."Despite t...Read More

RAPAPORT... Debswana, De Beers' joint venture with Botswana, will pause mining at the Damtshaa deposit for an indefinite period, citing a lack of financial viability given market conditions."In the current environment, the marginal cash flow produced by the mine is outweighed by operational costs," a De Beers spokesperson said Wednesday in an email to Rapaport News. "Placing Damtshaa mine int...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Karowe mine has produced a 998-carat diamond, the latest in a string of large rough stones from the lucrative deposit in Botswana.Lucara Diamond Corp., which owns Karowe, will work with manufacturing partner HB Antwerp to assess how to maximize value from the rough, the miner said Wednesday. The unbroken, high-white, clivage stone - meaning it needs to be split before further...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Lucara has recovered yet another huge diamond from its Karowe mine, in Botswana.The 998-carat high white clivage diamond (pictured) is reckoned to be the fourth largest stone found in the country.It follows several remarkable finds. In February the same mine yielded the 549-carat Sethunya diamond. In April 2019 the 1,758-carat Sewelo was recovered. And in 2015 the mine announced th...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Botswana's president says he expects diamond production to bounce back after exports were almost halved by COVID-19 and the resulting travel restrictions.Exports fell 42 per cent to $1.49bn in the first nine months of 2020 as production fell 29 per cent to 12.3m carats," said Mr Masisi during the state of the nation address on Monday.But he said there were signs of a recovery...Read More

American specialty jewelers' revenues have been hard-hit this year by mandated store closings due to Covid-19. As a result, producers, suppliers, and retail jewelry merchants have faced greater-than-normal uncertainties about the market.In an effort to provide the diamond and jewelry industry with benchmarks to measure sales levels over the past several months, IDEX Research has summarized th...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Consumers are adapting to the "new normal" and are still buying diamonds, says De Beers in its 2020 Diamond Insight Report.In spite of the pandemic, diamonds retain broad appeal across consumer segments, it concludes."For many consumers, the purchase of a diamond and all it stands for has taken on even greater meaning, due to the impact of lockdowns and an increased desire to show...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe increased again in the week to Wednesday November 11, supported by tight supplies, sources told Fastmarkets."There is a shortage of HRC in the market," an Italian distributor told Fastmarkets. "Buyers are struggling to get material from either domestic or overseas mills and, naturally, [then] have to accept higher prices."Fastmarkets cal...Read More

Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe moved up this week following a prolonged upward trend in the cost of the hot-rolled coil used as feedstock, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 11.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?640-660 ($756-780) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?630-650 per tonne one week earlier.The pri...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp."After only three months of acid injection, we have collected enough copper to start initial production; this will allow us to commission and evaluate SX-EW [solvent extraction-electrowinning] capabilities," president and CEO Stephen Twyerould said."Optimisation programmes are being rolled out to additional wel...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.Copper alloy surfaces are said to be naturally antimicrobial with self-sanitising properties. Research has shown these surfaces eliminate up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria and viruses, according to Teck.Teck is funding the pilot project that will initially run over four weeks with various copper surfaces installe...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday November 11.Please click...Read More

Global zinc premiums were unchanged in the week to Tuesday November 10, with spot lead premiums also seeing only minimal trading activity.Zinc and lead premiums in the United States firmly supported by trucking costs Asian lead premiums stable with small trading volume European premiums flat ahead of 2021 contract negotiations US zinc, lead terms hold; high trucking costs support premiumsIn t...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange remained relatively flat over the trading day on Wednesday November 11, with the notable exception being lead, which increased by 1.3%.LME prices improved marginally over the day after holding up following Monday's news of a prospective Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The LME lead price increased to $1,874.50 per tonne from...Read More

Premiums for nickel in the United States fell during the week to Tuesday November 10 amid a competitive spot market and bearish 2021 long-term contract talks, while premiums in Asia and Europe were flat.Intense spot market competition drags US briquette premium lowerNickel premiums in Shanghai unchanged while closed arb keeps long-term contracts cappedStrong London Metal Exchange nickel price dete...Read More

China's zinc smelters could follow their copper peers in forming a group to negotiate supply deals with international counterparts, after an increasingly volatile market for concentrates this year.Several smelter sources, speaking to Fastmarkets on condition of anonymity, said that talks were at a preliminary stage, but that discussions had started during the annual meeting of China's zinc and lea...Read More

Markets were generally buoyant on the back of relief that a potential Covid-19 vaccine has been found, but the metals also seem hesitant this morning, Tuesday October 11, about what this will mean to the markets given how much they have run up already since the March lows.* Asian Pacific equities were mixed, with China’s CSI 300 down for the second day as big tech, a big winner during lockdow...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month prices for copper, zinc and lead were on the rise on Wednesday morning while the market continues to sway between expectations of a Covid-19 vaccine, a Joe Biden presidency and the prospect of an economic downturn in Europe due to new lockdowns.The LME three-month lead price made the most significant gains over the morning from Tuesday's 5pm close with its pri...Read More

There were no expectations of material changes to the US steel market to arise in the short term as a result of Joe Biden taking office as United States president in 2021, Gerdau chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday November 11.Werneck also expected a metal spread recovery in the fourth quarter of this year, boosted in particular by steel beams, and he forecast stability for 2...Read More