The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong plunged in May, even as the market showed signs of recovery amid an easing of the city's coronavirus crisis.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts slid 70% year on year to HKD 2.02 billion ($261 million) for the month, as the halt to tourism continued, and many locals were unemployed or in difficult financial...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has resumed operations at its International underground mine following a brief suspension after several employees tested positive for Covid-19.Management at the Russian miner's Mirny mining and processing division, which oversees the site, decided to reopen International after the majority of workers tested negative for the virus, Alrosa said Tuesday. A total of 12 employees tes...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has signed an agreement with China's Guangzhou Diamond Exchange (GZDE) that will create new trading opportunities for both parties."This agreement will further advance the strong and long-standing cultural and commercial ties that exist between the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and China," said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of the DMCC and chairman of th...Read More

RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) is reopening its New York grading laboratory following a three-month closure amid the coronavirus pandemic."As the metropolitan area has been cleared to enter phase 2, the institute is safely restarting business operations," IGI North America president Avi Levy said Monday. Initially, the institute will implement a gradual rollout, limiting...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's diamond industry is being urged to accept upon itself a third voluntary ban on rough imports.An appeal has been issued to halt all purchases between 10 and 31 July.  It follows similar appeals on 23 April and 19 May.An estimated $7bn of rough and polished diamonds have been stuck in India, the world's cutting and polishing capital, since the country first wen...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Swarovski is to axe 600 jobs in response to a "massive" decline in sales.The family-owned Austrian business empire, known for its crystal jewelry and swan logo, will shed almost one in 50 of its 34,500 workforce as it embarks on a restructuring plan.Two hundred jobs will go at its headquarters in Austria's Tyrol region."The international luxury market has been hit hard by the...Read More

Fastmarkets has corrected its assessment of the price for European high-carbon ferro-chrome, which was published incorrectly on Friday June 26 due to a rounding error.The lower end of the weekly assessment of the price for MB-FEC-0004 ferro-chrome, high carbon, 6-8.5% C, basis 60-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, has been corrected to $0.82 per lb Cr from $0.825 per lb Cr in Price Book and $0...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds is seeking a buyer as debts mounts and revenue slumps.The UK-listed company operates the world-famous Cullinan mine in South Africa, source of the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever - the 3,106.75-carat Cullinan Diamond that became part of the British Crown Jewels. In addition, it operates the Finsch and Koffiefontein mines, also in South Africa, and the Wil...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A visitor to one of the world's only dig-your-own-diamond attractions has walked away with a 2.23-carat stone.Beatrice Watkins, 56, was sifting soil at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas, USA, a former commercial mine turned visitor attraction that now admits amateur miners for $10-a-day.She unearthed the biggest diamond this year and is allowed to keep it under rules...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price closed above $6,000 per tonne for the first time since January 23 on Tuesday June 30.The price was buoyed by high-volume trading amid supply concerns brought on by the closure of Codelco's Chuquicamata smelter in Chile amid the Covid-19 infection in the country.The LME three-month copper price closed up by a fairly modest 0.8% at $6,015 per tonne...Read More

Solgold is set to take 100% control of its Ecuador copper-gold mine named Alpala, with the latest buy-out attempt from a company that holds a minority stake in the project, Fastmarkets understands.Solgold commenced an offer to buy all shares of Cornerstone Capital Resources, which holds a 15% stake in the Alpala project, Solgold said on Tuesday June 30. Alpala, located in the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 163-carat, type I yellow diamond at its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the third over 100 carats the company has found this year.The unbroken stone, which the miner unearthed on Wednesday, follows the retrieval of a 114-carat, "high-quality," D-color diamond in March, and a 183-carat, type IIa, "exceptional" stone in February.In May, following the coronavirus lo...Read More

Swiss metal merchant MRI Trading has appointed Markus Nunnenmacher as its new chief executive officer, with longstanding head Iain Paterson stepping down from the role effective from July 1."This change represents an agreed retirement transition process whereby Iain Paterson will continue to serve as the President of the Board of Directors of MRI for...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price rose during morning trading on Tuesday June 30, surpassing resistance at $6,000 per tonne against a narrowing forward curve, while nickel futures maintained gains made on Monday. LME copper's outright price was recently at $6,001 per tonne, up from Monday's closing price of $5,961.50 per tonne, while turnover was moderate at just over 6,200 lots a...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe all-stock transaction, valued at about C$140 million, offers 11 SolGold shares per Cornerstone shares and values Cornerstone at $3.90 a share, representing a premium of about 22% over Cornerstone's June 29 closing price."This is an exciting value enhancing opportunity, providing Cornerstone shareholders with a premium over the...Read More

Chinese non-ferrous scrap importers largely stayed on the sidelines during June, with a lack of detail surrounding China's renaming of certain scrap metal as renewable materials causing participants to refrain from making any purchases. "Today is the last day of June and nothing new on customs codes and inspection procedures has been released from Chinese customs yet," an industry source said. The...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesLike its global peer group that includes Freeport-McMoRan and First Quantum Minerals, Antofagasta is viewed by generalist investors as a bet on global GDP, a way to gain exposure to the economicRead More

Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity index futures were stronger this morning, Tuesday June 30, while base metals prices were for the most part firmer too - this despite Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell saying the US economy faces "extraordinary uncertainty". China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 50.9 in June, from 50.3 in May, but Japan's in...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesIt said trunk hole KM-20-10 at the South Zone had hit 4.9m at 6.2% copper-equivalent from 480m, 0.6m at 9.6g/t gold-equivalent from 491m and 1.6m at 3.1% Cu-eq from 494m.It said the drillhole was being used as a trunk hole to wedge a number of branch holes aimed at the 1500-foot level previously described by Exxon Minerals.Artemis...Read More