Peruvian mine output went up on an annual basis of comparison in October, with copper, zinc and tin recovering to pre-pandemic levels and production units aiming for higher capacity usage, data from the country's ministry of energy and mines, Minem, showed on Monday December 7.The country produced 207,034 tonnes of copper during October, a 1.4% year-on-year increase from 204,139 tonnes. But in the...Read More

RAPAPORT... The December edition of the Rapaport Research Report, published on Monday, presents an in-depth analysis of how Covid-19 has impacted Botswana's diamond industry and, by extension, its economy. As the poster child for the diamonds-do-good story, Botswana has been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic. Its heavy reliance on the diamond sector means its economy gains when the marke...Read More

Hindalco plans to build a 34,000-tonne-per-year aluminium extrusion plant in Silvassa, India, it said on Monday December 7. The company, which expects commercial production at the plant to start in 24 months, said the new plant will be part of the company's long-term downstream value-added product (VAP) strategy. Hindalco plans to build a larger VAP portfolio over the next few years. "We are seein...Read More

Glencore chairman Tony Hayward was not understating matters when he described the company's succession transition as coming "at a time of huge change." Glencore's share price has risen 3% since its announcement on Friday December 4 that 18-year chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg would be retiring from his role next year and coal assets head Gary Nagle would stepping up to the plate. The...Read More

RAPAPORT... Bonhams sold a Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch for $1.1 million at its New York Jewels auction, bringing in more than double its low valuation and surpassing its high estimate.The cushion-shaped mixed-cut, 17.21-carat sapphire, flanked by marquise- and pear-shaped table-cut diamonds, was created in 1910. It led the December 7 sale, which achieved a total of $3.8 million, Bonhams sa...Read More

Three-month prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly unchanged from Monday's prices and remained around their peaks on Tuesday December 8 morning.Nickel was back to high ground after dipping slightly on Monday, with its three-month price at $16,415 per tonne at 9:05am - rising to $16,440 per tonne shortly after - up 0.25% from Monday's 5pm close. Nickel declined slightly also, do...Read More

RAPAPORT... India's international trade in gems and jewelry improved in November as the government and the industry pulled together to weather this year's unprecedented crisis, according to the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).The decline in the country's exports narrowed to 4%, for a total of $2.48 billion, compared with $2.58 billion in November 2019, the organ...Read More

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China-based alumina producer Hangzhou Jinjiang Group (HJJ) in hope of securing an alumina supply. The MoU serves as a framework to form a strategic potential collaboration between both entities to secure Alba's alumina requirements. The agreement will remain in effect for three years and can be extended upon mutual agreem...Read More

Chinese exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products rose slightly in November from the month prior but still declined on a year-on-year basis, customs data released on Monday December 7 shows.China exported 424,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and...Read More

RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has reached a deal to sell its Ekati mine in Canada to two of its bondholders amid mounting debt that caused it to seek creditor protection.DDJ Capital Management and Brigade Capital Management will acquire nearly all of Dominion's assets, with the exception of its 40% stake in the Diavik mine, which it shares with joint-venture partner Rio Tinto, Dominion said M...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An Indian farmer unearthed a "pebble" that turned out to be 14.98 carat diamond - that has now been sold at auction for over $80,000.   Lakhan Yadav, 45, was prospecting last month on a rented patch of land in an area of the central Madhya Pradesh state known for its diamond deposits.   He bought a motorbike with the pre-auction deposit he received from the local diamond...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's gem and jewelry exports rebounded last month, approaching pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic hit.Manufacturing is almost back to normal and after a series of voluntary embargoes, rough imports rose in October by almost 70 per cent.Foreign sales for November were within four per cent of the same month in 2019, signaling a sharp upturn in demand. ...Read More

European distributors of flat steel products have reported a 3.3% year-on-year rise in shipment volumes during October 2020, regional steel industry association Eurometal said on Tuesday December 8.Over the first 10 months of 2020, however, flat steel distributors' shipments dropped by 14.0% year-on-year.Eurometal did not disclose individual product volumes.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel h...Read More

The export price for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) surged during the week to Monday December 7 on new sales and a strong hot-rolled coil market, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $570-580 per tonne on December 7, up by $45 per tonnefrom $525-535 per tonne a week earlier.CIS suppliers increased s...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Canada's Dominion Diamond Mines has agreed to sell its Ekati mine to investment managers following the collapse of a rescue deal in October.The troubled miner filed for insolvency in April and had been seeking a buyer since then for the deposit in Northwest Territories.It's being acquired by DDJ Capital Management and Brigade Capital Management, representing holders of Do...Read More

The price of steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) exported via the Black Sea increased sharply this week on a deal heard to Peru, with offers rising amid a shortage of supply, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday December 8.The booking to Peru was heard at $520 per tonne fob Black Sea and was understood to have been concluded on December 7 for a volume of 10,000 tonnes, although...Read More

Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates increased this week while demand was strong, sources said on Tuesday December 8.Domestic rebarThe country's steel producers were offering rebar at 1,985 dirhams ($540) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in December before closing their order books and should announce new prices soon, sources said.Market participants in the UA...Read More

Genesis opens new chapter at UlyssesSPONSOREDgenesis minerals'Best discovery in my time': De Grey on the march at HemiSPONSOREDde grey miningPantoro bullish on bigger production profileSPONSOREDpantoro limitedOceanaGold commits to net zero emissions by 2050SPONSOREDoceanagoldNova Resources, the buyout vehicle backed by KAZ chairman Oleg Novachuk and non-executive director Vladimir Kim, has...Read More

Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have gone up over the past week because of globally strong demand, sources said on December 8.The UAE was on national holidays on December 1-3, so buyers had only recently returned to the market.But demand within the country was moderate because recent price increases had been too sharp for buyers to accept, and they wante...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.The first hole at the Cacharposa target hit promising visual mineralisation back in October. Final assays have now been received, with the hole returning 899.3m at 0.53% copper equivalent (0.Read More