After being pummeled to record-low levels relative to gold, an epic silver mean reversion higher is underway. Here are the details... by Adam Hamilton of Zeal LLCSilver is powering higher in a new bull market after getting clobbered in March's stock panic. Investors have been flocking back to silver in the aftermath of that ultra-rare extreme-fear event. That brutal selloff also utterly wiped...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market was muted on Monday May 4 in the absence of China, the only country that has been buying metallurgical coal spot cargoes since the global spread of Covid-19. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.12 per tonne, unchanged Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.33 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.26 per tonne, unchanged...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Monday May 4 from Friday April 1 due to a holiday in China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.04 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.70 per tonne, unchanged. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $72.13 per tonne, unchanged. 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao: $101.70 p...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The first quarter continued the trend of 2019 - for China to actively import relatively cheap metallics and semi-finished steel - but can this be sustained? The answer to this question will come down to the price competitiveness of the products, we believe. One additional incentive to continue to import metallics this year -...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices narrowed upward in the week to Friday May 1, with producers trying to push offers higher amid lower global slab supply.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil, moved up by $10 on the low end to $330-345 per tonne, from $320-345 per tonne a week earlier.Offers from Brazil to Asia were reported within the range of $330-335 per tonne fob...Read More
RAPAPORT... Antwerp's four diamond-trading halls will reopen next week as Belgium gradually relaxes its restrictions on movement and social interaction.The government permitted diamond companies to restart operations on Monday, though many employees will work from home. The country had been on lockdown since mid-March as the nation attempted to limit the spread of the coronavirus, with Antwer...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has hired Vincent Sinisi as senior vice president of investor relations, replacing Randi Abada, the company said Monday.Sinisi has over 15 years of experience as a retail analyst, most recently as executive director of equity research for Morgan Stanley. In his new role, he will be responsible for communicating Signet's strategic growth plans to the investment community...Read More
RAPAPORT... India has resumed manufacturing and exports of gems and jewelry, as the country starts to ease its restrictions following five weeks of lockdown.Eight production units in Surat, the country's diamond-cutting hub, have begun operations at the city's Special Economic Zone, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported Thursday. Ten shipments of diamonds were expo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's achieved $3.3 million at its online Fine Jewels auction, driven by proceeds from its sold-out collection of Graff pieces.The total beat the company's high estimate of $2.8 million for the sale, the auction house said last week. The 18 pieces of Graff jewelry brought in a combined $1.3 million, far surpassing their combined estimate of $730,000. The highest-selling lot wa...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, the US and China, with blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals taken into consideration.To view the latest price assessments, please follow the links below:China- APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China, $/mtu WO3Europe- APT 88.5% WO3 min Europe, cif Rotterdam an...Read More
RAPAPORT... A subsidiary of Rio Tinto has voiced concern over the continuity of the Diavik mine after its joint-venture partner in the project was granted protection from creditors. The insolvency order obtained in late April by Dominion Diamond Mines threatens the future of the Diavik deposit as it exempts the 40% shareholder from paying for its upkeep, according to a court filing by Diavik...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Diamond Price Index crept up slightly, by 0.7 per cent in April, a possible indication that the market is showing the first signs of recovery. In March, prices slid 1.6 per cent as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite. February also saw slow sales, with prices down 1.27 per cent. Throughout April the Index rose slowly but steadily day by day in a virtual strai...Read More
Diversified mining company Rio Tinto is investing $10-million in a variety of grassroots projects across Canada and the US to support local community efforts to fight Covid-19.The group’s investment is targeted at practical solutions like funding the food banks or counselling and support services that are helping frontline response workers and the communities around its operations, says...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The supply of rough diamonds must flow freely again when the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, says De Beers boss Bruce Cleaver.In an impassioned open letter, the CEO argues his company has a global, even more than a corporate, responsibility to its workers and customers not to halt production."The continuity of our (mining) operations is central to our people, the local...Read More
Aim-listed diversified miner Vast Resources has commented on articles published in the Zimbabwean press during the last week of April, around the Chiadzwa community concession block joint venture, for which Vast is awaiting finalisation of a mining agreement.The company wishes to mine the Chiadzwa diamond fields, in Zimbabwe, through its subsidiary Katanga Mining, in joint venture with Zimbabwe Co...Read More
Copper stocks at Shanghai bonded warehouses fell in April amid an increase in import activity due to expectations of a cut to China's VAT rate in May and the opening of the arbitrage window between Shanghai and London.Fastmarkets assessed Shanghai bonded copper stocks at 291,000-301,000 tonnes on Thursday April 30, down by 12.7% from 334,000-344,000 tonnes on March 23. "The rumor of a VAT cut enti...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa has restarted operations at its Lulo diamdond mine, in Angola.Operations at Lulo were reduced in early April to only essential services after a State of Emergency was declared in Angola in order to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.AdvertisementOn April 24, a new Presidential Decree amended certain restrictions, allowing essential ind...Read More
The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter Aurubis unconditional approval for the ?,?380 million ($417 million) acquisition of Belgian-Spanish recycler Metallo Group, the company said on Monday May 4.The transaction will formally close on May 29, with Metallo's consolidation into Aurubis taking place on June 1. The investment firm TowerBrook Capita...Read More
Christine Keener has been appointed Alcoa's vice president of operations for Europe and North America, in a new role combining the two operating locations, Fastmarkets understands. The consolidation, effective from Friday May 1, will streamline the management of operating Alcoa's assets and ensuring alignment among common markets, the company said. Keener replaces Jean Francois Cyr and...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Monday May 4, with price action losing some 0.8% against low turnover, while the LME tin price also lost ground over the morning. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $5,065 per tonne, down from Friday's closing price of $5,110 per tonne, while turnover was low over the morning with jus...Read More