Japan's aluminium seaborne spot market has rebounded strongly after a quiet 2020 that was characterized by thin spot trading volumes and buyers asking to defer deliveries - and the benchmark premium could keep rising.Activity has picked up dramatically in the second quarter of 2021, with constrained domestic supply propelling spot trades as high as $170 per tonne.Last week, a spot deal was heard a...Read More

A widening price gap between UG2 chrome ore and Turkish chrome ore in China has emerged since mid-March, when persistently high port stocks and falling domestic ferro-chrome prices weighed on the UG2 market, while the Turkish market has been supported by limited supply, rising costs and good demand, participants said. Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index basis 42%, cif China...Read More

The price of nickel was $16,038 per tonne at the close of trading at 5pm on Tuesday, its lowest closing price for three weeks, while most other futures prices on the London Metal Exchange also fell off their recent gains on Tuesday April 20.Nickel's three-month price was down by 0.5% from Monday's closing price of $16,121 per tonne, and at its lowest since March 31, when it closed at $16,068 per t...Read More

Base metals prices on London Metal Exchange were stronger across the board this morning, Tuesday April 20, but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed, as were broader markets, following weakness on Wall Street on Monday.The US Dollar Index continues to trend lowerBase metalsLME three-month base metals prices were up by an average of 0.7% this morning, once again led by a 1.2% rise in co...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Market conditions are clearly extraordinary when we find ourselves adjusting the axis on our pricing charts to display the new record-high prices each month.After reporting record price highs in Europe and the United States with regards to coated steel products, we find ourselves repeating the same line this month. In Europe,...Read More

The export market for steel billet in the Commonwealth of Independent States became quiet early in the week to Tuesday April 20, with limited numbers of inquiries coming from the majority of outlets."There is no demand and there are no offers for the moment," one trading source said, adding that demand from Latin America and Asia was covered by last week's deals. Several cargoes of Ukraine-origin...Read More

The price of nickel was $16,038 per tonne at the close of trading at 5pm on Tuesday, its lowest closing price for three weeks, while most other futures prices on the London Metal Exchange also fell off their recent gains on Tuesday April 20.Nickel's three-month price was down by 0.5% from Monday's closing price of $16,121 per tonne, and at its lowest since March 31, when it closed at $16,068 per t...Read More

Korea Zinc has agreed annual supply contracts for lead concentrate from South32's Cannington mine in Australia with a 25.5% reduction in treatment charge (TC) terms from a year ago.The two companies agreed to a TC of $136 per tonne and refining charge (RC) of $1.50 per oz, down from $182.50 per tonne / $1.50 per oz, sources claiming direct knowledge said. The deal was locked as per contract with n...Read More

A summary of Rio Tinto's first-quarter production and its updated production guidance for 2021, as the company released on Tuesday April 20.In brief The company produced 2% less bauxite year on year in the first quarter of 2021 due to the wet weather in Eastern Australia, which meant the port at the Amrun mine was closed for 14 days. Aluminium production increased by 3% in the first quarter...Read More

RAPAPORT... Arctic Canadian Diamond Company (ACDC) has become a member of the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) in an effort to promote the growth of the mined-diamond industry.ACDC, which owns the Ekati mine in Canada, comprises DDJ Capital Management, Brigade Capital Management, LP and Western Asset Management Company, the NDC said Tuesday. Those entities acquired Ekati from Dominion Diamond Mines i...Read More

A summary of Brazilian miner Vale's base metals production results for the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its production report published on Monday April 19.In brief Nickel output increased year-on-year in Vale's Canadian and Brazilian operations, as they ramped up activities due to higher performance at the Copper Cliff and Clydach refineries in Canada, and despite an unscheduled 18-day down...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' revenue rose in the third fiscal quarter as demand improved and rough prices returned to pre-pandemic levels.Sales climbed 16% year on year to $106 million for the three months ending March 31, while sales volume slipped 1% to 1.1 million carats, the company reported Tuesday. Prices for the miner's diamonds increased 12% on a like-for-like basis compared to the July-to-...Read More

Paul Crone has joined alternative asset management firm BlueCrest Capital Management in a London-based portfolio manager role.Crone was most recently head of proprietary trading for the metals division of Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners (ECTP), which was spun off from the commodities trading business...Read More

RAPAPORT... Fresh Covid-19 measures in India have lengthened the grading turnaround time at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), adding pressure amid a backlog at the organization."The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has impacted our laboratory operations in Mumbai and Surat," the GIA said Saturday in a note to clients, seen by Rapaport News.Stones customers send to the Mumbai laboratory on Ap...Read More

Rio Tinto's Alma aluminium smelter in Canada is to be the first operation to install and demonstrate the zero-carbon Elysis technology in an industrial setting, the Elysis joint venture has said.The inert anode technology will be installed at the end of an existing potline at a commercial size of 450 kiloamperes (kA), which is a common capacity for modern, full-scale smelters. The 450kA cells at A...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto's rough-diamond production from its Diavik mine in Canada rose in the first quarter amid the recovery of higher-grade ore.Output climbed 18% year on year to 1 million carats for the three months ending March 31, the company said Tuesday. The miner saw improvements to the productivity of its processing plant, as well as greater ore availability and higher grades.The company ex...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A 100.94-carat D-color IF diamond - the largest stone ever cut in Russia - is to be auctioned by Christie's Geneva with a high estimate of $18m.The "Spectacle" (pictured) was cut from a 207.29-carat rough stone unearthed in 2016 at the Zarnitsa kimberlite pipe in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) - Russia's first ever diamond mine. The Diamonds of Alrosa factory, Moscow,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Christie's will sell a 100.94-carat diamond at its upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva, where it expects the stone to fetch up to $18 million.The emerald-cut, D-color, internally flawless diamond, called the Spectacle, originated from a 207.29-carat rough Alrosa unearthed in 2016 at its Zarnitsa pipe in Yakutia, Christie's said Monday. Alrosa cut the stone at its polishi...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A ground-breaking jewelry ad that follows a young Indian boy as he transitions to a woman, with his family's support, has been widely praised.Milestones in her journey are accompanied by gifts of jewelry from the anklets and earrings she receives as a child to a joyous wedding ceremony.The one minute 40 second video, entitled Pure as Love, is a marked departure from traditiona...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds reported a 13 per cent drop in Q1 sales, but said prices were almost back to pre-Covid levels and it could see a "path to a return to normalcy".The Canadian miner sold $42.7m, compared with $49.2m in the same quarter of 2020, which was largely unaffected by the pandemic.A total of 602,773 carats were sold during the quarter, for an average value of $71 pe...Read More