Iron ore prices fell on Thursday April 22 after fresh tensions between Australia and China emerged and further emissions restrictions were introduced in the Chinese steel hub of Handan city, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $183.62 per tonne, down $4.61 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $185.38 per tonne, down $3.29 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade...Read More

Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange set fresh multi-year highs on Wednesday April 21, while copper and tin shied away from previous highs, and the rest remain rangebound this morning.India reported 315,000 new Covid-19 infections on WednesdayHaven assets on the riseBase metalsLME three-month base metals prices were down across the board by an average of 0.4% this morning, but volume has...Read More

Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap for June shipment, supported by strong export demand for rebar, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 22.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Venezuelan cargo, consisting of 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), at $424.50 per tonne cfr.This compared with the most recent Baltic Sea cargo, which was booked at $427 per tonne...Read More

Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have increased over the past week amid rising imported scrap costs and strong export demand. But the overall demand in the local market was still sluggish, sources said on Thursday April 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 5,950-6,100 lira ($728-747) per tonne on Thursday, up from last week'...Read More

TRADE ALERT: India is undergoing a severe Covid-19 crisis that will impact the global diamond trade. India manufactures about 92% of the world's diamonds. While the Indian government is doing everything possible to support continued diamond manufacturing and exports, shortages and price volatility are expected to intensify over the next few months. This is a good time to support Indian suppliers....Read More

RAPAPORT... A US advertising regulator has rebuked the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) over its environmental claims following a complaint by Diamond Foundry, a lab-grown producer.The National Advertising Division, part of industry self-regulator BBB National Programs, has called onthe NDC to stop using certain assertions that compare natural stones with synthetics, it said Thursday. These incl...Read More

RAPAPORT... The US government has placed sanctions on Myanmar Pearl Enterprise, a key state-owned economic resource for Myanmar's military regime, amid "violent" repression of pro-democracy protests in the southeast Asian nation.The company is a "political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality" of the government in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, the Department of the Treasury said i...Read More

Antofagasta Minerals has reduced the number of workers at its mining operations and offices, and has postponed maintenance at one of Chile's largest copper mines, Los Pelambres, due to the appearance of a new wave of Covid-19 infections in the country, the company said on Thursday April 22.In March, Chile recorded the start of a second wave of Covid-19 infections with a sharp increase in case numb...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The GIA says it needs to re-assess a number of green diamonds that passed through its labs.It says concerns about potential treatments have prompted it to recall stones submitted for grading between January and June 2020."Recent research and investigation into potential treatment methods caused us to request the return of the subject diamonds for further analysis," said Tom Moses,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds reported a decline in first-quarter sales, marking a contrast after a stronger performance in pandemic-hit 2020.Revenue fell 7% year on year to $43.9 million during the three months ending March 31, the company, which owns the Let??eng deposit in Lesotho, said in a trading update Thursday. Sales volume dropped 8% to 26,916 carats.The slump in volume outweighed a 1% in...Read More

RAPAPORT... India is undergoing a severe Covid-19 crisis that will impact the global diamond trade. India manufactures about 92% of the world's diamonds. While the Indian government is doing everything possible to support continued diamond manufacturing and exports, shortages and price volatility are expected to intensify over the next few months. This is a good time to support Indian suppliers. T...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers reported a decline in rough-diamond production in the first quarter while maintaining its full-year guidance as demand recovered to pre-pandemic levels.Operational challenges drove a 7% year-on-year slump in output to 7.2 million carats, De Beers' parent company Anglo American said Thursday. Declines in Botswana, Namibia and Canada outweighed a strong recovery in South Af...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Prosecutors have launched an investigation into Eurostar Diamond Traders, one of the world's biggest traders until its collapse in 2019.The Antwerp-based company reported a $16bn turnover in 2016 but was declared bankrupt three years later, with bank debts of $560m.The investigation will focus on possible mismanagement surrounding the bankruptcy, in particular the role of the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Warren Buffett-owned jeweler Ben Bridge and the Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) are sponsoring a scholarship for a minority candidate to receive a degree from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).The jeweler will also provide the winner of the Lonia Tate scholarship with an internship at one of its locations after the candidate has completed the GIA graduate gemologist program,...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan's Morenci operations in Arizona, the United States, have been awarded the Copper Mark, an assurance framework demonstrating responsible production practices and contribution to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.This brings the number of the company's sites that have achieved the Copper Mark to six. In addition to Morenci, they are the Miami smelter and mine, and th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Heritage Auctions has hired Brett O'Connor as senior director of private sales for jewelry and timepieces.O'Connor, who was most recently senior vice president and head of jewelry for North America at Bonhams, will focus on expanding Heritage's platform for private sales, the company said Tuesday. He also previously held senior roles at Sotheby's and Christie's."[Brett] brings a wealth...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan has not yet reached a mutually acceptable agreement to develop a new copper smelter in Indonesia with a third-party, but commercial discussions have been taking place, the company said.In its first-quarter 2021 earnings on April 22, the US copper producer said that the smelter would be at an alternate location to other options on the table for the project.The company did not name...Read More

US copper producer Freeport-McMoRan said it expects production at its Indonesia unit to rise significantly in 2021 from year-ago levels, reaching around 1.3 billion pounds of copper, or 589,670 tonnes.In 2020, the company's Indonesia unit produced 809 million lbs, or 366,956 tonnes. The increase comes as the company transitions from open pit to underground mining at the giant Grasberg mine in Indo...Read More

RAPAPORT... Beyonc?(C) Knowles-Carter has chosen the Black industry professionals who will win a scholarship for a graduate gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).The performer selected Audriana Osborne and Shelton Bradford to receive The Beyonc?(C) Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship, the GIA said Tuesday. In their applications, the winners wrote abo...Read More

A lack of automotive demand in the UK - and across the rest of the world - has driven secondary aluminium prices in the country to a two-month low, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday April 22.The global shortage of semiconductor chips, which has led to a temporary halt in automotive production across the UK and Europe, has weakened demand for secondary aluminium, putting downward pressure on ingot pric...Read More