(IDEX Online) - A hapless groom splashed out $20,000 an engagement ring - only to have thrown back in his face when his bride-to-be discovered it was lab-grown.She wanted to know how much he'd paid for the 3.6-carat sparkler.  When he showed her the grading certificate she was furious to learn he hadn't bought her a "real" gem.The anonymous 30-year-old ring buyer posted his tale of...Read More

Futures prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the close of trading on Wednesday May 12, after higher-than-expected inflation indicators in the United States pushed the dollar up to its highest figure this week.Lead was the metal most badly affected by the inflation numbers released earlier on Wednesday, with its price down by 1.6% to $2,187 per tonne, from $2,222 per to...Read More

The total amount of metal held outside of the London Metal Exchange network fell by 40% in March 2021 to 1.25 million tonnes from just over 2 million tonnes in February, the latest data from the Exchange shows.The LME's latest off-warrant stock report showed a decrease of 841,034 tonnes over March, down from February's reading of 2,093,017 tonnes. There was a decrease in every metal held off warra...Read More

The differential between duty-paid and duty-unpaid aluminium premiums in Rotterdam has been trading far below the traditional 3% duty delta for well over the past year and market participants are questioning if this is a new norm. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dp Rotterdam at $225-240 per tonne on Tuesday May 11. On the same day, Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) stands to lose at least $3.71bn from "suspect mining and oil deals" with the diamond tycoon Dan Gertler, according to claims by the civil society coalition Congo is Not for Sale.The country - one of the poorest in the world - has lost $1.95bn in revenue since 2013, according to the society's analysis of publicly available financial d...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Industry bosses in India have been challenging a US proposal to charge 25 per cent import duty on many items jewelry.It's widely seen as retaliation India's new two per cent digital service tax, which targets Amazon and other non-Indian e-tailers.Representatives of India's gem and jewelry sectors voiced their concerns about the import duty at a United States Trade Re...Read More

Zinc premiums in the United States and Europe rose during the week to Tuesday May 11, with the import arbitrage loss keeping Chinese premiums stable. The surge of Covid-19 cases in India, meanwhile, has led to freight cost rises for imports into the country.Fervent zinc demand has been noted in the US and northern Europe, leading to a rise in premiums in those regions. London Metal Exchange prices...Read More

Copper premiums in China and the United States have parted ways this week, though an actual shift of copper cathode to the western hemisphere has yet to take place.Shanghai premiums sink to 9-year lowChinese premiums for copper cathode imported into the country sank to their lowest level since 2012 in the week to Tuesday May 11, and trading sentiment is very low amid unfavorable import conditions....Read More

China's premium for imported nickel full-plate moved slightly lower amid minimal spot trading due to a big arbitrage loss while European premiums held flat in thin spot trading and US premiums were little moved after market-caution arose following price volatility on exchanges, sources told Fastmarkets. China nickel market premium dips after holidayPremiums unchanged in Europe and US amid thin tra...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States set a new record for the third day in a row, passing the $77-per-hundredweight ($1,540-per-short-ton) threshold for the first time on Wednesday May 12. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $77.06 per cwt ($1,541.20 per ton) on May 12, up by 0.59% from $76.61 per cwt on Tuesday May 11 and by 4.01% from $74.09 per c...Read More

A summary of German steelmaker Salzgitter's financial results for the first quarter of 2021, running January to March.In brief A sustained steel market recovery and rising steel prices benefited the company's performance over the period. While almost all sectors reported a steady increase in their monthly results over the quarter, increased earnings for the period were especially attributable to t...Read More

ArcelorMittal has increased its official offer prices for all coil products across Europe by ?,?50 ($61) per tonne, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 12. This will be the sixth consecutive week that ArcelorMittal Europe has increased its coil offer prices. Its new offers for HRC have now reached ?,?1,100 per tonne ex-works, while prices for downstream flat steel products - cold-rolled and...Read More

Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe continued to rise on Wednesday May 12, with the rise in feedstock material costs showing no sign of slowing, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,190-1,220 per tonne ($1,446-1,482) per tonne on May 12, up from ?,?1,120-1,190 per tonne on May 5."I had thought...Read More

Prices for steel wire rod in the north of Europe have jumped upward over the past week, backed by limited domestic supply, costlier scrap and increased offers from overseas suppliers, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?720-750 ($875-911) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?670-690...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed and consolidating this morning, Wednesday May 12, this after some choppy trading in recent days.* Traders wary of contagion from weaker equity markets* Asia-Pacific equities mainly weaker, especially in Taiwan* Markets focused on Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from United StatesBase metalsLME three-month base met...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe company produced 24,553 tonnes of copper and 35,500 ounces of gold in the quarter at a C1 cash cost net of by-products of $1.04/lb.Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationPrevious commodity booms have had the same effect on copper as the metal prices itself out of some applications.Read More

Towards Sustainable Mining Tailings Guidance Aligns with Global StandardSPONSOREDthe mining association of canadaPAM puts itself in the middle of Thailand 4.0SPONSOREDAuroch powers up nickel explorationSPONSOREDauroch mineralsSaturn still shooting for the stars at Apollo HillSPONSOREDsaturn metalsWafi-Golpu is a 50:50 joint venture with Australia's Newcrest Mining, expected to produce more than 1....Read More

The prices paid for deep-sea scrap cargoes by Turkish steel mills continued to rise in the wake of recent changes in Chinese tax policy that have seen billet and long steel demand increase, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 12.A mill in the Izmir region booked a cargo from the UK comprising 6,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $499 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $519 per tonne.A m...Read More

Brazilian iron ore and flat steel producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has secured funding for the expansion of its Casa de Pedra mine at Congonhas in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, the company said on Wednesday May 12.A key element of the plan is a switch to the dry processing of tailings from the mine.CSN currently has capacity to produce 33 million tonnes per year of iron ore...Read More