Swedish mining company Boliden increased its concentrate stocks of zinc, copper and lead during the first quarter of 2020 to ensure supplies of raw materials for its smelters amid the growing market uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic."The company is planning for normal business operations during the coming quarters," Boliden said in its interim report for the January-March quarter on Tue...Read More

RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports dropped 51% to $513.7 million in March, reflecting the impact of the coronavirus on global shipments.Exports to the US fell 47% to $152.9 million, according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, as the pandemic spread to North America. Shipments to the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Switzerland also fell. A 44% rise in exports to Hong...Read More

RAPAPORT... India's polishing revenues will plummet to their lowest in a decade this year, as prices have dropped and inventory has built up, a credit agency has warned.Diamond sales will decline up to 32%, to $13 billion to $15 billion, in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, India-based Crisil Ratings estimated Tuesday. This compares to approximately $19 billion in the fiscal year...Read More

ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company plans to undertake a nonrenounceable rights issue on a 1 for 5 basis with a free attaching options exercisable at $0.10 each and expiring two years from the date of issue.If fully subscribed, the intended rights issue will raise up to $5.25-million.AdvertisementThe funds will be used to advance the search for the primary kimberlite sources of the high-value Lulo m...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The two-man crew of plane that crashed collecting workers for the Ekati diamond mine, in Canada, died because of instrument failure compounded by pilot error, says a report. Pilots Will Hayworth and Zach McKillop came down in their eight-seat Air Tindi King Air 200 in January 2019. "The accident was not survivable," says a newly-released report into the accident by the Transpo...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Opencast mines are permitted to return in phases to 100% operation from May 1 but underground mines must continue at 50% of production capacity, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Saturday.Speaking during a media briefing covered by Mining Weekly on South Africa’s easing from the current Level 5 lockdown stage to Level 4, Patel said: &ld...Read More

French metals and ore producer Eramet reported an 11% drop in revenues in the first three months of 2020 because of lower steel demand globally, with increased uncertainty about the future due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Eramet's manganese business reported sales down by 17% in January-March to ?,?359 million ($389 million), due to falling steel demand and a build-up of manganese ore at Chinese ports...Read More

RAPAPORT... The National Retail Federation (NRF) is predicting a 1.5% increase in US consumer spending on jewelry this Mother's Day, despite financial pressures arising from COVID-19.Americans will shell out $5.27 billion on the category this year, compared with $5.19 billion in 2019, the trade organization reported last week. Jewelry will retain its position as the top-grossing item for the...Read More

Zambia is highly unlikely to impose restrictions on the mining sector during the Covid-19 pandemic because current practices are working very well, a senior executive at First Quantum said. Hannes Meyer, the company's chief financial officer, said Zambia's population demographics have also aided the limited spread of the virus in the copper-rich country. "I don't think for one minute that we will...Read More

Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as disruptions in the supply of substitute copper products from Africa."Buy, buy, buy whatever copper scrap, ingots, blister you see on the market. This is what I have been told," a major Chinese copper smelter...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The rapidly evolving Covid-19 crisis learning curve is still too steep to conclusively define what a ‘best practice’ response looks like from the mining industry, says the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which is facilitating a rapid exchange of information and knowledge to support the responses to the pandemic of its members.I...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Tuesday April 28, characterized by thin volumes and sideways trading, while a 7,300-tonne fresh cancellation from Asian locations bolstered copper's price incline. The LME three-month copper price was recently at $5,188 per tonne, inching up by 0.1% from an intra-morning low of $5,170 per tonne. Trading turnover...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Lesotho government has permitted diamond mines to reopen from Monday, ahead of the May 5 lockdown extension, Gem Diamonds said on Friday.Mining Weekly can report that Lesotho is authorising diamond-mining’s recommencement in the Mountain Kingdom, contingent on compliance with Covid-19 health and safety guidelines.AdvertisementThe small country surr...Read More

US hot-rolled coil prices have crashed below $23 per hundredweight ($460 per short ton) despite some mills trying to lift prices in tandem with an expected increase in scrap costs in May.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $22.63 per cwt ($452.60 per ton) on Tuesday April 28, down by 1.7% from $23.03 per cwt on Monday April 27 and down by 4.8% from $2...Read More

RAPAPORT... Technology company Everledger has partnered with De Beers sightholder Shairu Gems Diamonds and Atit Diamond Corporation to offer more transparent data on the goods they supply, as well as a mechanism to offset their carbon footprint.The London-based business, which provides blockchain services to the diamond industry, has teamed up with the suppliers to collect, track and report r...Read More

RAPAPORT... Kering's jewelry and watch divisions have been "hard hit" by COVID-19, dragging revenues down for the first quarter, the French luxury group reported Monday.The company, which owns Boucheron, Pomellato and Qeelin, said income for its "other houses" segment - including jewelry and watches - fell 4.1% to EUR 553.3 million ($597.1 million) in the three months ending March 31.It noted...Read More

The prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates fell over the past week due to weak demand during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as well as the continued effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources said on Tuesday April 28. Authorities in the UAE announced a curfew from 10pm to 6am for the month of Ramadan, which started on April 23. Traditionally consumption of steel pr...Read More

Some flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased this week, with the markets very slow because of concerns about the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the start of Ramadan, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 28.No deals were heard during the week, with steel consumption reduced because the Islamic holy month of Ramadan started on April 23, when a...Read More

Prices in the market for steel billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to soften in late April, with some cargoes heard sold to customers in the Middle East with discounts.A large cargo of Ukraine-origin billet was reported sold to Saudi Arabia for around $360 per tonne cfr. According to various sources, the cost of freight would vary within the range of $20-25 p...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Tuesday April 28, with sentiment dampened by futures losses amid a drop in raw materials costs. Exporters, meanwhile, expect sellers globally to cut their offer prices amid bid drops, especially when mills remain in pressure to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,260-3,280 yuan ($460-463) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan pe...Read More