RAPAPORT... The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) reduced companies' credit scores at an "unprecedented" rate in the second quarter as businesses missed payments during the Covid-19 crisis.Many jewelers that bought on terms of 90 days or less before the pandemic were unable to meet their obligations to suppliers because revenues dried up during lockdowns. As a result, the JBT downgraded 1,70...Read More

Italian steel re-rollers have been targeting a price increase for heavy plate due to the rising cost of steel slab, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?430-440 ($493-505) per tonne on July 22, up by ?,?10 per tonne week on week from ?,?420-430 per tonne.The assessment was based on achievabl...Read More

(IDEX Online) -  Alrosa is investing $12m seeking out new diamond reserves in Zimbabwe.The Russian state miner announced a joint venture in December 2018 with the national miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), and is now embarking on two-years of prospecting and preliminary exploration works for primary diamond deposits.Zimbabwe is hoping to exploit its rich diamond reserves and...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An Indian laborer who leased a tiny square of land to dig for diamonds has unearthed a 10.69 carat stone valued at $67,000. Anandilal Kushwaha, 35, paid just $2.70 for the six-month rights to a 25ft by 25ft patch in an area of Panna, Madhya Pradesh, known for its diamond deposits. The stone will be auctioned by the mineral resources department and Mr Kushwaha says he'll share...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A pioneering new app uses facial recognition-type technology to positively identify diamonds and combat fraud.It allows anyone in the jewelry industry with an iPhone or iPad and a $50 outlay to start registering and verifying diamonds using a special viewer that fits over the camera lens.Tech firm GemEx says its patented DiamondEye is the only affordable ID system in the marketplac...Read More

Despite the worsening effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Western participants in the global nickel markets saw hopeful signs, while a lack of arbitrage kept Chinese trading at a low level.Some "desperate" selling in the United States was considered to be isolated.European market participants expected a post-summer pick-up, and a boost from nickel briquettes being listed on the Shanghai Futures Exch...Read More

Rio Tinto has formally complained of Landsvirkjun - the energy supplier to its ISAL aluminium smelter - abusing its market dominance in Iceland and threatened to close the plant entirely if the alleged anti-competitive conduct does not end, it said. The complaint, lodged by the company to the Icelandic Competition Authority (ICA) against state-owned generator Landsvirkjun, marks the end of the fir...Read More

London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were down at the close of trading on Wednesday July 22 following news that China's central bank will cease its monetary easing activity amid fears that it would over-stimulate its economy while it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.The People's Bank of China injected 1.81 trillion yuan ($259 billion) of new loan liquidity on July 10. Following...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Comfortable consolidationAluminium appears comfortable consolidating for the moment, and this will leave prices in a stronger position to challenge overhanging long-term trend-line resistance from the May 2018 high, which stands at $1,670 per tonne currently.Copper: Consolidation unlikely to lastCopper reached its...Read More

Grade A copper cathode premiums in Asia softened in the week to Tuesday July 21, with a higher LME three-month price limiting buying opportunities, while tight spreads kept premiums in Europe and the United States steady week on week. Asian sellers heed caution amid Chile supply woes. Rotterdam stock decline perplexes European participants. Spot market remains quiet in the US. Premiums b...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesCodelco will have the first option on Enami's stake but it is likely to face competing bids from other companies, including BHP, according to a Mining and Energy Ministry source, reported BNAmericas.Ecuador's finances have been hard hit by both the drop in the price of oil, its main export, and the economic impacts of the COVID-19...Read More

More zinc and lead metal were delivered onto exchange warehouses as spot interest remained low for both metals with premiums flat across different markets this week. Significant deliveries of zinc and lead metal to LME sheds showed ample availability and poor demandFastmarkets' latest tally of zinc production lost so far this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic amounts to 744,000 tonnesThe arbit...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesGroup June quarter copper production was 24,577 tonnes, while gold production was 68,740 ounces, at C1 costs of negative US5.4c per pound of payable copper.Read More

Decreasing ferrous scrap prices and overall weak demand have eroded wire rod spot prices in the United States, Fastmarkets has learned.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US fell to $29-29.50per hundredweight ($580-590 per short ton) on Tuesday July 21, down by 4.1% from $30-31 per cwt last month, when sources indicated the domestic wir...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesAntofagasta produced 177,700 tonnes of copper in Q2, a fall of 8.4% quarter-on-quarter driven by lower grades from the company's Centinela Concentrates division.Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesTo be fair, they're flocking back not just because of takeover gossip or the copper price rally, but also because the penny has dropped the company could soon become the largest copper producer in theRead More

Hollow steel sections prices in Northern and Southern Europe were unchanged on Wednesday July 22 with much of the market already away for the summer, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?540-560 ($620-642) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week. The weekly steel sections (medium), domestic,...Read More

Egyptian long steel producer El Marakby Steel will add a total of 400,000 tonnes per year to its steel rebar and wire rod production capacity, company chairman of board Hassan ElMarakby said on July 17.El Marakby Steel signed a certificate of acceptance with SMS Group for the wire rod and rebar mill, which will have the capability to produce 10-32 mm thickness rebar and 5.5-12mm...Read More

Sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil market has been positive despite the seasonal slowdown in activity in the second half of the summer, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 22.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?407.68 ($467.82) per tonne on Wednesday, up by just ?,?0.01 per tonne from ?,?407.67 per tonne on July 21.Wedne...Read More

Steel H-beam prices in Europe moved up on Wednesday July 22, after producers achieved the price increases they had been pushing for over recent weeks, sources have told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?530-560 ($608-643) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?520-550 per tonne the week before. The corresponding weekly pr...Read More