Almost EVERY RECORD in the history of Silver was broken this year, and there are still 2 weeks left!by Bix Weir of Road to RootaAlmost EVERY RECORD in the history of Silver was broken this year from the most COMEX silver delivered, the most mines shuttered, the most extreme highs & lows, the highest silver ETF inflows, the highest Silver/Gold Ratio (125-1!) and of course...the biggest FINES EVER i...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Key ferro-alloy forecast highlights for the coming months:?EUR? A strong recovery in both bulk and noble alloys is expected in 2021 but the markets are unlikely to return to the levels seen before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen a quicker-than-expected recovery across various regions amid the economic fal...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy increased significantly in the month to Tuesday December 15, supported by the global uptrend as well as a material shortage in the domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap, No E3 (old thick scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Italy was ?,?260-265 ($316-322) per tonne on  December 15, up b...Read More

Domestic ferrous scrap prices in Germany increased significantly in the month to Tuesday December 15, following the trend in the international market and supported by limited supplies, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Germany, was ?,?285-310 ($346-376) per tonne on December 15, up by ?,?240-245 p...Read More

LME base metals prices were mixed on Tuesday December 15, with three-month copper and lead prices rising, while nickel fell below Monday's close despite setting a new year-to-date high earlier in the day.Nickel's three-month price failed to hold at the new year-to-date high of $17,880 per tonne reached during the day and fell back to $17,557 per tonne by 5pm - 0.2% lower than Monday's cl...Read More

The European Commission released legislative proposals on December 10 aiming to create a legal framework on sustainability, traceability and circularity of battery production throughout its life cycle.The proposal comes as the uptake of electric vehicles (EV) gains pace across European countries and to provide legal certainty for battery investments within Europe. This is in line with the European...Read More

Recurring protests have led to a fire at the mine and associated infrastructure at Vale New Caledonia (VNC), the Brazilian company said on Monday December 14. Firefighters and military forces spent the night at the site to control the incident, Vale said. The processing plant, 7 km away from the mine, was not affected, it added. Vale struck a deal with a consortium comprised of employees and...Read More

RAPAPORT... What if the pandemic presents the largest growth opportunity the jewelry industry hasever seen? Covid-19 and lockdowns have effectively wiped out in-person shopping, but they've also forced the jewelry industry as a whole to embrace e-commerce. The resulting data, if used correctly, can result in a long-overdue industry-wide recalibration that will dramatically improve efficiency and t...Read More

RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports fell 9% year on year to $612 million in November, marking the third consecutive month of decline. The slowdown reflects a 7% drop in shipments to the US, for a total of $194 million, according to data the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released this week.Belgium trade data for November 2020  Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Tuesday December 15, with nickel being the only metal to see a rise of more than 0.5%, despite positive Chinese economic data. Nickel continues its upward trend, rising by 0.68% to $17,710 per tonne as at 9am London time, from Monday's 5pm closing price of $17,590 per tonne.The stainless-steel additive...Read More

RAPAPORT... A Canadian court has consented to Dominion Diamond Mines' sale of its Ekati site and most of its assets to two of its bondholders.Under the agreement, DDJ Capital Management and Brigade Capital Management are set to acquire "substantially all" of the miner's assets, except for its 40% stake in the Diavik mine, which it shares with Rio Tinto. In return, the purchasers will assume a numb...Read More

China Copper became the head negotiator in the settlement of the 2021 copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) benchmark following years of expansion in copper capacity.On Monday December 14, the subsidiary of Chinalco - which has outgrown its state-owned peers - became the first smelter to secure a deal with US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan at $59.50 per tonne/5.95 cents per lb....Read More

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Tuesday December 15, this despite some healthy Chinese economic data. Stricter lockdowns measures in many countries are a headwind for equity markets, which may flow into the metalsWith gold prices up and US treasury yields down, this suggests a pick-up in haven demandBase metals The three-m...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Botswana Diamonds reported a second loss-making year but said demand was recovering and the future looked good.The Ireland-based explorer said it was making good progress on its newly-acquired KX36 high grade 3.5 hectare kimberlite pipe in the Kalahari about 260km north west of Gaborone, Botswana.It says it has an indicated diamond resource of 17.9 million tonnes at 35 carats per h...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A Cartier ring featuring a huge 21.86-carat Colombian emerald sold for $3.65m, almost four times the high estimate of $1m by Sotheby's New York.It was the headline lot in a sale of the "very complete jewelry wardrobe" collected by the late philanthropist and society hostess Cecile Zilkha.The square emerald-cut stone (pictured) was described as "richly saturated medium deep sli...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers and the Botswana government today said they were extending the contract between them - governing production of a quarter of the world's rough diamonds -  by a year.The deal, which had been due to expire at the end of this month, is of critical importance to both sides, and talks to renew it had already been delayed.The year-long extension may give both parties ti...Read More

Buyers of steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates expect new domestic prices to be announced this week with an increase of about 315-515 dirhams ($86-140) per tonne, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 15.Domestic rebarSince November, the country's steel producers have been offering rebar at 1,984,1,985 dirhams ($540) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in December. However, the...Read More

The export market for long steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased again during the week to Monday December 14 amid new sales and strong billet prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $600-610 per tonne on Monday, up by 11% from $540-550 per tonne a week...Read More

The export price for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) went up again over the week to Monday December 14 on new sales, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $620-625 per tonne on December 14, up from $570-580 per tonne a week earlier.Ukraine-origin steel slab was sold...Read More