(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province has recovered the biggest ever diamond from its Gahcho Kue mine in Canada - a 157.4-carat gem of "exceptional quality".The miner said it was a major morale boost after a year in which the industry had faced immense challenges.Gahcho Kue, an open pit operation approximately 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, began commercial production in March...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Five major players have shown interest in conducting auctions and tenders when the Angolan Diamond Bourse opens next year.Angola, the world's sixth biggest diamond producer, brought in trading reforms in 2018 that allowed 120 companies to buy stock previously available to just eight "preferential customers".Diamantino Azevedo, the country' minister of mineral resources an...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the close on Monday December 21 amid broad-based profit-taking. Lead was the worst performer, falling 3.9% to $1,959.50 per tonne at the close. Trading volume was relatively low with just over 5,000 lots. Lead stocks on the LME continue to rise, weighing on sentiment for the heavy metal. After big inflows of 13,000 tonne...Read More

The domestic hot-rolled coil price increased day on day in Northern Europe on Monday December 21 following a rise in ArcelorMittal's offers at the end of last week.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?660.40 ($808.93) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?10.40 per tonne from ?,?650.00 per tonne on Friday.The index was also up by ?,?37.07 per to...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.The operation is said to be on target for maiden copper sales in January."I am happy to confirm that Excelsior Mining is the newest copper producer in the United States," said president and CEO Stephen Twyerould. "Our focus for the coming quarter will be on expanding wellfield operations with the goal of achiev...Read More

Canada-headquartered Lundin Mining has ramped up production at its Chapada copper-gold site in Brazil to full capacity following the repair of a previously damaged motor, the company said on Monday December 21.Chapada had been operating at around 35% capacity in November with only one grinding mill. It then installed a single motor on another mill and reached 100% processing capacity on December 2...Read More

Maximus ready to resume search for more Wattle Dam richesSPONSOREDmaximus resourcesThe Toronto, Canada-headquartered company withdrew its 2020 production, cash cost and capex guidance for Chapada in September after a power outage caused damage to all four of the mills' motors.Lundin said Monday it had over the weekend completed installing the last remaining repaired and more powerful motor on the...Read More

First Quantum has named Tristan Pascall its new chief operating officer while also announcing that one of its founders, Clive Newall, will relinquish his role as president.Pascall, who has worked at First Quantum since July 2007, was general manager of the Cobre Panama mine, the only major greenfield project in the copper industry, from its inception in October 2015...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp."Demand for copper, but also aluminium, nickel and cobalt, is going to be absolutely enormous," Rahim told a Jefferies commodities webinar.Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Monday December 21, consolidating from their recent year-to-date highs.The three-month aluminium price fell by 1.4% this morning after nearly 30,000 tonnes were delivered into LME-listed warehouses.Warehouses in Port Klang received 27,875 tonnes of aluminium, while a couple of hundred tonnes was also delive...Read More

Bardoc eyes long-term growth in prime goldfields locationSPONSOREDbardoc goldDrill results multiply value options in front of YandalSPONSOREDyandal resources'Best discovery in my time': De Grey on the march at HemiSPONSOREDde grey miningDecade of performance: Pitram delivers diamond standard for Argyle diamond mineSPONSOREDmicromineThe company said the integration created synergies by comb...Read More

China's Zhuzhou zinc smelter has successfully met its production target of 300,000 tonnes per year in 2020, the company said on December 19, after a costly relocation that had weighed on output in recent years. But this target is still lower than the smelter's capacity prior to relocation. The flagship zinc smelting complex had capacity to produce 450,000 tpy of refined zinc when it was located in...Read More

Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States both surged by $5 per hundredweight ($20 per short ton) month on month, supported by higher ferrous scrap prices. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (high carbon), fob mill US rose by 13.42% to $42.25 per cwt ($845 per ton) on Friday December 18 from $37.25 per cwt the prior month.Fastmark...Read More

Turkey remains the key market supporting price growth in the Commonwealth of Independent States export billet market, with buyers largely interested in wire rod grade semi-finished purchases, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 21.More producers from Russia announced export prices for steel billet with February shipment on Monday with offers ranging $580-600 per tonne fob, several sources...Read More

Domestic rebar producers in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow have withdrawn their offers for January supply in anticipation for returning at higher prices, several sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 21.Last week, domestic rebar prices in the region increased sharply with Russian producers citing strong exports as the key driver for the rise.As a result, all major producers...Read More

Domestic flat steel suppliers to Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were increasingly bullish in the week to Monday December 21 amid a rising export market and good buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled sheetFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled sheet, domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was 55,500-58,000 roubles ($755-789) per tonne including 20% value-add...Read More

China is taking a tougher stance on steel capacity swaps in a bid to control pollution emissions from its mammoth steelmaking industry and alleviate oversupply.Its Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) released a draft last week to seek feedback from steel industry sources on increasing the steel capacity swap ratio to 1.5:1 from 1.25:1.This means that a steelmaker will need to cut...Read More

Morning Technical Notes for Monday December 21stKinder Morgan (KMI), an S&P 100 stock moved below $14.00 completing a double top pattern.Alphabet (GOOG GOOGL) an S&P 100 stock moved below $1717.30 and $1710.18 respectively completing a double top pattern.Industrial SPDRs (XLI) moved below $87.53 completing a double top pattern.Southern Companies (SO), an S&P 100 stock moved below $59.4...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices refreshed their multi-year highs at the beginning of the week with the news of fresh deals for European and US cargoes on Monday December 21.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $455 per tonne, shredded and bonus at $470 per tonne and busheling at $475 per tonne cfr. And another steel producer in the same reg...Read More

Vale has received the required licensing to start construction works of its $495-million Capanema iron ore project in southeast Brazil, aiming to bring online 18 million tonnes per year in capacity, it said.The the Brazilian producer plans to restart activity at Capanema, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, and use a new long-distance conveyor belt to transport ore to soon-to-be-adjusted st...Read More