(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced the recovery of an unbroken 341-carat diamond at Karowe in Botswana, bringing the mine's tally of stones over 200-carats to 54 since 2015.Earlier this month the Canadian miner had its lease on the deposit extended for 25 years, clearing the way for a major $500m underground expansion program.The top white gem quality diamond (pictured) was recovered over t...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers has reportedly raised rough diamond prices by as much as five per cent at its first Sight of 2020.Insiders indicate that most of the increases affect stones over one carat, according to a Bloomberg news report. The scale of the price hike, described as the biggest in years, has surprised many within the industry. De Beers dropped its prices and started offering d...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamonds Do Good (DDG) has named Rebecca Foerster as its new president. She will succeed Anna Martin, who is departing after a four-year term.Foerster, who is the president of Alrosa's US operations, was elected to the position after having served on the DDG board for 10 years and on its executive committee for the past four years, the organization said last week."I am very confident R...Read More

The London Metal Exchange is proposing the permanent closure of its open-outcry trading floor and the incentivization of greater liquidity on its electronic trading platform, LMESelect. The proposals, laid out in a new discussion paper on future market structure, also include potential changes to the exchange's margin methodology and the introduction of potential additional disclosures and policie...Read More

Additional price increases in the Brazilian flat steel market are possible due to the current low supply, but buyers are already cautious after a series of price gains, national flat steel distributors association Inda said."Steelmakers have their order books completely sold out until March, and some until April," Inda president Carlos Loureiro said.Some flat steel producers have announced 10% pri...Read More

Rebar buyers in the UAE have done deals this week at the higher prices announced last week, but there is little demand for billet imports because producers have ample stocks, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday January 19.And billet import activity is likely to remain slow for another week or two, depending on local demand for rebar, they added.Domestic rebarThe country's steel producers...Read More

Brazilian flat steel distributors have reported a 13.8% year-on-year increase in sales volumes during December 2020, with full-year 2020 figures rising by 6.6% over 2019, national distributors' association Inda said on Tuesday January 19.Distributors sold 288,000 tonnes of flat-rolled steel in December last year, up from 253,200 tonnes a year before. In 2020 as a whole, sales volumes were 3.62 mil...Read More

Some of the flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia decreased slightly over the past week amid lower offers and weak demand, sources said on January 19.Demand was weak in both countries because buyers were unsure of the direction of prices, sources said.India, one of the biggest exporters of flat steel to Gulf countries, did not send any new offer prices this we...Read More

Export prices for billet originating from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dropped on Tuesday January 19 amid lower offers and bid prices heard in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Lower scrap prices and increased competition in the billet segment pressured prices downward, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was $451.40...Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesHis departure is scheduled for the end of March. Independent non-executive director Keith Marshall will act as interim CEO. Mather intends to remain on the board as a non-executive director.Read More

Trident aims to fill valuable nicheSPONSOREDtrident royaltiesDrivers of increased power consumption include aging deposits, lower grades, higher production of copper concentrates, which require more processing, and an increase in the use of desalinated seawaterRead More

Neo Lithium moving closer to productionSPONSOREDneo lithiumPantoro charging towards second gold mineSPONSOREDpantoro limitedMaximus ready to resume search for more Wattle Dam richesSPONSOREDmaximus resourcesDecade of performance: Pitram delivers diamond standard for Argyle diamond mineSPONSOREDmicromineThe company was previously planning to start full construction of Winu in the June quarter of 20...Read More

Look beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipNeo Lithium moving closer to productionSPONSOREDneo lithiumPantoro charging towards second gold mineSPONSOREDpantoro limitedMaximus ready to resume search for more Wattle Dam richesSPONSOREDmaximus resourcesUnder the agreement with Osisko Gold Royalties, the junior would convert the outstanding amount of $7.17 million under a 2018...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Tuesday January 19, but aluminium prices have followed recent weakness in zinc, breaking support levels in the process.The rebound in the dollar in recent weeks seems to be acting as a headwind.Base metalsThree-month base metals prices on the LME were mixed this morning, with aluminium, nickel and lead weaker and down by an a...Read More

The export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) weakened in the seven days to Monday January 18, amid growing competition from Chinese suppliers offering lower prices. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $765-780 per tonne on Monday, down from $785-790 per tonne a week earlier...Read More

A summary of multinational mining company Rio Tinto's fourth-quarter 2020 production results from its latest production report released on Tuesday January 19. In brief  Iron ore production at Pilbara (100% basis) in the fourth quarter and the full year of 2020 were higher year on year, despite weather disruptions and strict safety measures due to Covid-19 in the second quarter. Iron ore...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively flat on Tuesday January 19 with no trades heard, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.81 per tonne, down $0.34 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $208.44 per tonne, down $0.25 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $101.54 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: ...Read More

Iron ore prices have bucked the upward trend on Tuesday January 19 amid weakened sentiment in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $171.33 per tonne, down $2.74 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $171.60 per tonne, down $3.06 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $159.69 per tonne, down $1.20 per tonne65% Fe Braz...Read More

Costco (COST), an S&P 100 stock moved below $359.50 setting an intermediate downtrend.South Africa iShares (EZA) moved above $45.40 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday January 19thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 26 points in pre-opening trade.Goldman Sachs gained $5.98 to $306.99 after reporting higher than consensu...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices tumbled on Tuesday January 19 after data showing the country's steel output hitting a new high in 2020 triggered speculation that the government might restrict exports.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,480-4,520 yuan ($690-697) per tonne, down 50-70 yuan per tonneSeveral Shanghai-based traders said they had to lower their offers throughout the whole day amid thin t...Read More