Sentiment in the seaborne iron ore and Asian steel markets have deteriorated amid a rapid spread of the 2019-nCoV - or Wuhan novel coronavirus - in China, which appears to have intensified in the last week.Market participants are anticipating a delayed restart of construction and manufacturing activity after the country's Lunar New Year holiday, which has been extended until at least Sunday Februa...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Grisogono has filed for bankruptcy shortly after it was caught up in an alleged money-laundering scandal involving Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola's former president, and her husband.Last week, media reports stated dos Santos's husband, Sindika Dokolo, bought a stake in the Swiss luxury jeweler together with Angolan national diamond-trading company Sodiam through a Ma...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and watches at LVMH increased 7% in 2019 amid a strong year for Bulgari.Revenue from the categories rose to EUR 4.41 billion ($4.85 billion), driven by Bulgari's Fiorever collection, which contributed significantly to growth following its launch at the end of 2018, LVMH said Tuesday. The brand's Serpenti Seduttori watch line was well received, while Chaumet and Hu...Read More

RAPAPORT... Graff-owned diamond manufacturer Safdico will cut and polish a portion of rough from the Lulo mine through a partnership with Lucapa Diamond Company.Safdico will have the rights to buy up to 60% of Lulo's annual rough production under the terms of Angola's new reform program, which went into effect last year. The new guidelines open sales to a wider range of buyers of the miner's...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers' January rough-diamond sales reached their highest level since last April as post-holiday stock replenishment boosted demand.Proceeds of $545 million at the first sales cycle of 2020 were 9% higher than a year ago, the miner said in a statement Wednesday. Sales also rose 28% from the $426 million the company garnered in December."Demand for rough diamonds increased during...Read More

RAPAPORT... Crystal brand Swarovski introduced 16 new synthetic-diamond colors at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.The new hues fall into four creative categories in which Swarovski claims to play a role, it said last week. Each of the four areas - fashion, art, music and architecture - includes four colors of cushion-cut lab-grown diamonds. Every category in the collection is led by a "hero"...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.All eyes will be on the Indonesian nickel market in 2020.The knives may be out for the country’s nascent stainless industry but the staggering potential for expansion in NPI may reduce the impact of the nickel ore export ban to...Read More

Diamond miner De Beers' rough diamond sales increased to $545-million for the first sales cycle of this year.This was higher than the $426-million in sales recorded for the tenth sales cycle of 2019, as well as the $500-million in sales recorded for the first sales cycle of 2019.Advertisement“Demand for rough diamonds increased during the first sight of 2020 following the end-of-year sel...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers Group Industry Services is collaborating with RDI Diamonds Inc., in NY to provide the diamond wholesaler's grading reports for its Rare and Forever diamonds. De Beers Group Industry Services will also offer educational activities and sales training to RDI. "We were humbled to be approached by the De Beers Group Industry Services for such an important opportunity:...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers today said it provisionally sold $545 million worth of rough diamonds at its first Sight of 2020, which ended on January 24.This compares to sales of $500 million in 2019 and is a noticeable increase over the sales totals throughout 2019. Sight 1Sight 2Sight 3Sight 4Sight 5Sight 6Sight 7Sight 8Sight 9Sight 102020$545 M (provisional)2019$500 M$496 M$581 M$416 M$391 M$2...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Comstock Resources today tightened its grip on the Haynesville basin with a US$2.2 billion cash-and-stock deal to buy privately-held Covey Park.Robert Clarke, director, US Lower 48, at global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenz...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Perhaps a false sense of security had crept in. Plentiful oil supply, carefully stewarded in 2019 by OPEC+ to get the market closer to balance, and moderate prices. Rising geopolitical tension,even around Iran, seemed a nebulous...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. (SRK) has introduced a new design for reusable diamond packets that it says have been created for better security. SRK says the packets, which were conceptualized in-house, are more durable than traditional packets and are designed to be reusable. These stickers can be custom printed for each company. They have sticker labels, which can...Read More

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa has entered into a cutting and polishing agreement with leading diamond manufacturing group Safdico International over its Lulo alluvial mine, in Angola.As a preferred buyer, Safdico could purchase up to 60% of Lulo’s yearly alluvial rough diamond production, as permitted under Angolan law.AdvertisementThe diamonds purchased by Safdico wi...Read More

Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has undertaken a placing with existing and new investors to raise £250 000 to fund exploration activities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.The company will issue about 41-million new ordinary shares, at a placing price of 0.6p apiece.AdvertisementEach placing share has one warrant attached, which allows investors to subscribe for one new ordinary share...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices declined sharply once again, following the fresh United States' cargo deal heard on Wednesday January 29.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a cargo of 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at $275 per tonne cfr, Fastmarkets was told. This would put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $272 per tonne cfr, several market sources said. The US cargo was compared with the...Read More

Seaborne coking coal market remained inactive on Wednesday January 29, with top spot buyer China on an extended New Year break due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.29 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, unchanged ...Read More

The seaborne iron ore market was muted on Wednesday January 29, although market participants lowered their estimates for physical transaction prices in response to the sharp downward movement in the Singapore Exchange's derivatives for the steelmaking raw material a day earlier. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.84 per tonne, down $6.87 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, c...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesAll-in-sustaining-costs were US99c per pound of copper, which OZ said put the project comfortably into the bottom quartile of operations globally.Read More

Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesCase study: platform financeSPONSOREDminexiaTurquoise is hardly an independent entity despite its separate listing as Rio controls 51% and operates the mine, where there have been embar...Read More