BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s exports rebounded more strongly than expected in April after a surprise drop the previous month, suggesting global demand remains relatively resilient and providing a cushion to the economy amid a heated trade dispute with the United States.Imports in April also grew more robustly than anticipated, signaling China’s domestic demand is holding up well, good n...Read More

Shares in Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc. (LON:ANTO) took a hit on Wednesday after the company announced it had found a blockage in the pipeline that carries copper concentrates from the Los Pelambres processing plant to nearby ports.The company said it would take up to three months for stocks to return to normal, which will affect both projected output and sales in the six months ending June 30...Read More

RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports dropped in April,according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Polished exports decreased 7% year on year to $728.2 millionbut, by volume, rose 3% to 389,218 carats. The average price went down 10% to$1,871 per carat. The fall was mainly a result of a 60% slide in shipments tothe United Arab Emirates to $48.8 million and a 30% drop...Read More

HARARE, May 8 (Reuters) - Former President Robert Mugabe will not appear before Zimbabwe's parliament as scheduled on Wednesday to answer questions on diamond mining operations, a legislator said.Temba Mliswa, who leads the parliamentary committee on mines, said the clerk of parliament hadn't written to Mugabe to invite him to appear."It has been delayed but that resolution still stands," Mliswa s...Read More

Physical iron ore trading and prices stayed tepid on Tuesday May 8 despite gains in the futures market.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.46 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $55.54 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.02 per tonne Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.10 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe C...Read More

(IDEX Online) - CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has announced the establishment of an industry-wide working committee to formulate Responsible Sourcing Guidelines specifically for the jewelry, gem and precious metals sectors. The new body was created by the CIBJO Board of Directors in March following Board approval of a draft Responsible Sourcing Guidelines document. When ratified, the...Read More

Diamond group De Beers has reported that its total production increased by 15% to 8.5-million carats during the first quarter of this year (1Q18). This rise in output was largely credited by the group to the ramp-up in production at the Gahcho Kué project, in Canada, and greater production at the Orapa operation, in Botswana. In Canada, Gahcho Kué, which had achieved its ‘namep...Read More

The actual listing of the bonds in Luxembourg is still reliant on the Ethiopia government handing over a promised $20 million and Kefi finding another $30 million in equity investment.Read More

SHANGHAI, May 8 (SMM) – China’s imports of unwrought copper and copper products rose 46% year on year in April as demand for refined copper was bolstered by tighter supplies of copper scrap imports, SMM believed.China imported 439,000 mt of unwrought copper and copper products in April, flat from March, according to data from China Customs. Imports of unwrought copper and cop...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he will discuss trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, as both sides continue talks after failing to reach a consensus at talks in Beijing last week.Trump announced the planned telephone call in a post on Twitter, just days after a U.S. delegation returned from discussions in Beijing last week with no agreement on a long list of...Read More

RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has appointed Rachel Aaron to oversee its marketing operations, including the promotion and development of its CanadaMark brand. As director of marketing, Aaron will be tasked with building and nurturing client relations, as well asenhancing the company's social-media profile. She previously worked at jewelry and retail companies. "Rachel joins Dominion at an exc...Read More

Canada-listed Fura Gems (TSX-V:FUR), a new gemstone mining and marketing company headed by the former COO of Gemfields (LON:GEM), has found a 25.97-carat rough emerald at its Coscuez emerald mine in Colombia.The company, which began operations a year ago, says the gemstone is a "rare and exceptional" one, given its size, colour saturation and clarity.The 25.97-carat gemstone has been named the "?,...Read More

Chinese ferrous futures mostly increased during morning trading on Tuesday May 8, with the exception of the coking coal and coke contracts, which fell slightly.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,658 yuan ($575) per tonne, up 3 yuan per tonneOctober hot-rolled coil: 3,752 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange September iron or...Read More

The company revealed high-grade intercepts, including 44m at 5.37g/t gold from 99m, about 40m below the base of the previously planned openpit at the Kunche deposit.Its shares were up more than 56% in afternoon trade at 3.6c.Meanwhile, the gold price continues to hover around the US$1,313 per ounce mark and in the US, gold major Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) managed a slight gain yesterday of 0.5...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will announce on Tuesday whether he will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal or stay in and work with European allies who have struggled to persuade him that it has halted Iran’s nuclear ambitions.Trump has consistently threatened to pull out of the 2015 agreement because it does not address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its role i...Read More

SHANGHAI, May 8 (SMM) –Copper: The strong US dollar suppressed copper prices overnight. The SHFE 1807 contract fell to a low of 51,220 yuan/mt from open at 51,630 yuan/mt and closed at 51,250 yuan/mt. SHFE copper now struggles among moving averages with support from the 40-day moving average. We expect the SHFE 1807 contract to trade at 51,150-51,600 yuan/mt today with LME copper at $6,820-6...Read More

RAPAPORT... A synthetics manufacturer has partnered with WarrenBuffett-owned jewelry retailer Borsheims to unveil what it claimed was thelargest pink lab-grown diamond in the world. ALTR Created Diamonds unveiled the Asscher-cut, 3.99-carat,fancy orangey-pink, VS2-clarity stone last week to mark the start of the 2018Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Weekend, an annual gathering for investors inBuffe...Read More

(Kitco News) - The popular cryptocurrency bitcoin is just a “greater fool theory” that doesn’t produce anything and “if there was an easy way to do it,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he would short bitcoin.Gates revealed his thoughts about the digital currency to CNBC on Monday, saying that bitcoin is purely speculative.“I would short [bitcoin] if there w...Read More

Global steel slab prices decreased in April, but trading remained weak in all regions due to poor demand and uncertainty about how the market will develop after the Section 232 trade investigation in the United States.Southeast AsiaIn Southeast Asia, slab offers started to come down early in May, but market participants believe that the current prices are still high.Despite lower offers, no large...Read More

According to Thomson Reuters' GFMS Gold Survey 2018, jewellery fabrication rose 13% on the year to 2,214t, mainly due to a 58% increase in demand from India as the market stocked up before the good and service tax is implemented mid-year.Read More