RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has appointed Jeffrey Post and Tammy Storino as governors to its board, to help steer the organization's mission andstrategic initiatives. Post, a research geologist at the SmithsonianNational Museum of Natural History, is also the curator-in-charge for themuseum's National Gem and Mineral Collection, the GIA said Tuesday. He hasserved as...Read More
RAPAPORT... In a jam-packed program, the Dubai Diamond Conference set the stage well for its main bout: finally, a match-up between the lab-grown and mined diamond producers. At its core, the debate among panelists in the discussion titled "Market Disruption - the Advent of Lab-Grown Diamonds," boiled down to one fundamental question: What makes a diamond valuable? In one corner, representing the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has welcomed two new members to its Board of Governors. They are Dr. Jeffrey Post and Tammy Storino.Dr. Post is a research geologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and is also the curator-in-charge of the museum's National Gem and Mineral Collection.He has also served as chairman of the department of mineral science...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today said it provisionally sold $390 million worth of rough diamonds at its ninth Sight of the year, which took place earlier this month.This compares to sales of $442 million in 2018. Sight 1Sight 2Sight 3Sight 4Sight 5Sight 6Sight 7Sight 8Sight 92019$500 M$496 M$581 M$416 M$391 M$250 M$287 M$297 M $390 M (provisional)2018$672 M$563 M$524 M$554 M$581 M$533 M$50...Read More
RAPAPORT... A fancy-deep-blue diamond ring by Moussaieff fetched nearly$12 million at Christie's Geneva auction Tuesday, becoming the most expensivepiece of jewelry sold this season, the company said. The rectangular-cut, 7.03-carat, VVS2-clarity stone sold toa private collector for $11.6 million, against a presale estimate of $10million to $14 million. In total, Christie's garnered $55.3 mil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds PLC has announced the recovery of the first diamonds from diamond-bearing gravels and unprocessed stockpiles surrounding the Marsfontein Mine. The stockpiles are believed to contain commercial-grade diamonds."I am delighted with the rapid progress the team has made on-site and it is noteworthy that the first diamonds were recovered within two...Read More
RAPAPORT... A rare fancy-deep-grayish-blue diamond ring with a highestimate of $8 million is set to lead Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels sale in NewYork next month.The cushion-cut, 7.55-carat, type IIb, SI2-clarity stone,called the Indian Blue, is valued at $6 million to $8 million, and displays ared phosphorescence typically found in diamonds from the Golconda mine inIndia, or from South Africa...Read More
HARARE – Zimbabwe will vigorously enforce a policy to force companies to develop their mining assets and not keep the land for speculative purposes, mines minister Winston Chitando said on Wednesday.Chitando said some investors had not developed gold and platinum assets that they had held dating back to the 1960s and the mines ministry had asked some companies to justify why they should keep...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers’ rough diamond sales value for the ninth sales cycle of this year increased to $390-million, compared with the $297-million reported for the eighth sales cycle.Sales were, however, lower than the $442-million recorded for the ninth sales cycle of 2018.AdvertisementCEO Bruce Cleaver commented that with signs of increasing polished price stability, the ninth sales cycle...Read More
London-listed Botswana Diamonds (BOD) has recovered the first diamonds from its plant commissioning activities at the Marsfontein mining permit.The company’s 40%-owned associate Vutomi Mining was last month granted a mining permit for the diamond-bearing gravels and residual unprocessed stockpiles around the iconic mine, in South Africa.AdvertisementBOD reports that plant commissioning is we...Read More
Nordic Mining prepares for lift-offSPONSOREDnordic miningPolymetal building with good momentumSPONSOREDpolymetal internationalIronRidge derisks through diverse discoveries SPONSOREDironridge resources Investing in African Mining Indaba 2020SPONSOREDindabaWeighing on results was a $242 million impairment charge on the stalled Rosemont project in Arizona following another legal setback two weeks ago...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States resumed its downward trek this week due to lower nickel prices, a weakening chrome market and slack demand, although the latter seems to have stabilized at least for now, sources said."We continue to be as conservative as possible with our buying prices because we have no confidence in the direction prices are heading," one domestic dealer sour...Read More
Poster South Africa mine regeneration on trackSPONSOREDorion mineralsNevada Copper's US$200 million Pumpkin Hollow project near Reno in Nevada is one of the first new mines established and in operation at "what looks to be the start of a new commodity cycle", theRead More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for December deliveries at steady prices, sources said on Wednesday November 13.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $262 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $272 per tonne cfr.A Monday booking from...Read More
China is likely to turn into an exporter of ferrous scrap in the next decade and global scrap availability is expected to almost double by 2050, Edwin Basson, director general at the World Steel Association, said on Tuesday November 12.As the Chinese steel recycling sector develops the Asian country is set to generate more than it needs by the mid-2020s, he told a panel at Alacero's Latin American...Read More
Low demand for long steel products such as rebar was at the root of the problems facing the steel industry, according to the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas).The raw material for blast furnaces was becoming cheaper but the ferrous scrap used in electric-arc furnaces was getting more expensive, while the prices for both rebar and hot-rolled coil were increasing. This w...Read More
The spread between mid-grade and high-grade fines has continued to widen, with concerns over the glut in supply of the former and limited spot availability of the latter.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.03 per tonne, down $0.45 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.06 per tonne, down $0.45 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $8...Read More
Markets in general are under pressure following United States President Donald Trump’s speech at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday November 12, where he failed to provide any reassurance that a trade deal had been reached with China; indeed, Trump even threatened that tariffs would be “raised very substantially” if a deal was not reached.In response, gold prices and US treasu...Read More
China's rebar prices increased on Wednesday November 13 amid tightened supply caused by logistical bottlenecks, though market participants expect these to ease over the next few days.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,830 yuan ($539-547) per tonne, up 80-90 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,640-3,670 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneA trader in Shanghai said that a lot of carg...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was down during the morning trading session on Wednesday November 13, slipping below further support levels despite a continued draw on LME stocks, while tin futures threatened a dip below $16,000 per tonne. Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $2,442 per tonne, continuing its downward trend after slipping below the $2,500-pe...Read More