RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has unearthed two rough diamondsweighing more than 100 carats from its Mothae mine in Lesotho. The 220- and 127-carat stones, which are low-quality diamonds, werefound during the treatment of recovery tailings - ore that has already beenprocessed once. They are the second and third stones weighing more than 100carats recovered from Mothae since Lucapa began comme...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's diamond trade slowed at a higherrate in October, reflecting global market weakness. Polished exports fell 30%to $671 million, compared with a 25% drop in September.Rough shipments also slumped, according to data from the Antwerp World DiamondCentre.Belgium Trade Data for October 2019 Read More
WINDHOEK – Namdeb, a joint venture between the Namibian government and Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers Group, said on Thursday it was in talks with the government about tax breaks to extend its land-based operations beyond 2023.Diamond mining is the largest taxpayer in Namibia and generates 20% of the Southern African country's export earnings.AdvertisementDiamonds have been m...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Solar power is playing a major role in reducing daytime electricity bills and lowering diesel use in off-grid diesel-consuming areas, says SunRanch.Solar, whose clients are benefiting from below grid power costs and major diesel savings.“We reduce people’s daytime power costs by 60% to 70%,” SunRanch.Solar chairperson Charles Mostert told M...Read More
The Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin, cfr Qingdao was lifted on Thursday November 21 amid growing winter season demand, while lump premiums posted smaller gains.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.67 per tonne, up $0.34 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.70 per tonne, up $0.34 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao:&n...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices remain resilient, with trading activity involving products in the premium segment not showing any signs of slowing down.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.51 per tonne, up $1.22 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $144.07 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $133...Read More
Traders are scrambling to divert their transshipped containerized cargoes of ferrous scrap bound for Indonesia to other destinations and find new supply sources in response to new import restrictions issued last month by the country's trade ministry."I'm working to divert my containerized scrap cargoes to other ports in Asia because the new regulations do not allow transshipment," a trader in East...Read More
Discouraging news from China over the “phase one” trade deal with the United States has led to less risk appetite, which for now is affecting the broader markets more than the metals, which were broadly firmer on Thursday November 21.Asian equities are weaker, led by a 1.5% decline in the Hang Seng, and US 10-year treasury yields fell as the outlook for a trade deal deteriorates. Ba...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Thursday November 21, dipping below nearby support against fresh inflows of material, while tin's outright price bucked the downward trend. Zinc's three-month price was recently seen at $2,297 per tonne, with price action down 0.5% from Wednesday's closing price of $2,313 per tonne. Turnover in zinc was hig...Read More
Trading activity in China's hot-rolled coil market thinned on Thursday November 21, with participants exercising caution after several days of gains.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,660-3,680 yuan ($521-524) per tonne, narrowing downward by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,650-3,670 yuan per tonne, widening downward by 20 yuan per tonneBuying slowed across the country, which exerte...Read More
Discouraging news from China over the "phase one" trade deal with the United States has led to less risk appetite, which for now is affecting the broader markets more than the metals, which were broadly firmer on Thursday November 21.Asian equities weaker, led by a 1.5% decline in the Hang Seng. US 10-year treasury yields fall as the outlook for a trade deal deteriorates. Base metalsThree-month ba...Read More
Chinese stainless steel prices dived over the past week amid a sustained downtrend for nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange.The three-month nickel contract on the LME ended Wednesday November 20's trading session at $14,350-14,375 per tonne, down $4,100 per tonne from a five-year high of $18,450-18,475 per tonne on September 2.DomesticFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning trading session on Thursday November 21 after trade headlines continued to cast doubts on the likelihood of a near-term deal between China and the United States.Market sentiment was subdued this morning after several negative trade developments on Wednesday, the first being the passing of a bill by the US Senate that...Read More
China woes fuel price retracement Strong risk-on sentiment in global equity markets and the latest ILZSG data have so far failed to break the negativity in zinc that has seen prices sell off from their late-October highs. Continuing uncertainties over the US-China trade war, and the latest macro data from China, have overshadowed the more supportive themes. The latest ILZSG data showed the global...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 3 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was a drop to 215,000 from upwardly revised 227,000 last week. Actual was 227,000. Consensus for the November Philly Fed Index was an increase to 7.0 from 5.6 in Oc...Read More
The Chinese cobalt sulfate price fell again in the latest pricing session, under constant pressure since mid-October from significantly shrinking buying appetite amid a bearish near-term outlook for electric vehicle (EV) development. Fastmarkets' assessment of the cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China price dropped to 44,000-46,000 yuan ($6,248-6,532) per tonne on Wednesday November 20, do...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Dear Rich Lifer,As the weather gets colder here in the US, and the dulcet tones of Christmas music permeate the air in every store, you might start to get in the holiday mood…You might even start shopping or planning your gifts a little early...But if you're thinking about buying online and having items delivered to your home, you might want to think again...Because package theft (also known...Read More
Dear Rich Lifer,No one wants to move into a nursing home.But the reality is almost 70 percent of today's 65-year-olds will need long-term care at some point, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Whether you want to move into a nursing home or not, you might not have a say.And because so many retirees are in denial of this fact, there's a severe lack of long-term care plann...Read More
Dear Rich Lifer,'There's a myth that living trusts are only for the wealthy…'That's how the pitch starts.Living trusts, formerly known as revocable trusts, are marketed as a way for people to avoid the hassles and costs of probate.But what these slick salespeople won't tell you about living trusts is what I'm going to share today.Before we get too far along, let me start by saying that livin...Read More