Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Tuesday January 16, however tin prices shocked the complex by rallying $170 per tonne. The complex's rallies took a pause while the dollar pulled up from Monday's three-year low. "The strong performance seen yesterday on the LME was wiped out today as [Asian] traders hit the sell button from the Asia open. Even with...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market remained quiet on Tuesday January 16, with limited supplies available, especially from the USA, according to market sources.However, Turkish steel mills were expected to book 18-19 more cargoes for February, with four or five of these expected to be booked for the first half of the month."Turkish steel mills should book 18-19 more cargoes for February, but there are...Read More
Operations at Codelco's Potrerillos copper smelter in Chile's Atacama region have been suspended due to a problem at an absorption tower, the state-owned miner confirmed to Metal Bulletin.The tower is currently being repaired and the smelter, which is part of Salvador division, is expected to restart operations on January 28, a company's spokesman said. The issue affects only the Potrerillos smelt...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers is piloting blockchain technology for the diamond industry, working with a small number of participants to test how it works, it said Tuesday.The platform - which keeps a tamper-proof ledger of transactions - will enable a permanent digital record for every diamond registered on the network, De Beers explained. It will span the entire diamond pipeline, enabling improved confid...Read More
RAPAPORT... The second edition of the Carat+ diamond trade show will take place at the Antwerp Expo in Belgium from May 6 to 8, organizers said. The international fair focuses on diamonds, loose stones,diamond jewelry and colored gemstones.Last year's expo saw an official visitor count of 2,927 andwon praise from those involved in the show.This year, the show will feature special exhibitions,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The De Beers Group has announced it is progressing development of the first blockchain technology initiative to span the diamond value chain and provide a single, tamper-proof and permanent digital record for every diamond registered on the platform. The initiative will underpin confidence in diamonds and the diamond industry by ensuring that all registered diamonds are conf...Read More
LONDON – Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers aims to launch the first industry-wide blockchain this year to track gems each time they change hands starting from the moment they are dug from the ground, its chief executive said on Tuesday.De Beers, the world's biggest diamond producer by the value of its gems, has led industry efforts to verify the authenticity of diamonds and ensu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto is forecasting diamond production for 2018 of between 17 and 20 million carats. The diversified miner owns the Argyle mine in Australia and 60 percent of the Diavik mine in Canada. At Argyle, 2017 carat production was 23 percent higher than 2016 due to the additional processing of higher grade alluvial tailings. At Diavik, carats recovered in 2017 wer...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora chief financial officer Peter Vekslund and presidentof Americas Scott Burger are leaving the company, the Danish jeweler reportedlast week. Anders Boyer, a member of Pandora's board of directors since2012 and the CFO of Hempel, will replace Vekslund, a four-year veteran at thecompany, in the coming months. "Pandora is a fantastic growth story and has a very strongbrand. I am lo...Read More
LONDON – A small, embattled diamond miner just hit the jackpot. The 910-carat stone found by Gem Diamonds Ltd. high in the mountains of Lesotho in southern Africa is the fifth-largest in history. Here are the bigger ones:THE CULLINAN DIAMONDAdvertisementBy far the largest at 3,106 carats, it was found at the Premier mine in South Africa in 1905 and named after the mine owner, Sir Thomas Cull...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday January 16.Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are edging lower this morning, Tuesday January 16, posting an average loss of 0.7% on subdued trading volumes. Nickel prices, down 1.6%, are the weakest, while copper and tin prices, both down 0.2%, are showing the most resilience.This bout of profit-t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's has hired Sam Hines as worldwide head of its watchdivision - the auction house's second senior appointment for its jewelry andtimepiece department in less than two months. Based in Hong Kong, Hines (pictured) will oversee the unit and workwith the existing team on its major sales in Geneva, New York, Hong Kong andLondon, Sotheby's said Monday. He has 20 years of experie...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday January 16.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly lower during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with only tin prices in positive territory. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.LME snapshot at 03.28am London timeLatest three-month LME Price...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewellery Network (WJN) has released the#NoGlassCeiling social media campaign, in support of ambitious, career-orientedwomen in the UK jewelry industry. The campaign, which the WJN shared over Instagram, Facebook andTwitter, aims to shatter the perception that there is a glass ceiling on the level of achievement UK women in the jewelry industry can reach, the org...Read More
VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – A two-pronged purchase offer by Ascot Diamonds to acquire the three bankrupt South African subsidiaries, and later, a Cayman-based entity of Canadian miner Rockwell Diamonds is still a viable solution to achieve a sale transaction and therefore, a higher recovery value for creditors, Rockwell said in a statement on Monday.A formal liquidation application for su...Read More
Extracting a bulk sample at the Dumont nickel-cobalt project near Amos, northern Quebec. Source: RNC Minerals.RNC Minerals [RNX-TSX; RNKLF-OTCQX], also known as Royal Nickel Corp., says it is working to secure $1 billion to develop the world's largest undeveloped reserves of both nickel and cobalt at the company's flagship Dumont Project near Amos, northern Quebec. It hopes to start the constructi...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures were weak on Tuesday afternoon, with aluminium dropping nearly 3% and nickel down 1.8%. Lead was down 1% and copper down 0.7%. Tin also dropped slightly.The ferrous complex also dropped in the afternoon. Coking coal dropped almost 4% and iron ore dropped 1.6%. Coke slipped 1.5% and hot-rolled coil dropped slightly. Rebar edged up slightly at c...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures were weak on Tuesday afternoon, with aluminium dropping nearly 3% and nickel down 1.8%. Lead was down 1% and copper down 0.7%. Tin also dropped slightly.The ferrous complex also dropped in the afternoon. Coking coal dropped almost 4% and iron ore dropped 1.6%. Coke slipped 1.5% and hot-rolled coil dropped slightly. Rebar edged up slightly at c...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures were weak on Tuesday afternoon, with aluminium dropping nearly 3% and nickel down 1.8%. Lead was down 1% and copper down 0.7%. Tin also dropped slightly.The ferrous complex also dropped in the afternoon. Coking coal dropped almost 4% and iron ore dropped 1.6%. Coke slipped 1.5% and hot-rolled coil dropped slightly. Rebar edged up slightly at c...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. UnitedHealth Group gained $4.16 to $232.80 after reporting higher than consensus fourth quarter revenues and earnings. General Electric dropped $0.85 to $17.91 after revealing a $6.2 billion charge to be released with fourth quarter results.Merck added $3.24 to $61.90 after announcing po...Read More