By Steve St. AngeloChinese demand for physical gold investment surged in the first three-quarters of 2017 while Americans ditched the shiny yellow metal for increased bets in the crypto mania and stock market bubble market. Even though China's Hang Seng Stock Market outperformed the Dow Jones Index last year, Chinese citizens purchased the most gold bar and coin products Q1-Q3 2017 since the s...Read More

A Monday Morning Musing from Mickey the Mercenary GeologistContact@MercenaryGeologist.comJanuary 15, 2018 Price ratios determine relative value of the precious metals and are useful parameters in deciding which metal to buy at any given time. In previous musings, I documented the history of gold and silver prices and gold-silver ratios from the United States' abandonment of the gold standard i...Read More

- JP Morgan continues to accumulate the biggest stockpile of physical silver in history- "JPM now holds more than 133m oz -more than was held by the Hunt Bros" - Butler- Silver hoard owned by JPM has increased from Zero ozs in 2011 to 120m ozs today- Money managers showing more optimism towards silver through record buying- "Near impossible to rule out an upside price surprise at any moment"Edi...Read More

Peter KrauthJust three days ago, the widely followed U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) was trading at 92.5.Today, it's already 200 basis points, or more than 2%, lower. The dollar has now clearly broken down like I've been saying we should expect.That, combined with overly negative sentiment, a strong seasonal bias, and a return to a bull market, have silver trending higher. In the immediate term, silver pr...Read More

Look for signs of profit taking in gold and silver as US markets reopen. Any further rise in gold and silver will be dependent on the ability or inability to break past key resistances of $1358 and $1754. Over the past two years gold has not been able to break $1380. It will not be easy to break $1380 on fears of sharp correction. However in case gold breaks and trades over $1380 anytime before...Read More

Shares in Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX)(TSX:ABX) retreated slightly in after hours trade on Tuesday after the company announced full year production that came in at the lower end of production guidance.Barrick, the world's top producer of gold, is up 5% since the start of the year in line with a stronger gold price which set fresh 4-month highs around $1,340 an ounce on Tuesday. The Toronto-...Read More

Rio Tinto shipped 330.10 million tonnes of iron ore (on a 100% basis) from its Pilbara operations in Australia in 2017, in line with its guidance of 330 million tonnes.The total is up 1% from its 2016 total of 327.60 million tonnes, it said in its latest production results statement on Tuesday January 16.The increase was helped by the October-December quarter when it shipped 90 mill...Read More

Summary of Rio Tinto's fourth-quarter production results for the three months ended December 31: (Rio Tinto share unless otherwise indicated, year-on-year change)Iron ore shipments (100% basis) 90 million tonnes, +3% Iron ore...Read More

Rio Tinto's shipment volumes of third-party bauxite rose by 10% year-on-year in 2017 to 32.3 million tonnes.The company's fourth-quarter results revealed that total bauxite production rose by 6% to 50.8 million tonnes in 2017, in line with the full-year guidance assessment.Brazilian bauxite prices rose by 5.6% between March and December 2017, when Metal Bulletin began...Read More

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