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Scams & fraud4 min read
How to spot a fake certificate of origin for DRC copper
Forged certificates of origin are among the most common fake papers in African copper offers. These checks catch most of them in a few minutes, starting with the per-truck rule.
Read the guideHow deals work2 min read
How a physical copper deal really works, step by step
From the first introduction to delivery: the eight stages of a real copper trade, who does what at each one, and where deals usually break.
Read the guideScams & fraud3 min read
"Test first, pay after": when it is safe and when it is a trap
Testing copper before you pay is good practice. The scam version lets you test material the seller doesn't own, then takes your money before you control the goods.
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Scams & fraud
The tricks that cost traders money, and how to catch them early.
Scams & fraud4 min read
How to spot a fake certificate of origin for DRC copper
Forged certificates of origin are among the most common fake papers in African copper offers. These checks catch most of them in a few minutes, starting with the per-truck rule.
Read the guideScams & fraud3 min read
"Test first, pay after": when it is safe and when it is a trap
Testing copper before you pay is good practice. The scam version lets you test material the seller doesn't own, then takes your money before you control the goods.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
Insurance bonds, release fees and other upfront fees
The most expensive copper scams don't sell fake copper. They sell fees: insurance bonds, release charges and "compliance" payments before a cargo that never existed.
Read the guideScams & fraud3 min read
LME −20% cathode: why the price is the first red flag
Deep LME discounts on Grade A cathode are how many scams start. What discounts we actually saw on real offers, and what pushes a price lower or higher.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
Real SCO or recycled SCO? A 60-second check
A genuine seller's offer can be copied and re-sent hundreds of times within a week. How to tell the original from the copies before you waste a month.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
Mandate chains: how to find out who really holds the copper
"I am direct to the seller." So is everyone else in the chain. A real case of a six-month chase, and how to reach the principal in a week.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
Why WhatsApp group offers rarely turn into deals
Copper trading groups are full of offers and empty of deals. Why that happens, and how to use messaging apps without losing weeks.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
Fake warehouses and recycled SKRs: how to check a warehouse is real
Some "warehouses" exist only as a website and a phone number. How to confirm a warehouse, and the copper in it, before you rely on a receipt.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
POF, BCL, RWA and MT799: what bank letters really prove
Proof of funds is demanded in almost every copper deal and faked in many. What each common bank document means, what it doesn't, and how to check it.
Read the guideScams & fraud2 min read
Edited and draft documents passed off as real
Draft bills of lading presented as past shipments, lab reports with a pasted company name, "past performance" with the names blurred. How to catch them.
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Checking people
How to confirm a buyer, a seller or a broker is who they say.
Checking people2 min read
The mandate holder checklist: seven questions before you send anything
A short, printable checklist for dealing with anyone who says they represent a buyer or a seller. Use it before you send an LOI, an SCO or proof of funds.
Read the guideChecking people2 min read
How to verify a copper seller before you send anything
Everyone says they have stock. Five checks that separate sellers who control copper from people forwarding someone else's offer.
Read the guideChecking people2 min read
How to verify a copper buyer before you send an offer
Sellers are asked for offers, documents and samples by "buyers" who disappear. Three questions and a few checks that find the real ones.
Read the guideChecking people2 min read
What a Copper Supply badge means, and what it doesn't
Our badges are specific on purpose. What each level checks, how long it lasts, and what no badge can promise.
Read the guideChecking people2 min read
Sanctions screening for copper traders: a practical start
Who to screen, which lists to check, and the ownership rules that catch people out. Not legal advice, but enough to avoid the obvious mistakes.
Read the guideChecking people2 min read
Due diligence on a copper counterparty: what to check, and when to pay for it
A step-by-step list for checking a company before you sign or pay, and when it is worth commissioning a full due-diligence report.
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Documents
What each paper in a copper deal proves, and what it doesn't.
Documents2 min read
Every document in a copper deal, in the order you will meet them
NCNDA, IMFPA, LOI, ICPO, SCO, FCO, SPA, SKR, COO, SGS, BL. What each one is for, who issues it, and what it can't prove.
Read the guideDocuments2 min read
Warehouse receipts and SKRs: what is real and what isn't
How copper is held in bonded warehouses, what a genuine receipt looks like, why a bank SKR for cathode is a red flag, and how to confirm ownership.
Read the guideDocuments2 min read
Inspection certificates: what SGS, AHK and CCIC reports actually prove
Independent inspection is the backbone of safe copper trading. What an inspector checks, which report you need at which stage, and how to verify one.
Read the guideDocuments2 min read
Copper cathode grades: what "Grade A" and 99.99% really mean
The standards behind Grade A cathode, why purity claims on concentrate and ore can be impossible, and what to put in the contract.
Read the guideDocuments2 min read
NCNDA and IMFPA: what they protect, and what they don't
The two agreements intermediaries rely on most. What a good one contains, the common mistakes, and why the principal's signature matters.
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How deals work
Stages, incoterms, trials and commissions, in plain words.
How deals work2 min read
Circumvention: how intermediaries get cut out, and what an NCNDA can do
After months of work, the buyer and seller meet and the intermediary is dropped. A real case, and the practical steps that make circumvention harder.
Read the guideHow deals work2 min read
How a physical copper deal really works, step by step
From the first introduction to delivery: the eight stages of a real copper trade, who does what at each one, and where deals usually break.
Read the guideHow deals work2 min read
EXW, FCA, FOB or CIF? Incoterms for African copper
The incoterm decides who pays for transport, who carries the risk and where the price applies. The ones that work for African copper, and the ones that cause trouble.
Read the guideHow deals work2 min read
Trial orders: how to start small without being scammed
A trial of one to a few trucks is how most new copper relationships begin. How to structure it so both sides are protected, and what comes after.
Read the guideHow deals work2 min read
Why most copper deals fail before anything ships
Lessons from two years of brokering African copper: the four things that killed deals again and again, and what we built to address each one.
Read the guideHow deals work2 min read
Commission in copper deals: how splits work, and how they go wrong
Gross or net, per tonne or per cent, who pays and when. How to set commissions that fit inside the price, with a real example of a hidden structure.
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Payment
Structures that protect both sides and actually close.
Payment3 min read
Payment terms that actually close copper deals
Most deals die on payment, not price. The structures that work in African copper, the ones that never do, and how to bridge the gap between test-first buyers and pay-first sellers.
Read the guidePayment2 min read
Letters of credit for copper: transferable, non-transferable and back-to-back
Why intermediaries ask for transferable letters of credit, why buyers resist them, and the alternatives that keep a deal moving.
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The market
Products, grades, routes and buying models.
The market2 min read
From mine to port: how African copper reaches buyers
Where Central African copper is produced, the road and rail corridors it travels, and the warehouses where most trades are inspected and paid.
Read the guideThe market2 min read
Copper scrap grades: millberry, birch, cliff and insulated wire
The names scrap traders use, what they mean, how scrap is priced against the LME, and the checks that matter before you pay.
Read the guideThe market2 min read
Buying copper ore at the mine gate, one truck at a time
How some buyers source ore directly from small and mid-sized mines: own trucks, joint sampling, independent assay and payment per truck. The maths and the risks.
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