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The firms that make a copper deal safe

A deal is only as safe as the inspector, the warehouse and the bank behind it. We are building a directory of firms traders can rely on, checked by us before they are listed. No firm is listed here until we have checked it, so this page explains each category while the directory fills.

Inspection and assay

Independent firms that identify, weigh, sample and assay copper, and supervise loading. Their certificates are what most payments depend on.

When you need them: Before you pay for any lot, at loading, and at destination for concentrate and ore.

Inspection certificates explained

Questions to ask them

  • Which office will do the job, and who signs the certificate?
  • What exactly is in scope: identity, weight, sampling, assay, loading?
  • Which laboratory, and how long for results?

Listed firms will appear here once checked.

Bonded warehouses

Warehouses under customs control where copper is stored, inspected, sold and transferred before export, along the routes to Dar es Salaam, Durban and other ports.

When you need them: Whenever you buy or sell copper that is already out of the mine, and for test-and-pay trials.

Warehouse receipts and SKRs

Questions to ask them

  • What do you require from a producer before you accept material?
  • How do you confirm ownership and transfer it between account holders?
  • Can a buyer's inspector access the lot, and with what notice?

Listed firms will appear here once checked.

Logistics and freight

Trucking from the Copperbelt, border clearing, freight forwarding and shipping to destination.

When you need them: From the moment copper leaves the mine or plant, and for any deal on EXW or FCA terms.

How African copper reaches buyers

Questions to ask them

  • Which border crossings and corridors do you run?
  • How do you track trucks and handle delays at the border?
  • Who carries the risk of loss on the road, and is it insured?

Listed firms will appear here once checked.

Trade finance and banks

Banks and funds that issue and confirm letters of credit, finance inventory in warehouses, or pre-finance producers.

When you need them: When a deal is too large to pay by transfer after inspection, or a producer needs funding to deliver.

Letters of credit for copper

Questions to ask them

  • Which instruments do you issue or confirm, and for which countries?
  • What security do you need over the goods?
  • What does your own due diligence on the counterparty involve?

Listed firms will appear here once checked.

For service firms

Apply to be listed

Copper Supply members are buyers, producers and brokers who need firms they can trust. If your firm serves the physical copper trade in Africa or the main buyer markets, apply to be listed. Listing is free while the directory is being built.

Apply to be listed

How we check firms before listing

  1. 1Company registration and directors, checked against the official registry
  2. 2Licences, accreditations or memberships the firm relies on
  3. 3Two references from clients in the copper or metals trade
  4. 4A call with the person who will handle Copper Supply members
  5. 5Re-checked every year, and removed if an upheld complaint shows they can't be relied on

A listing means we checked the firm as described above. It is not a guarantee of any firm's work. Agree scope and terms directly with any firm you appoint.

Need a check on a firm you've been sent to?

Scammers often name real inspection companies and warehouses. Search our warnings, or check the document they sent you.

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Partners directory · Copper Supply