Document checklists
What a genuine copper shipment carries
DR Congo (Haut-Katanga, Lualaba)
A legal copper export from the DRC carries the same core set of documents every time, whatever the cargo. If a seller can't produce one of these for the exact lot you're buying, ask why before anything else.
1Certificate of origin (Certificat d'origine)
Issued by: CEEC, with the Ministry of Mines
Check: Unique number, exporter, product, weight, exit and transit posts, destination, expiry date. It covers one specific lot or load; for road cargo our team usually sees one per truck, with the truck's registration on it.
Red flag: An old-format certificate, or weights, container count or exit post that don't match the truck and customs papers.
2Analysis and valuation certificate
Issued by: CEEC, per lot
Check: Lot numbers and assay results.
Red flag: Lot numbers that don't match the certificate of origin.
3Sampling report (PV de pr茅l猫vement)
Issued by: Countersigned by Mines, OCC, CEEC and the atomic energy body (CGEA)
Check: Lot number and all four signatures.
Red flag: A signature missing.
4Quality certificate and export verification certificate (CVE)
Issued by: OCC
Check: Grade for each lot, and the CVE date (it normally follows the quality certificate).
Red flag: A grade that differs from CEEC's analysis, or dates in the wrong order.
5Radioactivity certificate
Issued by: CGEA, per lot
Check: That it exists for the lot.
Red flag: Missing. Lots over the limit are seized, so a real exporter always has it.
6Weighing and sealing report
Issued by: OCC or CEEC
Check: Seal numbers and weights.
Red flag: Seal numbers that don't match the truck or container.
7Export licence and customs exit declaration
Issued by: Licensed bank (export licence); DGDA customs at the border post, e.g. Kasumbalesa
Check: Exporter name and exit post.
Red flag: Exporter on the licence isn't the seller you're dealing with, or a different exit post from the certificate of origin.
Compare every certificate against the customs declaration: same exporter, same lots, same weights, same exit post.
Never check a CEEC certificate through a link or phone number the seller gives you. Several look-alike websites exist.
Zambia
Zambian mineral exports run through an electronic permit system, so most of what you'll be sent should trace back to a permit and a taxpayer number.
1Mineral export permit
Issued by: Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development (issued electronically)
Check: Source of the minerals, quantity, value, the importer's full name and address, how it ships.
Red flag: A paper-only permit, or an importer that isn't your company.
2Mineral analysis and valuation certificates
Issued by: Geological Survey Department
Check: Grade and value.
Red flag: Grade or value that doesn't match the invoice.
3Mineral royalty clearance
Issued by: Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA)
Check: The seller's ZRA taxpayer number (TPIN).
Red flag: A seller who can't give a TPIN.
4Right to sell
Issued by: Mining licence, mineral trading permit or processing licence
Check: That the licence holder is the seller, or that a trader can show the miner's licence too.
Red flag: A trader with neither a trading permit nor the original miner's licence.
Export rules for concentrates have changed several times. Ask what duty or quota applies to your cargo today, and check it.
Any origin
Whatever the country, these documents should exist and agree with each other.
1Commercial invoice and packing / weight list
Issued by: The seller
Check: Seller name matches the export licence; lot weights add up to the bill of lading and inspection totals.
Red flag: Round numbers everywhere, or totals that don't add up.
2Bill of lading or road consignment note (CMR)
Issued by: Shipping line or haulier
Check: Shipper, consignee, container or truck numbers, port and date.
Red flag: Shipper isn't the exporter of record.
3Customs export and transit declarations (e.g. EX-1, T-1)
Issued by: Customs in the country of export and each transit country (for example at Kasumbalesa, Chirundu or Dar es Salaam)
Check: Exporter, goods, weights, truck or container numbers and exit post match the certificate of origin and the packing list.
Red flag: Declarations that name a different exporter, or weights and numbers that don't match the other papers.
4Independent weight and assay certificate
Issued by: SGS, Alex Stewart, AHK, Bureau Veritas and others
Check: Report number, lot, weights, assay and date. SGS reports can be checked on SGS's own verification page by uploading the full PDF; for other labs, contact the office that issued it.
Red flag: The lab's contact details on the document don't match the lab's own website.
5Mill or quality certificate (cathode)
Issued by: The producer
Check: For LME Grade A copper, the brand should be on the LME's list of approved brands.
Red flag: A "Grade A" brand that isn't LME-listed.
A report number alone doesn't prove a lab report is real. Labs confirm their own reports, usually free: ask them directly, using contact details from their own website.
Offers of thousands of tonnes "in stock" with a full document pack sent before any contract are the most common scam we see.
Not sure about the set you've been sent?
Send it to our compliance team. A specialist checks every document against this list and against each other, and sends them back to you with the problems marked. $149 per shipment, refunded in full if we can't check them.
An expert review is an indicative opinion on the documents as you sent them. It isn't a guarantee that a document is genuine, that the goods exist, or that a trade is safe, and it isn't legal advice. Always confirm key points with the issuer (the lab, the authority or the bank) before you pay.
Based on the DR Congo mining procedures manual and CEEC's certificate of origin rules, Zambia's Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and trade portal, the labs' own verification guidance, and what our compliance team sees in practice. Rules change: always confirm with the issuing authority.