Copper anode · buyers, suppliers and prices
Copper anode: verified buyers and sellers
Copper anodes are fire-refined copper plates, typically about 99.0% to 99.7% Cu, cast with lugs so they can hang in an electrorefining cell and be turned into cathode. Smelters sell them, including new smelters in the DRC and Zambia, and copper refineries and traders buy them. On Copper Supply you can post a free requirement or offer and deal only with members who have passed an ID check.
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Post it freeHow copper anode is priced
Copper anodes are priced on their payable copper at the LME average over an agreed quotational period, minus a refining charge, plus payable gold and silver, minus penalties for impurities above the limits. Because anodes are closer to cathode than blister, the refining cost is lower, but the refinery still needs to cover its costs and margin.
Some sales use a simpler basis: LME minus a discount in US$ per tonne or %, at the smelter or a bonded warehouse.
Payment is usually provisional against shipping documents, then final after the weight and assay exchange. On Copper Supply you can price an anode listing as a % of LME on the Cu content, LME − US$/t, LME ± %, a fixed price, or open to offers.
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Typical copper anode specification
- Copper
- Typically about 99.0% to 99.7% Cu
- Form
- Cast plates with two lugs for hanging in the refining cell
- Weight
- Often a few hundred kilograms each; even weight within a lot
- Impurities
- O, S, Ni, As, Sb, Bi, Pb, Se, Te; limits set by the refinery
- Precious metals
- Gold and silver recovered in anode slime; payable above set minimums
- Physical
- Flat and straight, with sound lugs and few defects
- Use
- Electrorefined into Grade A cathode
Documents you'll see
- SCO or FCO naming the smelter
- LOI or ICPO from the buyer
- SPA with chemistry, physical spec, sampling and umpire clauses
- Smelter assay of each lot and anode specification
- Independent inspection: SGS, Bureau Veritas or Alfred H Knight (AHK)
- Export licence
- Certificate of origin
- Packing list with anode count and weights
- Bill of lading
Red flags
- A smelter you cannot find, or one that does not cast anodes
- An assay showing only copper, with no impurities or precious metals
- A price close to Grade A cathode
- Requests for release, insurance or registration fees before inspection
- Refusal of independent inspection of chemistry and shape
How Copper Supply works
- Step 1Post freeSay what you buy or sell: product, tonnage, price basis, delivery terms. Fraud checks run before it goes live.
- Step 2Matching traders hear in minutesMembers who trade that product get an email as soon as your listing is live, and every Monday in the market report.
- Step 3Talk only to checked peopleNobody can message you until they've passed an ID check. You see what we checked and choose who to talk to.
- Step 4Run the deal in one roomNCNDA, LOI/ICPO, offers, SPA, IMFPA and signatures in one private deal room. Run any document through a fraud check before money moves.
Free to join. Copper Supply never holds trade money and takes no commission on deals.
Questions people ask
What is a copper anode?
A copper anode is a fire-refined copper plate, typically about 99.0% to 99.7% Cu, cast with lugs so it can hang in an electrorefining cell. In the cell the anode dissolves and pure copper plates onto a cathode.
How are copper anodes priced?
On the payable copper at the LME average over an agreed period, minus a refining charge, plus payable gold and silver, minus penalties for impurities. Some sales use a flat discount to the LME instead.
Who buys copper anodes?
Electrorefineries, integrated smelter-refineries and trading houses. China and India have the largest refining capacity.
What is the difference between copper anode and cathode?
An anode is about 99.0% to 99.7% copper and still holds impurities and precious metals. A cathode is the product of refining the anode, typically 99.99% copper for Grade A, and is what fabricators buy.
Why does the shape of a copper anode matter?
Anodes hang side by side in a refining cell. If they are bent, uneven in weight or have weak lugs, they can short-circuit or dissolve unevenly, which lowers output and cathode quality. Refineries set physical limits in the contract.
Are copper anodes produced in Africa?
Yes. Smelters in the DRC and Zambia cast anodes, and new smelters in the DRC have raised African output. A real offer names the smelter, and the tonnage should fit what it produces.
Guides
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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