Blister copper · verified sellers
Blister copper suppliers
Blister copper suppliers are copper smelters and the traders who buy from them, mainly in Zambia, the DRC and Namibia. A real supplier can name the smelter, give an assay of each lot and accept independent sampling and weighing. On Copper Supply every member passes an ID check before they can message you, and you can post a free buying requirement so sellers come to you.
Live blister copper selling offers
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Post it freeWhat a real blister supplier looks like
Blister comes only from a smelter. There are not many in Africa, so a real supplier can name the smelter, and the smelter's output is public. A trader should have written authority from the smelter or a contract that shows the copper is theirs to sell.
Real blister offers come with an assay that covers more than copper: sulphur, oxygen, and impurities such as arsenic, lead, nickel and bismuth, plus gold and silver if the smelter feed contained them.
Documents to ask for
- A dated SCO or FCO that names the smelter
- Smelter assay of each lot, including impurities and precious metals
- Export licence and certificate of origin
- Warehouse receipt or proof of storage at the smelter or a bonded warehouse
- Weighbridge tickets and packing list, truck by truck for road exports
How to verify a blister supplier
- Check that the named smelter exists and produces blister, and that its output fits the tonnage on offer.
- Check the seller in its official registry. Ask for the link between the seller and the smelter in writing.
- Contact the smelter or warehouse yourself, using details you found independently, to confirm the lot.
- Appoint an independent inspector, such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or Alfred H Knight, to weigh and sample. Blister needs drilled or sawn samples, so agree the method first.
- Run the documents through the document check.
Red flags
- A smelter you cannot find, or tonnage larger than the smelter produces
- An assay that shows only "Cu 99%" with no impurities
- A price close to cathode, or far below the value of the copper
- Fees before inspection
- Refusal of independent sampling
Let suppliers come to you
Post a buying requirement with the grade, impurity limits, tonnage, delivery point and pricing basis. It is free. Members who sell blister get an email within minutes, and you choose who to talk to.
Typical blister copper specification
- Copper
- Typically about 98% to 99.5% Cu
- Form
- Cakes, slabs or ingots cast at the smelter, with a blistered surface
- Impurities
- Sulphur, oxygen, iron, nickel, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, lead; limits set in the contract
- Precious metals
- Gold and silver often present and payable above set minimums
- Next step
- Fire-refined into anodes, then electrorefined into cathode
- Sampling
- Drilled or sawn samples under an agreed method
- Transport
- By truck to port, then containers or break bulk
Selling instead?
Documents you'll see
- SCO or FCO naming the smelter
- LOI or ICPO from the buyer
- SPA with sampling, assay exchange and umpire clauses
- Smelter assay of each lot, including impurities and precious metals
- Independent sampling and weighing: SGS, Bureau Veritas or Alfred H Knight (AHK)
- Export licence
- Certificate of origin
- Weighbridge tickets and packing list
- Warehouse receipt or proof of storage
- Bill of lading
Red flags
- A smelter you cannot find, or more tonnage than the named smelter produces
- An assay showing only copper, with no impurities or precious metals
- A price close to cathode, or far below the value of the contained copper
- Requests for release, insurance or registration fees before inspection
- Refusal of independent sampling and weighing
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 blister copper?
Blister copper is impure copper, typically about 98% to 99.5% Cu, produced by a smelter from copper matte. It gets its name from the blisters on its surface left by gas released as it cools. It is fire-refined into anodes and then electrorefined into cathode.
How is blister copper 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. In African trade it is often sold more simply at a discount to the LME.
Who buys blister copper?
Copper refineries with anode furnaces and electrorefining, integrated smelters and the trading houses that supply them. China and India have the largest refining capacity.
Where does blister copper come from in Africa?
From copper smelters, mainly in Zambia, the DRC and Namibia. A real offer names the smelter, and the tonnage should fit what that smelter produces.
What is the difference between blister and anode copper?
Blister is the first metallic copper out of the converter, at about 98% to 99.5% Cu. Anode copper has been fire-refined further and cast into plates with lugs, ready to hang in an electrorefining cell.
How is blister copper sampled?
Usually by drilling or sawing pieces from each lot under an agreed method, then assaying the samples at independent labs. The contract should name the method, the labs, the splitting limits and an umpire lab.
Guides
How deals work3 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 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 guideThe 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 guidePayment3 min read
Payment terms that actually close copper deals
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Looking for blister copper?
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