How to check a copper warehouse in Kolwezi before you pay

Kolwezi is the centre of copper and cobalt production in Lualaba. Many offers that reach buyers in Europe, Asia and the Gulf say the same thing: the cathode is "in a warehouse in Kolwezi, ready to load". Some of those offers are real. Many are not. The goods may belong to someone else, may be a different product, or may not exist at all.

Before any money moves, someone you trust should stand in that warehouse. This guide covers what a useful check looks like, what it can and cannot tell you, and where it fits next to a proper inspection.

Get the details in writing before anyone travels

Don't send anyone until you have the basics from the seller in writing. A visit with no reference point produces nice photos and very little else.

Ask the seller for:

• The full warehouse address, a GPS pin, and the name of the company that runs the warehouse.
• The name of the company that owns the goods, exactly as it appears on its RCCM registration.
• The product, the quantity, and the number of bundles, bags or lots.
• For cathode, the brand or producer name and the lot numbers.
• The warehouse receipt or stock statement, if there is one, with its reference number.
• A contact at the warehouse who will open the gate on an agreed date.

If the seller won't give a precise address, or the address changes as soon as you ask for a visit date, you have already learned something. Real stock sits in one place.

What the visit should show

A good field visit gives you photos and video that you can compare against the paperwork. Each one should be GPS- and time-stamped, so you know it was taken at that place on that day.

The building and the gate. Wide shots of the entrance, any sign, and the street outside. Then a walk from the gate to the stock, ideally on one continuous video. This stops an old trick: photos of one building and a stock pile filmed somewhere else.

The material itself. Cathode comes as flat plates in strapped bundles, usually stacked on wooden battens. Concentrate is normally in big jumbo bags, typically one to two tonnes each. Ore, blister copper and scrap all look different again. The pictures should match the offer. If the offer says Grade A cathode and the video shows rough, dark plates or loose scrap, stop there. Our guide to copper cathode grades shows what to expect.

Markings. Producers usually mark each bundle with a tag or stencil showing brand, lot number and bundle number, often with a weight. Ask for close-ups of several tags from different parts of the stack, not only the front row. Then compare them with the lot numbers on the offer, the COA and the packing list. Concentrate bags should carry a lot or batch mark too. No markings at all does not prove fraud. It does mean nobody can match the paperwork to the goods.

A rough count. Count the bundles or bags that can be seen. A cathode bundle is typically around 2 to 3 tonnes. If the offer says 500 tonnes and the visit counts 40 bundles, the numbers don't work. This is a sanity check. It is not a weight.

Who controls the stock

This is the question that matters most, and photos alone don't answer it. Goods in a warehouse are always held for someone. That could be the producer, a trader who bought from the producer, a bank that financed the stock, or a logistics firm holding it for a client. The seller in your chain may be none of them.

During the visit, try to get:

• The name of the warehouse operator and a manager's contact details.
• A statement from the warehouse keeper on whose account the goods are held. A short note on the operator's letterhead is better than a spoken answer.
• Whether the goods are pledged to a bank or held under a collateral manager. Stock finance is common in the Copperbelt, and pledged goods cannot simply be sold to you.

Then compare that name with the seller's company. If the keeper says the cathode belongs to another company, ask the seller to show the chain: the purchase contract, the invoice and a release instruction from the owner. If they can't, the stock is not theirs to sell.

A warehouse receipt or SKR can only be confirmed by the company that issued it. Call the warehouse yourself, using a number you found on your own, not the one printed on the document. See our guide to warehouse receipts and SKRs.

Red flags in Kolwezi offers

These come up again and again:

• The seller wants a fee "for warehouse access", "for the visit permit" or "for security" before you can see the goods. Real warehouses don't charge buyers to look. More on this in upfront fee scams.
• The visit date keeps moving, or the warehouse is "closed for stock count" every time you ask.
• You are only allowed to see the stock from outside the fence, or on a video call with no stamped location.
• Large tonnages of concentrate offered "for export". The DRC banned copper and cobalt concentrate exports by an order signed in 2026, with exemptions only for approved projects. Ask what export permission the seller holds. Treat a vague answer as a no.
• Tag and lot numbers in the photos don't match the COA, or every bundle shows the same number.
• The seller's company is not on the RCCM register, or its registered address is in a different town from the one it claims.
• The seller asks for a "test" payment on a small lot before you have seen anything. See the test-and-pay scam.

A visit is not an inspection

Be clear about what a field check gives you. It is a visual check. Someone walks the site, takes stamped photos and video, counts what they can see, records the markings and talks to the people there. It does not take samples, run an assay or weigh anything. It does not prove grade, weight or title.

For that you need an independent inspection company, agreed in the contract, to supervise weighing, sampling and analysis, usually at loading. Export cargo from the DRC also goes through official state controls before it leaves the country. Our guide to inspection certificates explains what those reports cover.

The two jobs are different, and the order matters. The visit is quick and costs far less. It filters out offers where the warehouse, the goods or the seller's control are not what was claimed. If the visit passes, then spend the bigger money on a full inspection. If it fails, you have saved the inspection fee and probably a lot more.

A sensible order for a Kolwezi deal:

1. Check the seller's company on the RCCM register and, for a mine or processor, the CAMI mining cadastre.
2. Get the address, lot numbers and stock details in writing.
3. Field visit: stamped photos, video, close-ups of markings, a keeper statement.
4. Compare everything with the COA, packing list and warehouse receipt.
5. Confirm the receipt directly with the warehouse that issued it.
6. Independent inspection at loading, then payment on terms that protect you. See payment terms that close.

How Copper Supply helps

In the DRC, Copper Supply's field partner in Lubumbashi can visit one warehouse, yard, plant or site in Kolwezi for $450 and send back GPS- and time-stamped photos, video and a written report (Kolwezi field checks). It can also check a company at the RCCM trade register, the CAMI mining cadastre and its address for $149. You pay Copper Supply, never anyone on the ground, and you are refunded if the check can't be done. To match the paperwork to what you see, run any SKR, COA or certificate of origin through the free red-flag pre-check at /check (indicative only), or send the full document set to the compliance team for a review by hand for $149 at /document-review, usually back within 2 working days. Every member passes an ID check before they can message anyone, and Copper Supply never holds trade money or takes commission.