How to verify a copper seller before you send anything

Most copper offers you receive come from people who don't control the copper. Some are honest intermediaries. Many are forwarding a document they found. The checks below separate them quickly, and a real seller will not be offended by any of them.

1. Can they name the producer on day one?

Ask: "Which mine, plant or smelter produced this copper?"

A seller who controls material knows the answer immediately. "My seller will reveal it after LOI" or "one of the five producers we work with" means they don't know.

A real case: a seller trying to open an account at a bonded warehouse in Zambia was asked for the producer's name. He sent the name of a trading company instead. The warehouse replied that it didn't look like a producer and gave him a day to correct it. He couldn't, and the deal ended there.

2. Is the company real, and is it theirs?

• Look the company up yourself in the national registry: RCCM in the DRC, PACRA in Zambia, BRELA in Tanzania, CIPC in South Africa.
• Check that the person you are talking to is a director, an officer or has a signed authority from one.
• Compare the company name on every document: offer, licence, warehouse receipt and invoice.

3. Can they export?

Sellers of mined copper need valid mining and export authorisations for the current year. Ask for them, and check the licence or permit number against the national mining cadastre (CAMI in the DRC, the Mining Cadastre in Zambia) where you can. Lapsed licences are common.

4. Where is the copper today?

Ask for the warehouse receipt or the location, then confirm it with the warehouse directly, using the contact details on the warehouse's own website. Ask who owns the lot today and when it was received. See fake warehouses.

5. Will they talk on video?

A short video call with the seller, ideally from the site or warehouse, tells you more than a folder of documents. People who refuse every call are usually hiding a chain.

Then test small

Even after these checks, start with a small trial under conditions where you control the goods before you pay. See trial orders.

On Copper Supply

Sellers' badges show what has been checked, from identity (L1) and company (L2) to a reviewed trading history (L3) and goods seen by an inspector (L4), with dates. A badge is a starting point for your own checks, not a replacement for them.