Copper is the commodity where specification discipline matters most, because the price is public and the margin sits entirely in quality, weight and delivery. We place cathode and blister out of the Central African Copperbelt against LME referenced pricing with independent weight and assay at both ends.
Copper cathode at 99.99% Cu, produced to LME Grade A equivalent specification, in standard bundled sheets. Blister and anode material is available where a buyer's refinery can take it, usually at a discount that reflects the refining charge the buyer will carry.
Origin is the Central African Copperbelt spanning Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo, the second largest copper province on earth. Material is warehoused in bond before export and moves on documented title.
| Product | Cathode, bundled sheets; blister and anode on request |
|---|---|
| Purity | 99.99% Cu (cathode), LME Grade A equivalent |
| Standard | BS EN 1978:1998 Cu-CATH-1 equivalent |
| Origin | Central African Copperbelt |
| Weighing | Independent weight and sampling at load and discharge |
| Terms | FCA Copperbelt, CIF or CFR destination; EXW warehouse by arrangement |
| Volumes | Trial parcels from 500 MT; monthly programmes by agreement |
| Pricing | On application, LME referenced with an agreed premium or discount |
We open on a trial parcel delivered to destination against a letter of credit payable on arrival, rather than a prepayment. Buyers who have been burned in this market are right to insist on it, and any counterparty unwilling to ship against a confirmed instrument is telling you something useful.
Before a first parcel we ask for photographs and video of the stock on hand, and where the size of the business justifies it, a physical inspection at the warehouse or plant. We would rather lose two weeks than place a buyer against stock that does not exist.
Copperbelt material has three practical outlets. The Dar es Salaam corridor through Tanzania is the shortest run to an Indian Ocean port. Beira in Mozambique serves the southern Copperbelt. Durban is the longest haul but offers the deepest vessel availability and the most mature bonded warehousing. Route selection is a function of the buyer's shipping window, not a fixed preference.
If you produce or hold this material and you do not have a reliable route to a buyer, this is the side of the desk you want. Below is who we place it with and what we will need to know.
Refineries, wire rod mills and metal trading houses
China, India, Turkey, the Gulf and the European Union
500 MT trial parcels through to monthly programmes in the thousands of tonnes
You do not need all of this to make first contact. Rough figures are enough to get an answer.
Cathode buyers work against the exchange price and pay for certainty. Blister and anode material places with buyers who hold refining capacity, at a discount that reflects the refining charge.
Copper cathode at 99.99% Cu, produced to LME Grade A equivalent specification, plus blister and anode material where a buyer's refinery can process it.
Trial parcels start at 500 MT, with monthly programmes agreed after the first successful delivery.
Against the London Metal Exchange cash settlement with an agreed premium or discount for grade, origin and delivery terms. Fixed prices are not quoted because the underlying moves daily.
A confirmed letter of credit payable against delivery documents on arrival is the standard structure for a first parcel. Prepayment is not the norm and should be treated with caution by any buyer.
Copper finished last week near record levels, with Chinese import demand at a four-year high and prompt metal trading above forward metal. For Copperbelt producers…
Cathode, blister and anode price off the same exchange but are not the same purchase. What the specification, weighing basis and payment structure must say.
Zambia is Africa's second largest copper producer, and the Copperbelt's cathodes move to world markets along corridors every buyer should understand.
Metallurgical chrome concentrate from the Bushveld Complex and Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, 40 to 42% and 46 to 48% Cr₂O₃, moving on FOT, DAP and FOB terms.
South African RB1, RB2 and RB3 thermal coal at 5,500 to 6,000 kcal/kg NAR, FOB Richards Bay and Maputo, priced against API4.
Kalahari Manganese Field ore at 36 to 44% Mn, lumpy and fines, delivered mine gate to FOB Coega and Port Elizabeth.
Send the grade, roughly how much you have and where it sits. You will know inside a trading day whether we have a buyer for it.