Inspection certificates: what SGS, AHK and CCIC reports actually prove

Independent inspection is how buyers and sellers who don't know each other agree on what is in the bundles. Firms such as SGS, Alfred H. Knight (AHK), Alex Stewart, CCIC, Bureau Veritas, Intertek and Cotecna do this work across the copper corridors.

What an inspector does

Depending on what you order, an inspector will:

• identify the lot: count bundles or bags, record markings, lot numbers and brand
• weigh it, or witness the weighing on a calibrated weighbridge
• sample it using an agreed method
• assay the samples in a laboratory, or send them to one
• supervise loading onto trucks or into containers, and seal them

The certificate states exactly what was done, where and when. Read the scope. A certificate of weight says nothing about grade.

Which report, at which stage

• Before payment, in the warehouse: identity, weight and quality of the specific lot you are buying.
• At loading: quantity and quality as the goods leave, often required by a letter of credit.
• At destination: a second inspection, especially for concentrate and ore, where final payment depends on the assay.

For concentrate and ore, agree in the contract which laboratory is final and what happens if the two sides' results differ (usually an umpire laboratory).

Who appoints the inspector

The party who relies on the result should appoint the inspector, or both parties should agree it in writing. A certificate arranged by the seller, for a buyer who never spoke to the inspection firm, gives the buyer little protection.

How to verify a certificate

• Contact the inspection company's local office using details from its official website, and ask it to confirm the certificate number, date, lot and client.
• Check that the client named on the certificate is a party to your deal.
• Look for signs of editing: different fonts, pasted logos, missing certificate numbers, impossible dates. See edited documents.
• Remember that a genuine certificate from last year proves nothing about this year's lot.

Cost

An inspector's day in the region costs a few hundred dollars and upwards, plus laboratory fees. Compared with the value of a single truck of cathode, it is cheap protection.