Mandate chains: how to find out who really holds the copper

Most copper conversations do not happen between a buyer and a seller. They happen between intermediaries, each saying they are "direct". In our own contact list, about a third of the people who approached us about copper were intermediaries rather than principals.

Intermediaries are not the problem. Many add real value. The problem is a chain of them, where nobody knows who is at the end.

A real case (names removed)

In April 2025 a contact in Zambia introduced himself as a "direct buyer mandate". His message was professional: 5,000 MT a month, a 12-month contract, proper banking instruments, delivery to a named bonded warehouse.

The price he asked for was LME −22%.

Every detail matched a pattern: a very large monthly volume that no single seller controls, an impossible discount, a buyer "in China" who could not be named, and payment by bank transfer only after delivery. When asked, he confirmed each point.

Over the following months it emerged that he sat fourth in a chain of intermediaries, with no written authority from anyone. There was no buyer at the end. The deal never existed.

Why chains kill deals

Each link wants a commission, often 1 to 2%. By the time an offer reaches a buyer, several percent has been added to the price. The buyer thinks the seller is greedy. The seller never hears from the buyer at all. Meanwhile documents get forwarded, edited and recycled at each step.

What real mandates have

A genuine mandate holder can show:

• a signed mandate letter from the principal, on the principal's letterhead, naming them and the product, with a date and a validity
• the principal's company name and registration, which you can check yourself
• a video call with the principal within a reasonable time
• an honest answer to "who else is between you and the principal?"

What to say

These questions are polite and quick, and they end most fake chains:

1. "What is the seller's (or buyer's) company name and registration number?"
2. "Can you share your signed mandate from them?"
3. "Can we have a short video call with them this week?"
4. "Who else is involved between you and them, and what does each person earn?"

If the answers are "after NCNDA", "my principal doesn't talk to buyers" or silence, you have your answer.

How Copper Supply helps

Every member declares their role when they join: producer, trader, buyer or broker. In a deal room, each party records who they represent and their commission, so the chain is visible to everyone in it. Verification badges show who has been checked and at what level.