Why this is a structured exercise, not a judgement call
The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas is the reference framework for this sector, and it is deliberately procedural. It sets out a five-step process: establish strong company management systems; identify and assess risk in the supply chain; design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks; carry out independent third-party audit of due diligence at identified points in the chain; and report publicly on supply chain due diligence.
The point of a framework is that it does not depend on your read of a person. Sophisticated fraud in this sector is specifically designed to pass an impression test — expensive hotels, apparent officials, confident answers. It is much less good at passing a document test conducted at source.
Layer 1 — Counterparty identity
- Exact registered legal name, registration number and jurisdiction of incorporation. Confirm it against the companies registry, not against a letterhead.
- Directors and beneficial owners, with identity documents, and a screening pass against sanctions and PEP lists.
- A physical operating address you can visit or have visited on your behalf.
- A bank account held in the company's own registered name. No third-party accounts, no personal accounts, no 'our finance partner will invoice you'.
- A named, contactable individual who is accountable for the transaction and who exists in more than one place — company records, correspondence, in person.
Layer 2 — Licensing and authority to sell
- The specific licence or permit category that authorises dealing and export in the country of origin, with number and expiry date.
- Independent confirmation from the issuing authority — in Kenya, the Directorate of Mines within the Ministry of Mining. A scan of a certificate is not confirmation.
- Clarity on who the exporter of record will be, if it is not the entity you are contracting with, and on what basis that relationship exists.
- Tax standing in the country of origin, evidenced by a current tax compliance certificate.
Layer 3 — Provenance of the material
Provenance is not a formality. Refineries and banks at the destination will ask, and an answer that cannot be substantiated can strand a consignment after it has arrived.
- Documented origin of the material and the chain of custody from that point to the seller.
- Whether the supply is artisanal and small-scale in origin, and if so, what steps were taken on the risks the OECD guidance identifies.
- Purchase records supporting the seller's own title to the material.
- Consistency between the stated origin and the volumes involved. Volumes materially out of scale with a stated source are the most reliable indicator that a story is invented.
Layer 4 — Verification of the metal
- An assay by a laboratory you instruct and pay, not one introduced by the seller.
- Fire assay as the settlement basis where the lot is unrefined. XRF alone reads only the surface and is exactly what plated and clad fraud is built to defeat.
- Your own inspector present at sampling, and a retained sample held independently.
- Weights taken on calibrated scales, witnessed, and reconciled against every document in the file.
- Agreement in advance on whose assay governs settlement, and on the tolerance and dispute mechanism.
Layer 5 — Transaction and payment structure
- Payment released against a verifiable event — destination refinery outturn, or presentation of documents under a bank instrument — never against a promise or a photograph.
- No advance fees of any kind: no 'release' fee, no 'clearance' fee, no payment to an official, no cash component.
- A written contract governed by a named law with a named dispute forum, reviewed by your own counsel in the country of origin.
- Insurance in place for the transit leg, with your interest noted.
- A first lot sized to test the process rather than to make the margin.
Verify: This checklist is general commercial guidance, not legal advice. Instruct qualified counsel in both the origin and destination jurisdictions before committing funds.