Ultra-Fine Copper Powder Scams: Why Your “$2,000-per-Gram” Stockpile Won’t Clear Credit

Ultra-Fine Copper Powder Scams: Why Your “$2,000-per-Gram” Stockpile Won’t Clear Credit

If you work on the credit side of asset-based lending (ABL), your inbox probably looks like ours—stuffed with breathless pitches for repo lines backed by ultra-fine copper powder. The senders swear blind that their 20-foot container is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and they want a nine-figure facility … by Friday. It’s the same playbook that powered 419 gold-dore deals, “historic” bond certificates and Iraqi dinar fairy tales. Different metal, same hustle.

1. The Daily Email Carnival

We get at least three requests a day for repo financing against copper powder. They arrive with glossy spec sheets, shaky assay reports and—always—an eye-watering valuation. The current record sits at USD 2,000 a gram(that’s two million a kilo). For context, real-world quotes for 99.9 % atomised copper powder range from about USD 12 – 250 per kilogram for standard grades, and even specialised nano grades rarely cross USD 1,500 per kilogram. You don’t need a Bloomberg terminal to spot the gap.

2. Same Old Grift, New Packaging

Whether it’s gold dust in a diplomatic pouch or magic dinars in a Baghdad vault, the pattern never changes:

  • Outlandish value claim with no secondary-market references.
  • Non-standard paperwork and unverifiable contracts.
  • Insistence on “soft probes only” because the cargo is “sensitive.”
  • Rush tactics—“fund today or the offtaker walks.”

3. How Real Asset-Based Lending (Repo) Works

ABL lenders treat inventory the same way money desks treat Treasuries: Can we liquidate fast and predict the haircut? For metals, that means:

  • Standard docs under a GMRA(Global Master Repurchase Agreement) or identical framework.
  • Collateral stored in a bonded warehouse on a named, cancellable warehouse receipt.
  • Daily mark-to-market and margin calls once exposure hits a trigger.
  • Haircuts of 5–25 % for LME-listed copper cathode, higher for powders and scrap.

Our credit committee signs off only after a recognised inspection company—think SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek or Cotecna—confirms grade, weight, moisture and lot integrity. No clean report, no ticket.

4. Underwriting Filters: From Inbox to Bin

Typical Screen on a “Copper Powder” Pitch
Checkpoint What a Lender Wants What the Scam Delivers
Title & Ownership Transferable warehouse receipt in lender’s name Pro-forma “SKR” from an unknown storage yard
Valuation LME reference price ± premium/discount $2,000 / g with no market data
Third-Party Inspection SGS, BV, Intertek report matching lot number Photoshop certificate with mismatched font
Documentation GMRA or similar repo contract, English law One-page “JV MOU” with no governing law
Exit Liquidity Rated smelter or additive-manufacturing buyer Mystery “Asian tech group” that won’t sign LOI

5. Real Pricing vs Fantasy Land

Let’s keep it simple. Spot copper cathode trades around USD 4.50 per pound(≈ USD 10 per kg). Ultra-fine powder carries a premium for extra processing and narrower size distribution. Even so, advertised wholesale lots on legit platforms fall in the USD 12 – 250/kg band, with highly specialised nano grades touching four-figure levels for research quantities. Claiming two million a kilo is like pricing table salt at diamond rates—pure comedy.

6. Where Fine Copper Powder Actually Sells

The real buyers sit in:

  • Additive manufacturing (laser-powder bed fusion).
  • Conductive inks and pastes for flexible electronics.
  • Thermal interface materials.
  • Catalysts in chemical processing.

These clients order by the kilogram , not the tonne, and they test every batch for particle-size distribution, oxygen content and flow rate before paying.

7. Quick Red-Flag Checklist

  1. Valuation exceeds quoted nano-grade benchmarks by two orders of magnitude.
  2. No LME warrant or bonded storage receipt.
  3. Inspection certificate dated before the cargo supposedly arrived at port.
  4. Seller refuses an on-site visit from a top-tier surveyor.
  5. Email domain is free webmail; phone number is a mobile with WhatsApp only.

Have genuine, verifiable copper or other metal inventory?
Talk to us—our repo desk funds USD 2 m-250 m tickets when the collateral is real.

Contact Financely ABL Team

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Financely assesses every deal on its own merits, subject to credit approval, KYC/AML clearance and prevailing market conditions.

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