Where the money comes from
It is a fair question and every serious counterparty should ask it before committing to a transaction. A financier who will not answer it plainly is telling you something. We draw on four sources of capital, and in every case the money reaches the same destinations: the revenue authority, the licensing body, the laboratory, the insurer and the carrier.
The four sources
How our transactions are funded
Which source funds a given transaction depends on its size, the market it sits in, and the security available. The choice is ours to make and we explain it to both sides before anything is committed.
Our own internal funds
Capital committed by Minerals Finance Team and its shareholders. This is the first source we reach for on smaller and faster transactions, because it involves no third party and no approval queue.
It also means our own money is at risk on the transactions we underwrite. That is the strongest discipline there is on how carefully we verify a seller.
Banking partners
Facilities arranged with commercial banks active in trade and commodity finance across our markets. Bank participation brings formal credit assessment, documented security and settlement through regulated channels.
Where a transaction is bank funded, the additional conditions that come with it are explained to all parties in writing before terms are signed.
Funding institutions
Specialist commodity and development finance institutions that fund cross-border mineral trade in West Africa and understand its particular risks.
These institutions require documented provenance and responsible sourcing evidence. It is one reason our verification standard is built to meet institutional expectations rather than the local minimum.
Private financiers
Established private capital partners who participate in specific transactions on terms agreed in advance, case by case.
Private participation is arranged privately with parties already known to us. We do not offer, market or solicit investment participation through this website.
Controls
Where the money goes, and where it never goes
How funds move matters as much as where they come from. These rules apply to every transaction we finance, from every source above, without exception.
What we do
- Pay taxes and royalties directly to the revenue authority
- Pay licence and permit fees directly to the issuing body
- Instruct and pay the assay laboratory ourselves
- Arrange and pay for insurance and secure freight directly
- Obtain an official receipt for every payment made
What we never do
- Hand cash to a seller, a buyer, an agent or a facilitator
- Route payments through a personal account
- Pay any charge to an individual at an inspection site
- Ask a seller or a buyer to transfer money to us in advance
- Take deposits from the public or sell investments
How we are paid
One fee, after delivery
We recover our costs and earn our margin through a single success fee, payable by the buyer after the goods are delivered and the final assay is complete. Not before, and not in stages.
This aligns us with the outcome rather than with the activity. We are paid when a transaction completes properly, which means we have every reason to decline a seller we are not certain of, however much both sides would like us to proceed. A financier paid in advance has no such incentive.
Next: how a transaction actually runs
Now that you know where the funding comes from, the process itself is straightforward.
How It Works