Buying solid minerals in Nigeria: a due diligence checklist

A photograph, a grade and a price leave several questions unanswered: who controls the material, which lot was sampled, and what will the buyer receive for the agreed payment? Those questions belong in the first review of a mineral offer.

Prepare a procurement brief before requesting quotations. It gives suppliers the same basis on which to respond and helps the buying team identify the evidence it needs.

Define the requirement before approaching the market

Write a short procurement brief with the mineral or product form, grade basis, acceptable impurities, quantity, delivery location and timetable. State whether the quantity is expressed in wet or dry metric tonnes. Where a processor will receive the material, ask that processor to approve the specification rather than borrowing a specification from another transaction.

Add the proposed sampling and settlement approach. A supplier cannot respond meaningfully to “best quality, best price” because neither phrase identifies a testable obligation. Distinguish mandatory specifications from preferences so the supplier knows which requirements cannot be varied.

Establish who can sell the material

Identify the contracting entity, its authorised representative and the party controlling the stock or production. A trader may legitimately sell material it did not mine, but its authority and access should be explained. Ask how it obtains the material and which agreements support the proposed sale.

For the underlying Nigerian mineral title, start with the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, the authority responsible for mineral-title administration. A document supplied by a seller should be a lead for verification, not the end of the exercise. Use qualified local advisers for the legal review. ^[1]

Link the assay to a defined lot

Establish which material the assay represents. Record the stockpile or lot identifier, sampling date, sample collector, collection method, laboratory and report reference. Ask whether the available cargo has changed since the sample was taken.

SGS describes representative sampling as a core part of mineral and metal assessment. A technically sound laboratory test cannot, on its own, establish that a hand-selected specimen represents a commercial shipment. Agree the sampling plan before relying on the result. ^[2]

Map the commercial responsibilities

List the party responsible for inland transport, packaging, weighing, inspection, export procedures, freight and insurance. Separate the transfer of transport risk from the timing of payment and transfer of ownership; those questions need explicit contractual treatment.

Consider payment arrangements with your bank and legal advisers. The U.S. International Trade Administration explains that different payment methods distribute risk differently between exporter and importer. No payment label should be treated as a substitute for understanding the actual instrument and its conditions. ^[3]

Record the procurement decision

Use three outcomes: ready for the next stage, conditional on specified evidence, or not suitable. Record the reason, the person responsible for resolving each issue and the evidence needed to close it. Keep that record with the supplier’s response and the supporting documents.

A controlled trial may be appropriate after the essential checks, but it should test a repeatable process rather than bypass one. Define the trial’s acceptance criteria and the review that follows it before the cargo moves.

Buyer enquiry checklist

• The material, intended use and receiving facility’s specification.
• Quantity, moisture basis, delivery location and preferred timing.
• Required origin information and the proposed inspection approach.
• The legal entity that will contract and the person authorised to negotiate.
• Any mandatory restrictions on payment, logistics or supplier onboarding.

Use the completed brief when requesting offers. Keep the supplier’s response alongside it, with outstanding questions assigned to someone in the buying team. This preserves the basis of the comparison as quotations and supporting records arrive.