West African gold & diamond trade finance
Buy gold in West Africa
with no upfront payment.
Are you a gold buyer who will not risk an upfront payment? Are you a seller who cannot ship until one is made? We break the deadlock: both parties verified, then every export cost financed by us (taxes, export licences, assay, insurance, freight). No upfront fees, either side.
Confidential · Dubai, UAE
Kenema, Sierra Leone
No application, deposit, listing or verification fee.
Buyer financing & seller financing
Same bridge, opposite banks
Both sides of a mineral transaction are blocked by the same thing: costs that fall due before anyone gets paid, and a counterparty nobody can verify. Here is exactly what we do about it, on each side.
If you are buying
Buyer Financing
If you are selling
Seller Financing
“Pay cash before the gold leaves the country.”
FOB demands on unverified goods are how buyers lose six figures. We make all payments on legitimate deals after our due diligence — never you, never blind.
“You must cover government tax and export fees first.”
Legitimate charges exist — but they're paid to government offices against official receipts. We pay them directly. Money routed through a “seller” is money gone.
“Send the shipping and documentation fees today.”
Urgency is the scammer's best tool. Our financing removes it: every upfront cost is ours to carry, on our timeline, with verification first.
What we finance
Exclusive financing for vetted buyers and brokers
Funding comes from our institutional and private lending partners. Our job is to qualify credible buyers, verify legitimate deals on the ground, and supervise execution until the product is in your hands.
Gold purchase financing
Dust and bars from artisanal and licensed sources across our markets. We pay purchase costs, taxes, export licences, assay, insurance and air freight — settled after your final assay.
Gold financing →Diamond purchase financing
Rough diamond transactions through lawful, certified export channels, with valuation and documentation verified at source before a single dollar is committed.
Diamond financing →Mining investment financing
Case-by-case financing for gold and diamond mining investments and related projects, structured with the same verification discipline as our trade finance.
Discuss a project →The process — seven steps
Straightforward financing, in writing, in order
Every financed deal follows the same sequence. No shortcuts, no surprises, and no money moving before verification.
Approach us
Express interest by submitting the qualification form with a summary of your pending or planned deal. A complete summary gets you to the first call faster.
Initial interview
A phone or video call to understand you, your goals and your transaction — and to explain our operating model, financing terms and what happens next.
KYC & proof of funds
Identity, company and background checks on the buyer or broker, plus confidential verification that funds exist to settle after delivery. Nothing is ever transferred to us.
Deal scrutiny
Our in-country team verifies the seller, witnesses proof of product, tests on calibrated equipment and confirms every document with the issuing authority. Testing is paid by us, directly to the facility.
Terms & agreement
Every financing term — costs covered, fees, timeline, delivery, settlement — is spelled out in a written agreement reviewed and signed by all parties before anything moves.
Funded execution
We pay all upfront costs: purchase, taxes, royalties, export licences, insurance, freight. Our team supervises the export and stays part of the delivery process to your destination.
Settlement after assay
The consignment arrives, your final assay confirms it, and only then do you settle the pre-financed amount plus the agreed fee. Success-based, exactly as written.
Where we operate
Sixteen countries. Eight core gold markets.
From our Freetown head office we run verified transactions across West Africa's top gold-producing countries — each with its own supply realities, export rules and risks. Read the country guides before you transact.
Client outcomes
What financed buyers say
Video testimonials from clients are being added — the placeholders below will carry recorded interviews with buyers, brokers and refinery partners.
“I was three days from wiring $40,000 in ‘export fees’ to a seller in Conakry. Their due diligence killed the deal in a week and saved my company.”
“They paid every fee on the ground, escorted the shipment, and I paid after my refinery's assay matched theirs. That is how this trade should work.”
“As a broker, having a financier who verifies everything makes my buyers trust the deals I bring. We've closed four consignments together.”
The people behind the checks
Who verifies your deals
Fraud in this market hides behind anonymity. We do the opposite: the people who run your verification are named, reachable, and accountable to you by name throughout your transaction.
Bockarie Saidu
Case Manager · Freetown
Your single point of contact from first call to settlement. Bockarie coordinates licence confirmation with the issuing authorities, schedules field inspections, and walks both sides through every stage in writing.
Field Inspection Team
In-country · Sierra Leone & Guinea
Our own agents attend the goods in person — never agents chosen or paid by the seller. They witness the material, document the site, and submit reports directly to your case file.
Independent Assay Partners
Accredited laboratories
Purity is established by accredited laboratories with no stake in the transaction. Their certificate goes to you directly, and your own final assay at destination is the one that settles the deal.
Photographs of our team and inspection work are being added as client confidentiality clearances are completed.
Common questions
Before you ask
How does your minerals financing actually work?
We provide transaction-by-transaction trade finance for vetted buyers and brokers purchasing gold and diamonds in West Africa. Once your deal passes our due diligence, we pay every upfront cost from our side — the purchase itself where agreed, government taxes and royalties, export licence fees, assay and testing, insurance and air freight. You pay nothing in advance. After the consignment reaches your destination and passes your final assay, you settle the pre-financed amount plus our agreed fee. Funds come from our institutional and private lending partners; our role is to qualify the buyer, verify the deal end-to-end, and supervise execution so the lender's capital and your transaction are both protected.
Who pays the upfront fees — government tax, export licence, shipping?
We do. That is the entire point of the model. The most common fraud pattern in West African gold deals is the seller demanding that the foreign buyer wire money for taxes, certificates, storage or shipping before the goods move. In every transaction we finance, those legitimate costs are paid directly by us to the actual issuing authorities and service providers — never routed through the seller. If a seller insists that money must pass through their hands, that deal fails our due diligence.
What does the financing cost? What are your fees and interest?
Our fees are success-based and agreed in writing before execution. Pricing depends on the transaction size, the origin country, the verification workload and the logistics involved, so it is quoted per deal rather than as a flat public rate. Two things are constant: the full cost structure is in the signed agreement before we commit a single dollar, and we are only paid when the deal concludes successfully. Nothing is payable by you before delivery: even product testing during due diligence is paid by us, directly to the testing facility.
Who qualifies for financing?
Serious, identifiable buyers and brokers with a legitimate pending or planned minerals transaction. In practice that means you can pass KYC (identity, company and background checks), you can show proof of funds to settle after delivery, and your deal stands up to scrutiny — a real seller, real product and lawful export route. Experience in the minerals trade helps but is not mandatory; first-time buyers with genuine funds and realistic expectations are welcome. Anonymous parties, buyers with no settlement capacity, and deals that depend on bypassing licensing or export law do not qualify.
At a glance
Minerals Finance Team in brief
- Company
- Minerals Finance Team (MFT), a West African trade finance company
- Head office
- No 78, Hamilton Avenue, Freetown, Sierra Leone
- What we do
- Verify and finance gold and rough diamond transactions between buyers and licensed sellers
- Core markets
- Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Senegal, plus 8 more West African countries case by case
- Upfront cost
- $0 for the buyer and $0 for the seller
- What we finance
- Government taxes and royalties, export licences, assay, insurance and freight, paid directly to the authorities and providers
- Our fee
- One success fee, paid by the buyer only after delivery and final assay. Sellers pay nothing.
- Verification
- Licence checks with the issuing authority, source tracing, AML and sanctions screening, KYC and independent assay
- Other services
- Escrow, collateral management and pay master services
- Contact
- WhatsApp +232 35 094 391 · info@mineralsfinanceteam.com · Monday to Saturday, 07:00 to 18:00 GMT
- Get started
- Apply for financing · Register as a seller · Track an application
Ready to transact without the risk?
Submit your deal summary through our qualification form. If it stands up to scrutiny, we finance every upfront cost — and you pay only after delivery and final assay.
Apply for Financing