How we work
What happens, in what order, and what we need from you.
Durations below are typical for a single consignment where documentation is available. A first transaction with a new counterparty usually sits at the longer end; the compliance file is what takes the time, and it is not the stage to compress.
Engagement timeline
Eight to fourteen weeks, typically.
Every stage has a deliverable and a dependency. Where a stage stalls, it is almost always because a document could not be verified with the authority that issued it.
Mandate and capacity
NCNDA and mandate executed. EKNOX capacity fixed in writing — principal, agent or advisor — with the fee basis stated. No funds move and none are requested.
From you: signatory authority, corporate registration, and the name of the person who can bind the entity.
Compliance file
KYC and beneficial ownership to the natural person. Licence, permit and royalty trail verified directly with the issuing authority. Sanctions, PEP and adverse-media screening on every named party. OECD Annex II assessment on the origination route.
From you: licences and permits, UBO register, identity documents for signatories, tax clearance, and a contact at the issuing authority we may verify with.
Verification
Witnessed sampling and independent assay, grading or analysis appropriate to the product. Bar or lot schedule signed by all attending parties. Consignment sealed and numbered.
From you: physical access to the consignment, and agreement on the laboratory or grading house.
Terms and escrow
Purchase and sale agreement executed with price basis, tolerances, umpire mechanism and default provisions. Escrow agreement executed and funded with a licensed agent.
From you: legal review by your own counsel, banking details for the verified settlement account, and escrow agent acceptance.
Export clearance and movement
Export permit issued, royalties and duties paid to the authority, customs declared, all-risk cover placed, and the consignment moved under seal with escort and a custody log.
From you: cooperation with customs and the mines authority, and confirmation of the delivery point.
Processing intake and final verification
Receiving facility takes intake, verifies seals against the schedule, processes and issues the final assay or grading. That result — not the origin figure — governs settlement.
From you: nothing, unless a variance triggers the umpire mechanism.
Settlement and close
Invoice constructed from final verification, sanctions re-screen, escrow released down the verified account path, closing certificate issued and the complete file retained.
From you: confirmation of receipt. Any change to banking details at this stage is treated as a fraud indicator and verified by callback to a number held before the transaction opened.
Readiness checklist
What to have ready before you contact us.
You do not need all of it to open a conversation. But the more of this that exists, the faster the file moves — and the honest answer is that a file missing the first three items rarely completes.
Licence or permit, in original or certified copy
With the issuing authority named and a reference we can verify independently. A photocopy on unfamiliar letterhead is where most files end.
Proof of who controls the selling entity
Beneficial ownership to the natural person, plus the resolution or ministerial decision authorising the sale.
Physical access to the consignment
For witnessed sampling or grading. A seller unwilling to permit independent verification cannot be transacted with, on any terms.
Royalty and tax position
What is owed, what has been paid, and the receipt references — paid to the authority, not to an individual.
Export route and any prior refusals
Including whether a permit application has previously been declined, and why. We would rather know at the start.
Your own legal counsel
In the country of origin and, ideally, in the settlement jurisdiction. We will not act as your only source of legal comfort.
Fees
How we are paid.
Stated up front because the alternative invites suspicion. The exact basis is fixed in the mandate before work begins.
Retainer or fixed fee
For structuring, diligence and documentation work where EKNOX does not take title. Invoiced against defined deliverables.
Success fee on completion
A stated percentage of verified fine metal value or contract value, payable at settlement. No completion, no fee.
Margin on the transaction
Where EKNOX buys and resells, the return is the spread. Disclosed as such rather than presented as a fee.
What we never charge
- Advance fees, deposits or retainers payable before a mandate is executed
- "Clearance", "unblocking" or "release" fees of any description
- Any payment to an individual rather than to a named entity or authority
- Fees for introductions to counterparties we have not verified
If anyone requests such a payment claiming to act for EKNOX, it is fraudulent. Report it to us directly.