What is PACRA and what does it register?
The Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) is the Zambian government agency that registers companies and business names, and that also administers patents, trade marks and industrial designs. For a buyer of copper, cobalt, gold or other minerals, its use is the companies register: the official record of each company incorporated in Zambia under the companies law.
PACRA does not license mining or mineral trading. Mining rights, mineral trading permits and export permits are handled under the mining law by the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and the bodies it designates. A genuine mineral supplier should therefore appear both at PACRA and in the mining cadastre.
What does a PACRA company record show?
A current record of a Zambian company usually shows the details below. What is included depends on the type of record requested and on the company’s filings.
| Field | What it tells the buyer |
|---|---|
| Company name and registration number | Whether the company in the contract is the one on the register |
| Date of incorporation | Whether its age fits the trading history it claims |
| Company type and status | Whether it is, for example, a private company limited by shares, and whether it is active |
| Registered office | Where the company can be found; a starting point for a visit |
| Directors and company secretary | Who manages the company, to compare with the people negotiating |
| Shareholders and shares held | Who owns the company on paper; corporate shareholders need tracing |
| Annual returns | Whether the company keeps its filings current |
Zambia’s companies law provides for information on beneficial owners — the individuals who ultimately own or control a company. What a third party can see of it, and how, is set by PACRA; check the registry’s current requirements.
How do you search for a company on PACRA?
- Ask the seller for its exact registered name, its registration number and a copy of its certificate of incorporation.
- Go to PACRA’s own website, reached independently, and use its online services to search for the company.
- Request a current record of the company’s details — often called a company printout or extract. This usually needs an online account and a fee set by PACRA; check the registry’s current requirements.
- Date and keep the record. Directors and shareholders change, and an old printout supplied by the seller may no longer be accurate.
- Compare the record with the seller’s documents, the licence and the parties named in the draft contract.
How do you read a PACRA record?
- Match the name and number exactly to the contract and the licence. Similar names are common among trading companies.
- Check the status. A company that has not filed annual returns may be liable to be removed from the register.
- Compare the directors with the people you deal with. Anyone else needs a board resolution or power of attorney from the company.
- Follow corporate shareholders through their own registries, in Zambia or abroad, until individuals are reached.
- Compare the registered office with the address on the licence and the location of the warehouse or mine.
What does a PACRA record not prove?
| Not proved by PACRA | Where it is checked |
|---|---|
| A mining licence or a right to mine | The mining cadastre and the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development |
| A mineral trading permit or an export permit | The issuing authority under the mining law |
| Ownership of cathode, concentrate or gold | The warehouse or vault holding it, contacted directly |
| That the goods exist and match the specification | Inspection, sampling and laboratory testing |
| That the company can deliver | Licences, export records, logistics and a site visit |
| That its owners are clean | Sanctions, politically-exposed-person and adverse-media screening |
How do you match the company to the Zambia mining cadastre?
Mining rights in Zambia are recorded in a mining cadastre kept for the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, with an online map view of licences. Each right is listed with its number, holder, type, minerals, area and status. Types include exploration licences, small-scale and large-scale mining licences, artisanal mining rights and mineral processing licences, alongside mineral trading permits for those who buy and sell.
Take the licence number from the seller and confirm the holder, the type, the minerals and the expiry, then compare the holder with the PACRA record. Check that the licence area matches the place the material is said to come from — the Copperbelt, North-Western Province or elsewhere. A trader offering cathode “from its own mine” should be asked to show the mining licence, not only a trading permit. Zambia’s mining law and its licensing bodies have been revised in recent years; check the registry’s current requirements with the ministry.
How do mineral export permits fit in?
Minerals leaving Zambia are exported under a mineral export permit issued under the mining law, together with the customs export declaration lodged with the Zambia Revenue Authority. The permit names the exporter, the mineral, the quantity and the consignment, and it should name the same company as the PACRA record and the contract.
For an existing shipment, the permit number can be confirmed with the issuing office. For a future shipment, the buyer should ask how and by whom the permit will be obtained, and whether the seller has exported before in its own name. The documents required and the procedure can change; check the registry’s current requirements.
Which red flags appear when the record is checked?
- The exporter on the permit is not the seller on the contract.
- The seller holds a trading permit but describes itself as a mine owner.
- The licence is for exploration, or for a different mineral, or has expired.
- The PACRA printout is old, and the current record shows different directors.
- Corporate shareholders lead to jurisdictions where the owners cannot be identified.
- The warehouse named by the seller cannot be reached through its own published contacts.
Where can a PACRA and cadastre check be done for you?
Nairank Global checks Zambian suppliers at PACRA and the mining cadastre, confirms export permits and other documents with their issuers, and inspects and samples the goods on the Copperbelt and in Lusaka. See supplier due diligence in Zambia, or start with supplier due diligence. Buying copper? Read copper suppliers in Zambia.