EXCLUSIVE: Ex-TMT trader Khosravi leads Tiberius back into metals trading

Switzerland-based Tiberius Group is making a return to base metals trading under the helm of former TMT Metals head trader Arefe Khosravi, with a focus on refined aluminium, several industry sources have said.

“Khosravi recently joined Tiberius as a partner and shareholder and is building a metals merchant business,” a source told Metal Bulletin on Thursday March 8.

Tiberius declined to comment at the time of publication. TMT Metals AG, which was a subsidiary of Tiberius until 2016, was not immediately available to comment.

“It’s not a surprise. Khosravi was always going to leave and trade aluminium elsewhere once the non-compete period [of her departure from TMT] was over,” another source said.

Tiberius started trading aluminium ingots and value-added products this month and may look at other metals including zinc and lead concentrates, Metal Bulletin understands. Several additions to staff, including former Metal Bulletin aluminium reporter Ian Walker, have already been made, with more to come.

Khosravi left TMT Metals late last year. She has seven years of experience in aluminium trading, including two at JB Commodities AG.

Tiberius was approved as a London Metal Exchange category V member this week, which will allow it to receive client contracts but not to issue them.

Tiberius was established in 2005 as a commodity asset management company and evolved into a fully diversified and integrated commodity company.

Chief executive officer Christoph Eibl founded TMT Metals AG in 2010 and sold it to UD Trading Group Pty Ltd Singapore in 2015, with the deal being completed in 2016.

In the sale, the mining and minerals assets were spun out and retained by Tiberius. This included stakes in tin and tungsten mines in Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda, which are in the preproduction stages.

Tiberius also operates other plants and is the largest exporter of tin concentrates from Africa, with a large part of the volume being sold to TMT Metals.

The strategic partnership between Tiberius and TMT Metals around tin concentrates will remain in place, with the former having no plans to trade tin, Metal Bulletin understands.

Meanwhile, Tiberius’ asset management business has around $350 million in assets under management. It also launched a physical metals-backed cryptocurrency called Tiberius Coin in January.