A scrap yard's copper price is not a number pulled from the air. It starts from a benchmark that moves every day, applies a rate for your grade and takes off for contamination and handling. Copper has moved a lot this year, so a per-kilogram figure without a date is close to useless. This guide shows how to work out what an offer means, what the grades are, and what we could and could not verify. For a quick estimate in your own units, use the scrap calculator.
Start with the benchmark
On 29 October 2026 the official London Metal Exchange (LME) cash settlement for copper was US$14,560 a tonne [1]. At the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate that day of US$0.7053 per A$1 [2], that is roughly A$20,640 a tonne, or about A$20.64 a kilogram. It is the price of refined copper cathode, not scrap. Scrap sells below it. How far below depends on the grade, the yard and the day.
This is why a copper price quoted without a date tells you little: the benchmark moves every trading day.
How a payout is worked out
The sum has three parts:
- Weight. What the yard records for your load.
- A rate for the grade. Usually expressed as a share of the benchmark or a set price per kilogram.
- Deductions. For insulation, solder, dirt, steel or other metals, and sometimes for handling.
How to check an offer
Work backwards from the benchmark.
- Take the benchmark per kilogram above (about A$20.64).
- Divide the offer per kilogram by it. A yard offering A$14 a kilogram for a grade is paying about 68% of that benchmark. The A$14 is an invented example.
- Ask the yard what share of the benchmark it pays for your grade, and what it deducts.
- Compare two or three buyers. We have no sourced typical percentage for each grade, so compare buyers with each other instead of aiming at a fixed share.
The grades
The ScrapTrade Price Index defines the main copper grades this way:
| Grade | Index definition |
|---|---|
| Copper bare bright wire | Clean, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire with no insulation |
| Copper #1 | Clean copper tubing, bus bar and wire at least 1/16 inch thick |
| Copper #2 | Copper with some solder, paint or light oxidation |
| Insulated copper cable | Mixed cable with insulation, 60 to 70% copper recovery |
We do not print index prices here. When we checked on 30 October the index said it was showing reference estimates while live pricing was temporarily unavailable, and the copper estimates it showed sat far below the benchmark-based figure above, so they are not a safe guide to an offer. The calculator is indicative only, and the index states that actual yard prices vary by location, grade, condition and quantity.
What moves the payout
- Grade and cleanliness. The gap between bare bright and mixed insulated cable is large, and it is mostly what the grade definitions above describe.
- Insulation. The index says insulated cable recovers 60 to 70% copper, so a yard pays for the copper it expects to recover, not the weight on the scale.
- Contamination. Solder, paint, steel fittings and dirt reduce the grade or the weight paid.
- Quantity. Larger, sorted lots are easier to price.
- The benchmark and the dollar. Both move daily.
Customs data as context
Australian customs records split copper scrap into three codes. In 2025-26 the declared export value averaged A$5,236 a tonne for refined copper scrap, A$12,049 for brass and A$12,243 for other copper alloys [3]. These are averages across grades, destinations and shipment sizes, and they are not yard prices. Whether a given load, such as bare bright wire, falls under one code or another is not something the records show. Our analysis in Copper Prices in A$ goes further, and Who Buys Australia's Aluminium and Copper Scrap shows where the copper goes.
Selling it
If you sell as a business, the ATO's scrap code expects an ABN or the buyer withholds 47%, and in NSW and Victoria dealers cannot pay cash. See What If Every Scrap Trade Were on the Books? and Scrap Business Rules in Australia by State.
ScrapTrade is a marketplace where you can list material, review buyer offers and negotiate, and buyers can post what they need. ScrapTrade's How It Works page describes the steps, and its Trust & Safety page says payment is held in escrow from the moment a deal is confirmed and released once pickup or delivery is confirmed. Quick Sale arranges free pickup on most loads across Australia, but the value is assessed after collection, so you give up control of the price. Create a free account to try it. ScrapTrade has a commercial interest in the scrap trade. For how benchmarks work, see How Scrap Prices Are Set.
What we could not verify
- A yard price for any grade today. We found no sourced Australian yard price list.
- The typical share of the benchmark each grade earns.
- ScrapTrade's live index figures, which were unavailable when we checked.
- City differences, for which we have no sourced data.
Frequently asked questions
What are scrap yard copper prices in Australia?
They depend on grade and the day. The LME copper benchmark was US$14,560 a tonne on 29 October 2026, roughly A$20,640 a tonne, and scrap sells below it [1][2].
Why do two yards offer different copper prices?
They use different grade rates, deductions and margins. Compare the offers as a share of the benchmark.
Is the export value what I will be paid?
No. Export values are averages of mixed shipments [3].
Do I need an ABN to sell copper?
If you sell as a business, the ATO expects one, or the buyer withholds 47% unless an exception applies. Ask a tax agent.
Related copper guides: Copper Price Today in A$: Scrap vs Benchmark; Copper Scrap Price Per Kg: Grades Explained; How Much Is Your Scrap Copper Worth? Examples; Copper Scrap: How to Get the Most for It; Why Copper Scrap Prices Move: What to Watch.
Sources
- Westmetall, Official LME prices, 29 October 2026.
- Reserve Bank of Australia, Exchange rates, 29 October 2026 (US$0.7053 per A$1).
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, waste exports data (ABS records), AHECC 74040018, 74040022, 74040030, ScrapTrade calculations. 2025-26 figures are provisional.
Figures are indicative and not an offer or advice. The A$14 offer is invented. ScrapTrade operates a scrap marketplace and has a commercial interest in the scrap trade.