Copper is the highest-value metal most people will ever bring to a scrap yard — but not all copper is priced the same. Bright bare wire, clean pipe and insulated cable are three different grades with three different rates. This page explains which one you have.
Copper prices move daily with the global market and the Australian dollar. These are public benchmark ranges to help you identify your grade before visiting — the amount you are paid is confirmed at the yard after the material is graded and weighed.
| Copper grade | Indicative public benchmark | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Copper Bright & Shiny (bare bright) | A$15.00–$20.00/kg | Bare, uncoated copper wire with no corrosion, oxidation or coating. Reddish-orange like a new coin. |
| Copper #1 / clean pipe | A$15.00–$20.00/kg | Clean copper pipe, tube and busbar with no solder, paint, fittings or heavy corrosion. |
| Copper PVC wire (insulated) | A$6.00–$13.00/kg | Cable with the plastic still on. The range reflects how much copper is recovered from the insulation. |
Want to work out what your load is worth? Our guide walks through how to sort by grade, weigh each pile and estimate the value before you drive anywhere.
Read the guideGrade decides the rate more than anything else. The same ten kilos can be worth very different amounts depending on which of these you have.
The top grade. Bare, uncoated copper wire, generally thicker than about 1.6mm, with no oxidation or dulling. Stripped electrical cable in good condition lands here.
Clean copper pipe, tube and busbar with nothing attached — no solder, paint, fittings or heavy corrosion. Plumbing offcuts with the joints cut off are the classic example.
The same material as #1 but carrying solder, paint, light corrosion or attached fittings. This is the grade most people accidentally fall into by leaving joints on the pipe.
Cable with the plastic still on, priced on copper recovery rather than gross weight. Heavy single-core cable prices well above thin flex. See cable scrap prices.
Fine coated wire from motors and transformers. Accepted, but the coating means it grades below bare bright. Often easier to sell as complete electric motors.
Radiators, aircon coils and hot water cylinders contain copper but are assessed as units rather than by copper grade. See radiator and aircon prices.
Plenty of things look like copper and are not. Three checks, no equipment required, and worth doing before you load the car.
Getting this wrong is the most common reason a load is worth less than expected — copper-plated steel and brass are both regularly mistaken for solid copper.
Two loads of the same weight can pay very differently. These are the factors assessed at the yard.
The single biggest factor. Bare bright and clean #1 sit at the top; insulated wire and contaminated #2 sit well below.
Brass joints, solder and steel brackets drop clean pipe from #1 to #2. Cutting them off where safe usually pays for the time.
For insulated cable, what matters is how much copper comes out relative to total weight — thick conductor, thin jacket is best.
Dull, green or wet copper grades lower. Dry material stored under cover holds its grade better.
Copper trades internationally and moves daily. A weaker Australian dollar also lifts local rates even when world prices are flat.
Mixed loads grade toward their lowest-value contents. Larger clean single-grade loads are the strongest result.
Four steps, usually under fifteen minutes for a typical load.
Keep bare wire, clean pipe and insulated cable in separate containers. This is the step that protects your rate.
Ring 08 7225 9998 with rough weights per grade if you want guidance before travelling.
Come to 12 Belfree Dr, Green Fields SA 5107 with photo ID. No appointment needed during opening hours.
Your copper is graded and weighed on calibrated scales while you watch, then paid before you leave.
Most households have more than they expect. These are the usual sources, roughly ordered by how much copper they hold.
The most common copper we see, usually from bathroom renovations and hot water system replacements.
Rewiring offcuts, old extension leads and cable drums. Stripped bare pays considerably more than insulated.
Many older units hold a copper tank inside a steel jacket. Bring them drained where possible.
Split system coils are copper. The unit is assessed whole unless the coil has already been separated.
Copper winding inside. Usually assessed as complete motors rather than stripped copper.
Older copper flashing, downpipes and guttering, typically grading as #1 or #2 depending on condition.
None of this is required, but each step protects the grade your copper is assessed at.
Clean bright and shiny copper and #1 copper pipe sit around A$15.00–$20.00/kg on current public Adelaide benchmarks. Insulated PVC copper wire ranges from about A$6.00–$13.00/kg depending on how much copper is recovered from the plastic. Final pricing is confirmed in store after grading and weighing.
Bright and shiny is bare, uncoated, unoxidised copper wire with no corrosion. Copper #1 is clean pipe, tube and busbar with no solder, paint or fittings. Both are top grades — the distinction is wire versus tube and the absence of any surface dulling.
Because part of what is being weighed is plastic, not metal. The rate reflects how much copper is actually recovered from the cable, so heavy cable with a thick conductor prices well above thin flex with proportionally more insulation.
Copper is not magnetic, so if a magnet sticks it is steel or copper-plated steel. Copper is reddish-orange rather than yellow, which usually indicates brass. Scratching an inconspicuous spot will show a different metal underneath if the item is only plated.
For larger quantities of heavy cable, usually yes, because bare copper prices at the top grade. For small amounts of thin flex the labour rarely pays for itself. Never burn insulation off — it is illegal, dangerous, and damages the copper underneath.
It helps. Brass fittings and soldered joints drop clean pipe from #1 to #2, so cutting them off where it is safe and practical usually pays for the time it takes.
Yes. Copper trades on international markets and moves daily, and the Australian dollar affects the local rate independently. Any published range including the one on this page is a guide — call 08 7225 9998 for the rate on the day before bringing in a large load.
Figures quoted online are often the spot price for refined, exchange-grade copper traded internationally. Scrap copper still has to be collected, sorted, transported and refined before it becomes that, so the scrap payout sits below spot.
Yes, bring photo identification such as a driver licence. Recording seller identification is standard practice for scrap metal transactions in South Australia and it protects legitimate sellers.
Bring copper to SA Copper Scraps at 12 Belfree Dr, Green Fields SA 5107. It is graded and weighed on calibrated scales in front of you, and payment is made before you leave. Open Monday to Friday 7:30am to 5:00pm and Saturday 7:30am to 2:00pm.
Call SA Copper Scraps for the current in-store rate, or bring your copper to 12 Belfree Dr, Green Fields SA 5107 for grading, weighing and payment the same visit.
We are a leading copper scrap metal remover and recycler based in the heart of Adelaide, South Australia. We value our customers and offer the best rates for scrap copper all around Adelaide.
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