Copper Content in Cable
Two different kinds of number live on this page and they should not be confused. Conductor weight per kilometre is arithmetic — cross-section times density, exact. The share of a whole cable that is conductor is an empirical band, and it moves with voltage class, sheath and armour. Both are below, labelled for what they are.
Conductor weight per kilometre
kg/km = cores × nominal section (mm²) × density. Copper takes 8.89 g/cm³ and aluminium 2.71 — the stranded-conductor figures, slightly below pure metal, which is the convention in the GB/T 3956 system.
| Section | Cu, 1 core | Cu, 3 cores | Cu, 4 cores | Al, 1 core |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 mm² | 13.3 | 40 | 53 | 4.1 |
| 2.5 mm² | 22.2 | 67 | 89 | 6.8 |
| 4 mm² | 35.6 | 107 | 142 | 10.8 |
| 6 mm² | 53.3 | 160 | 213 | 16.3 |
| 10 mm² | 88.9 | 267 | 356 | 27.1 |
| 16 mm² | 142.2 | 427 | 569 | 43.4 |
| 25 mm² | 222.3 | 667 | 889 | 67.8 |
| 35 mm² | 311.2 | 933 | 1245 | 94.8 |
| 50 mm² | 444.5 | 1334 | 1778 | 135.5 |
| 70 mm² | 622.3 | 1867 | 2489 | 189.7 |
| 95 mm² | 844.6 | 2534 | 3378 | 257.4 |
| 120 mm² | 1066.8 | 3200 | 4267 | 325.2 |
| 150 mm² | 1333.5 | 4001 | 5334 | 406.5 |
| 185 mm² | 1644.7 | 4934 | 6579 | 501.3 |
| 240 mm² | 2133.6 | 6401 | 8534 | 650.4 |
| 300 mm² | 2667.0 | 8001 | 10668 | 813.0 |
| 400 mm² | 3556.0 | 10668 | 14224 | 1084.0 |
All figures in kg/km, computed from the nominal section. A compacted or tightly stranded conductor typically runs 2–3% off nominal; tinned copper is heavier still. For payment, weigh.
How much of a whole cable is conductor
Empirical bands, not standard values — this is the number the whole scrap price hangs on, so treat the midpoint as a starting point for negotiation, not a fact.
| Insulation | Conductor share | Typical types |
|---|---|---|
| XLPE | 72–82% | YJV · YJLV |
| PVC | 64–74% | BV · BVR · RVV · VV |
| Rubber | 57–68% | YC |
Reading the type code
Chinese sellers quote scrap cable by these letters. The first letter tells you the conductor, which is the only part that matters for value.
Cu / PVC single solid core, building wire
Cu / PVC stranded flexible wire
Cu / PVC sheathed flexible cable
Cu / PVC insulated & sheathed power cable
Cu / XLPE power cable
Al / XLPE power cable
Cu / rubber sheathed flexible cable
The L in YJLV is aluminium. Same current rating needs roughly 1.6× the cross-section in aluminium (conductivity is about 61% IACS), but the conductor still weighs only about 49% of the copper one — which is why an aluminium reel that looks bigger is worth so much less.
How scrap cable is priced
The discount covers stripping labour, the burn/granulation loss, and the buyer's margin. It is not a market number — it is whatever was agreed. Ask what discount is being applied before agreeing to a conductor share, because the two multiply and a generous-looking share can be cancelled out by the coefficient behind it.
Copper-clad aluminium: where this all breaks
CCA wire is aluminium with a thin copper skin. Cut ends look like copper, the surface behaves like copper, and by weight the copper is only a small fraction of it — an order of magnitude below what the tables above would imply.
It shows up in cheap building wire and in loads that were deliberately mixed. Two checks that work on a loading dock: a magnet does nothing either way, but CCA is noticeably light for its diameter — weigh a metre and compare against the kg/km table above — and a fresh cut under a loupe shows a bright core, not copper all the way through.
We deliberately give no copper percentage for CCA. Cladding thickness is a manufacturing choice, not a standard, and any single figure would be wrong for most of the material you actually meet.