Scrap Grades and What They Are Worth
Two things get confused constantly in this trade. One is which grade a load actually is — and Chinese sellers and overseas buyers describe the same material with words neither side recognises. The other is how the exchange price becomes the price paid at the gate, which is three multiplications, not one discount.
Chinese trade names and the English ones
Roughly corresponding, never an equals sign — the English names are defined by appearance and origin of the material, the Chinese ones by how the yard accepts it. Two different ways of cutting up the same pile.
| Chinese trade name | Quoted overseas as | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 光亮铜 / 光亮线 | Bare Bright / Millberry | Bare uncoated wire, no oxidation. Minimum gauge varies by buyer; the top grade. |
| 一号铜 / 1#铜 | No.1 Copper (Berry / Candy) | Clean pipe, rod and heavy solids; light oxidation allowed, no solder or plating. |
| 二号铜 / 2#铜 | No.2 Copper (Birch / Cliff) | Soldered, painted or coated copper. Chinese acceptance leans on appearance, overseas on origin of the material. |
| 马达铜 | Motor copper windings | Windings stripped from motors; enamelled, negotiated on de-coated weight. |
| 紫杂铜 | Mixed copper scrap | Mixed red copper, possibly with iron or oil; priced off sampling. |
| 黄杂铜 | Mixed brass | Mixed brass; copper content swings with the grade — see the alloy grades page. |
| 水箱铜 / 铜铝水箱 | Copper-aluminium radiators | Automotive radiators; two metals in one item, priced after separation. |
| 混合非铁破碎料 | Zorba | Shredder-derived mixed non-ferrous; composition established after sorting. Not a copper grade. |
| 涂层/混合铝料 | Taint / Tabor | Mixed aluminium clippings and solids, low copper content permitted. |
English trade names are kept in the original on the Chinese pages too. An overseas seller writes "bare bright", not "光亮铜" — translating the term breaks the only word both sides can search for.
Grades and typical content
Empirical bands as the trade uses them, not standard values — most published scrap specifications define a grade by appearance and origin, not by an assay percentage. Use these to set an expectation; settle on the assay.
Copper6 grades
| Grade | Copper content | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| Bare Bright / Millberry | 99–100% | Purity ≥99%, bright uncoated wire, no solder or coating |
| #1 Copper (Berry/Candy) | 96–99% | Clean copper pipe, rod, thick plate |
| #2 Copper (Birch/Cliff) | 94–96% | Copper with some soldering, coating or paint |
| Light Copper (#3) | 88–93% | Thin sheet, wire, auto radiators |
| Irony (Fe-Mixed) | 60–85% | Fe-contaminated or low-grade copper scrap (not Zorba, which is mixed NF) |
| Copper Conc. | 20–35% | 20–35% Cu concentrate |
Aluminum5 grades
| Grade | Aluminum content | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| 6061/6063 | 95–99% | Extrusions, heatsinks |
| ADC12 Die-cast | 85–93% | Auto die-castings |
| Old Cast | 80–88% | Old castings, machine parts |
| Taint / Tabor | 70–82% | Mixed sheet, coated aluminum |
| Aluminum Dross | 40–65% | 40–65% Al dross/ash |
Lead4 grades
| Grade | Lead content | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| Soft Lead | 98–100% | Pure lead, cable sheathing |
| Battery Lead | 95–98% | Battery plates |
| Hard Lead | 90–95% | 2–6% Sb alloy lead |
| Scrap Batteries | 60–75% | Whole used lead-acid batteries |
Zinc3 grades
| Grade | Zinc content | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| Zamak Die-cast | 96–99% | Zamak 3/5 die-cast alloy |
| Hot-dip Galv. | 90–96% | Galvanized steel sheet/pipe |
| Zinc Dross | 60–80% | 60–80% Zn dross/ash |
Tin3 grades
| Grade | Tin content | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| Tin Ingot | 99–100% | High-purity tin ingot |
| Solder Scrap | 60–96% | Tin-lead or lead-free solder |
| Tinplate | 1–5% | 1–5% Sn tinplate steel |
Nickel4 grades
| Grade | Nickel content | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| Electrolytic Ni ≥99.8% | 99–100% | Standard electrolytic nickel |
| 304 SS Scrap | 8–10% | 304 SS, 8–10% Ni |
| 316 SS Scrap | 10–14% | 316 SS, 10–14% Ni |
| Ni Superalloy | 50–75% | Superalloy turbine blades etc. |
From the exchange price to the gate price
Three separate deductions with three separate causes, and they multiply. The first is physics — how much metal is in there. The second is process — what the furnace loses. Only the third is negotiable, and it is the one people spend all their time arguing about.
Processing loss by material type
| Material type | Typical loss | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Clean/High-grade | 1.5% | e.g. Bare Bright/#1 Cu, 6063 Al extrusion, ~0.5–2% loss |
| Standard Scrap | 6% | #2 Cu, mixed Al, used batteries, ~3–8% loss |
| Mixed/Low-grade | 15% | Fe-contaminated, oily, or mixed NF scrap, ~8–20% loss |
| Dross/Ash | 28% | Al/Zn dross, flue dust, ~15–40% loss |
Why it is not just a discount off the copper price
Because the three terms move independently. Metal content is a property of the load and does not care what copper did today. Processing loss is a property of the furnace and the sorting line. The commercial discount tracks how badly the smelter wants feed this month — and it widens exactly when the metal price falls, which is why scrap prices fall faster than the exchange on the way down.
That asymmetry is the single most useful thing to understand about scrap pricing. A quote pegged as "90% of the copper price" is a quote that will be renegotiated the first time the market drops, because the seller has fixed the one term that was supposed to absorb the shock.
Grade disputes on arrival are almost always about the first term, settled by assay. Price disputes are almost always about the third, settled by whoever has the other option.