Copper Grade-by-Grade Identification Guide

Copper is paid on grade, not weight alone. See our copper grades guide for the full taxonomy; below are the grades we see most often.

• Bright copper (No. 1): shiny reddish-orange, 1/16″ (1.6 mm)+, unalloyed, uncoated. From stripped new wire, bus-bar offcuts, clean winding. Top rate.
• Heavy copper (No. 2): dull brown with light oxidation — clean pipe, flashing sheet, tarnished bus-bar. Watch for solder, paint, iron fittings.
• Copper cable: PVC/XLPE-coated. Paid at 55–75% of bright rate depending on recovery ratio; thicker cable recovers more.
• Tinned copper: silver-grey coat over copper core (marine, battery lugs). 10–20% below bright because tin must be stripped at smelter.
• Braziery: copper with solder, brass, or iron attached — car radiators, old HVAC coils. Snap off attachments where possible to upgrade.

Preparation Tips to Maximise Copper Payout

A 30-minute pre-sort on site often lifts payout 15–25%. In order of pay-back:

• Strip thick PVC cable to move it from cable rate to bright. Use a rotary stripper for 16 mm² and above. See our stripping guide.
• Remove brass and iron attachments from copper pipe — each fitting downgrades the whole piece to braziery.
• Keep bright and heavy separate — mixing forces the lower rate on the full bag.
• Never burn insulation. Open burning is illegal in Singapore under NEA rules, and burnt copper is downgraded anyway.
• Drain oil and refrigerant from HVAC copper before loading.

Where Copper Scrap Comes From in Singapore

• Electrical renovation: THHN, SWA armoured, ring-main from HDB upgrading and condo MEP refits.
• HVAC replacement: refrigeration pipe (1/4″, 3/8″, 5/8″), coil banks, compressor tube.
• Plumbing replacement: Type L / Type K pipe from commercial re-pipes and kitchen renovations.
• Demolition wiring: bulk cable pulls from decommissioned factories in Jurong and Sungei Kadut.
• Telecoms decommission: jelly-filled telephone cable, coax, data-centre whip from fibre migration.
• Motor rewinds: enamelled winding wire (graded as No. 2 due to enamel coat).

Scheduled tonnage pricing available for data centres, industrial decommissions, and shipyards — see our copper supplier page.

What Happens After We Buy Your Copper

We bin by grade, bale clean copper on a hydraulic baler, and granulate cable to recover 99%+ of the copper pellets. Bales ship to regional smelters in Malaysia, Thailand, and beyond, where material is fire-refined in an anode furnace, electro-refined to 99.99% cathode, and cast into rod, wire bar, or billet.

That new copper goes straight back into cable, plumbing tube, and electronics — often returning to Singapore within 6–10 weeks. Copper recycles infinitely with no loss of conductivity. Secondary copper uses ~85% less energy than virgin smelting, which is why your scrap has a real commodity price tracked daily on the London Metal Exchange.

If you are new to the commodity side of scrap, our scrap metal glossary covers the terminology used on tickets and quotes, and our ferrous vs non-ferrous identification guide explains why copper (alongside aluminium, brass, and stainless) sits in the higher-value non-ferrous bracket versus carbon-steel scrap.

More Frequently Asked Copper Questions

How do I tell bright copper from heavy copper?

Bright is shiny reddish-orange, uncoated, 1/16″ thick or greater. Heavy is dull brown with oxidation or is thinner sheet. Any solder, tin coat, or brass fitting drops it to braziery. WhatsApp a photo and we will grade before pickup.

Why does insulated cable pay less than bright copper?

We pay on recovered copper weight, not gross. A typical PVC cable is 55–75% copper by mass; the rest is insulation that must be granulated. Thicker conductors hit the top of that band, thin control cable the bottom.

Should I strip my own copper wire?

Worth it on thick cable (16 mm²+) — a rotary stripper lifts you from cable rate to bright. Not worth it on thin control cable or steel-wire-armoured cable; our granulator does better. See the stripping guide.

Do you buy enamelled copper from motor rewinds?

Yes, graded as No. 2 because the enamel coat burns off at the smelter. Keep separate from bright — mixing drops the whole bag. Monthly scheduled pickup available for rewind shops.

Can I sell burnt copper wire?

Yes, but at a discount — burning creates surface oxide that needs extra smelting, and on-site burning is illegal under NEA rules. Bring mechanically stripped or intact insulated cable instead.

Do you pay the LME copper price?

We quote a percentage of the daily LME cash-settlement price, adjusted for grade, moisture, and load size. Use our scrap metal calculator for an instant estimate or call +65 9106 7577 for a firm quote.

How We Receive Copper Loads — Bins, 40-Footer, Low-Bed

Copper loads typically arrive as drop-offs from electrical contractors, MEP firms, and demolition crews — bright wire, cable bundles, busbar offcuts, refrigerant pipe. For larger or recurring producers we provide receiving infrastructure so the strip-out work stays on programme.

• Walk-ins accepted at our 170 Gul Circle yard during business hours (Mon–Sat 8:30am–6:30pm, Sun 8:30am–3:30pm).
• Free scrap bins on site for ongoing producers — we drop bins in common sizes and rotate them on a schedule you choose. Sorted bins (ferrous separate from non-ferrous) earn a higher price per kg.
• 40-footer trailer for long stock — structural beams, profile material, bar, tube, and any item that exceeds standard truck-bed length.
• Low-bed trailer for oversized cargoes — large machinery, vessel internals, complete heat-exchanger bundles, generator sets, transformers, and decommissioned plant.

We focus on receiving infrastructure rather than on-site removal crews. That keeps our per-kilogram quotes ahead of dealers who bundle haulage labour into the price — you handle the lift (or your contractor does), and we handle everything from the weighbridge onward.

For copper bus bar drops and switchgear-fabrication scrap see our engineering scrap page.