Why do copper scrap prices vary so drastically?

In Riyadh scrap recycling, copper is classified into standardized purity grades that directly dictate its refinery remelt value.

1. Bare Bright Copper (#1 Bright & Clean): Uncoated, unalloyed copper wire stripped clean of all insulation, free from oxidation, solder, or paint.

2. Grade 2 Copper (#2 Copper): Clean copper pipes, tubing with minor solder joints, heavy busbars, and lightly oxidized wire.

3. Mixed / Insulated Copper: Wires and cables where the plastic insulation remains attached. Payout is determined by stripping yield percentage.

Plumbing tubing often contains brass fittings, zinc solder joints, or iron valves. When copper is melted at a foundry, foreign alloys must be chemically separated, which incurs processing costs.

Separating heavy brass valves from copper pipes before sale can noticeably improve the net valuation of the pure copper lot.