Scrap Metal Prices in Alice Springs
Alice Springs is the most isolated major scrap market in Australia. Long-haul freight to Adelaide or Darwin makes large yard payouts hard to sustain — most non-ferrous metal accumulates locally until shipment economics work.
Current scrap metal prices in Alice Springs
Spot price equivalents adjusted for Alice Springs's regional rate (0.72×). Actual yard payouts apply the grade-specific payout rate on top — typically 12–78% of spot depending on grade.
| Metal | Sydney spot | Alice Springs equiv. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | $21.31 | $15.35 | Grades & payouts → |
| Aluminium | $4.36 | $3.14 | Grades & payouts → |
| Brass | $16.05 | $11.56 | Grades & payouts → |
| Steel | $0.42 | $0.30 | Grades & payouts → |
| Stainless Steel | $2.29 | $1.65 | Grades & payouts → |
| Lead | $2.72 | $1.96 | Grades & payouts → |
| Zinc | $5.37 | $3.87 | Grades & payouts → |
| Nickel | $22.33 | $16.08 | Grades & payouts → |
How Alice Springs compares
Scrap yards in Alice Springs pay roughly 28% below the Sydney national benchmark (0.72× regional adjustment). Among Australian regional centres, rates here are closest to Albany (0.76×). The lower payout reflects Alice Springs's distance from major smelters and ports — transport costs to processing facilities reduce what yards can pay sellers.
Where the yards are in Alice Springs
Alice Springs is effectively a single-operator market. The town's metal recycler runs a yard on Ghan Road and a crushing plant on Brewer Street, both on the industrial fringe south of the centre, buying all scrap and paying cash for non-ferrous. It also runs its own heavy trucks and road trains, which is what makes moving metal out of the Centre possible at all.
The council's Regional Waste Management Facility accepts all metals, including crushed cars with fuel, batteries and oil removed, over the weighbridge for a fee. With one commercial buyer there is no local competition on price.
Where Alice Springs's metal goes
Alice Springs sits at the midpoint of the Adelaide to Darwin railway and almost equidistant from both: 1,532 km to Adelaide and 1,499 km to Darwin. Crushed cars and scrap are consolidated locally and sent down to Adelaide for processing, where Port Adelaide handles scrap exports. That is among the longest scrap hauls in the country, and metal accumulates in the yard until a full road train is worth sending. The freight is the reason non-ferrous prices here sit well below the coast.
What's different about selling in Alice Springs
The Northern Territory licenses second-hand dealers under its Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act, but scrap dealers are exempt unless they handle precious metals, and there is no Territory ban on cash payment. The Territory's Cash for Containers scheme has paid 10 cents per eligible container since 2012. Tourism is the largest industry, the Pine Gap defence facility employs about 700 people, and mining and pastoral stations across a 546,000 square kilometre service region supply most of the heavy scrap. Summer maximums average the mid-30s in a hot desert climate, so yards start early and heavy loads are best delivered in the morning.
Rules for selling scrap in Northern Territory
- Governing law
- No scrap-specific Act. Part 14 of the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1990 licenses second-hand dealers, but the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading (Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers) Regulations 1998 (as in force 10 February 2026) list ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals (other than gold or silver), motor vehicles, cans and salvaged building materials as goods not treated as second-hand goods. Ordinary scrap metal dealing therefore sits outside the licensing regime; gold and silver dealing does not.
- Photo ID
- For goods covered by the Act (such as gold and silver), section 277 requires the dealer to record the seller's full name and residential address and verify identity with a passport (current or expired less than 24 months), a photo driver licence, or other prescribed means. For ordinary scrap metal there is no statutory ID requirement in the Act or Regulations, although yards may still ask for ID.
- Cash payments
- No cash ban was found in the Act or Regulations.
- Container deposit scheme
- Northern Territory container deposit scheme under the Environment Protection (Beverage Containers and Plastic Bags) Act 2011, 10 cents per container. Start date of 3 January 2012 is from Wikipedia; NT Government pages could not be fetched.
- Also worth knowing
- Giving a dealer false name, address or age details is an offence (section 278, up to 100 penalty units or 6 months). Dealers covered by the Act must record each contract, including the ID document used, the price paid and a description of the goods (section 281).
Summarised from the legislation and government guidance linked on our state-by-state rules guide. Rules change; confirm with the yard before you go.
Other Northern Territory scrap markets
Yards across Northern Territory pay rates relative to their distance from major smelters and ports. Darwin is the state capital and typically has the most competitive rates in the state.
Popular items: what they're worth in Alice Springs
Estimated scrap value at Alice Springs yards. Assumes properly prepared material (oil drained, copper stripped from motors, refrigerant degassed where required).
Scrap yards in Alice Springs
1 scrap yard listed in the Alice Springs area with addresses, phone numbers, and ratings. Browse all 1 yards →
Frequently asked questions about scrap metal in Alice Springs
Where are the best scrap metal yards in Alice Springs? +
Our yard directory lists Alice Springs yards with addresses, phone numbers and Google ratings, but we don't rank them — the best yard for you depends on the metal, the load size and who is paying well that week. The practical approach is to call 2-3 yards before transporting a load: published rates are useful guides, but actual offers vary by day, load size, and material quality.
Why does Alice Springs pay less than Sydney for scrap metal? +
The 28% gap to Sydney reflects transport costs. Metal sold in Alice Springs eventually travels to a smelter or export port — typically via Darwin — and yards price the freight cost into their offer. Our regional adjustment is modelled from observed yard rates plus distance to processing facilities.
What's the highest-paying scrap metal in Alice Springs? +
Copper, by a wide margin. Clean bare-bright copper currently pays around $11.97 per kilogram in Alice Springs. Brass and aluminium follow, with steel paying the least per kilogram but compensating through volume — most ferrous loads are weighed on commercial weighbridges where small differences in rate matter less than tonnage.
Do Alice Springs scrap yards require photo ID? +
Yes for most non-ferrous metals and always for lead-acid batteries and catalytic converters. Northern Territory legislation requires yards to record seller identification on regulated transactions, primarily to deter metal theft. A driver's licence is the most commonly accepted form. Cash payments above certain thresholds may require additional documentation under state-specific regulations.
What other NT cities have scrap yards? +
Yes — Darwin, Katherine all have active scrap yards covered on this site. Darwin (the Northern Territory capital) generally has the most yards and most competitive rates in the territory.
When is the best time of week to bring a load to a Alice Springs yard? +
Tuesday through Thursday mornings generally produce the best experience. Yards are less crowded than Mondays (when weekend volume arrives), prices are stable mid-week, and weighbridge wait times are shorter. Many Alice Springs yards close early on weekends or operate reduced hours, so confirm opening times before transport.