Scrap Metal Prices in Darwin
Estimated scrap yard payouts in Darwin on : about $12.27/kg for bare bright copper, $2.25/kg for aluminium extrusion, $7.17/kg for yellow brass. These are our estimates from MetalpriceAPI market prices × typical payout rates × Darwin's 0.78× regional factor, not quotes from Darwin yards; call a yard before you go. Where these numbers come from.
Darwin's extreme distance from southern smelters makes it Australia's lowest-payout major market. Most metal ships south or to Asia, with high freight costs deducted from yard offers.
Current scrap metal prices in Darwin
Spot price equivalents adjusted for Darwin's regional rate (0.78×). Actual yard payouts apply the grade-specific payout rate on top — typically 12–78% of spot depending on grade.
| Metal | Sydney spot | Darwin equiv. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | $20.17 | $15.74 | Grades & payouts → |
| Aluminium | $4.43 | $3.46 | Grades & payouts → |
| Brass | $15.32 | $11.95 | Grades & payouts → |
| Steel | $0.42 | $0.33 | Grades & payouts → |
| Stainless Steel | $2.38 | $1.86 | Grades & payouts → |
| Lead | $2.73 | $2.13 | Grades & payouts → |
| Zinc | $5.46 | $4.26 | Grades & payouts → |
| Nickel | $23.49 | $18.32 | Grades & payouts → |
Where these numbers come from
| Figure | Value | Source | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper spot price | A$20.17/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Aluminium spot price | A$4.43/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Brass spot price | A$15.32/kg | Calculated: 67% copper + 33% zinc (MetalpriceAPI) | Our calculation from feed prices | |
| Steel spot price | A$0.42/kg | Fixed site estimate of A$0.42/kg | Fixed estimate, not a market feed | |
| Stainless Steel spot price | A$2.38/kg | Calculated: 8% nickel (MetalpriceAPI) + a fixed A$0.50/kg chromium allowance | Our calculation, partly a fixed estimate | |
| Lead spot price | A$2.73/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Zinc spot price | A$5.46/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Nickel spot price | A$23.49/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Darwin regional factor | 0.78× | Our model (freight distance and yard rate differences) | Our estimate | |
| Grade payout rates | 12–78% of spot | Our estimate from published yard rate cards | Our estimate |
Spot prices are converted to Australian dollars per kilogram. Yard payouts are our estimates (spot × grade payout rate × regional factor), not quotes from any yard. Set when the site launched on 2026-05-16 and not updated since. No live steel scrap price feed is used. The chromium allowance is a fixed figure set on 2026-05-16, not a market price. Full detail: methodology.
How Darwin compares
Scrap yards in Darwin pay roughly 22% below the Sydney national benchmark (0.78× regional adjustment). Among Australian capital cities, rates here are closest to Hobart (0.85×). The lower payout reflects Darwin's distance from major smelters and ports — transport costs to processing facilities reduce what yards can pay sellers.
Where the yards are in Darwin
Darwin's yards follow the Stuart Highway corridor out of town. Winnellie, the industrial suburb south of the airport about 8 km from the CBD, is the inner cluster of workshops and merchants. Berrimah, on Tivendale Road, has an independent ferrous yard. Further out, Pinelands, one of Palmerston's industrial suburbs about 21 km south-east of the city, holds the national recycler's ferrous and non-ferrous yard and a second family-run scrap business.
Closer in, Woolner has a specialist that buys only non-ferrous: copper, cable, brass, batteries, motors, stainless and aluminium, with no steel or cars. That split matters: sell copper to a specialist and steel to a ferrous yard, because none of them pays well for the other.
Where Darwin's metal goes
No metal is smelted in the Territory. Non-ferrous scrap is sorted, processed and shipped to recycling markets, and the port is East Arm Wharf, 8 km east of the city, a four-berth general cargo and container facility. Adelaide is 2,616 km by road. Whether a container goes to Asia by sea or south by rail, the yard is paying to move metal a long way, which is why Darwin pays the least of any capital.
What's different about selling in Darwin
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. The wet season from late November to March brings monsoon rain, cyclone risk and rust, and yards discount weathered steel. Mining, tourism, defence and offshore oil and gas drive the economy and the industrial scrap stream. City of Darwin notes steel makes up about 15 per cent of landfill at Shoal Bay and cannot be recovered once dumped there, so separate it before tipping.
Sources for the Darwin sections above (last checked ):
- darwin.nt.gov.au: city of darwin steel factsheet 05 (PDF)
- darwinrecycling.com.au
- darwinport.com.au: east arm fort hill wharf overview
- en.wikipedia.org: Darwin, Northern Territory
- mondaq.com: holy scrap nsw parliament passes new scrap metal controls
- envirobank.com.au: bottle and can recycling northern territory
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 below (more 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.
Popular items: what they're worth in Darwin
Estimated scrap value at Darwin yards. Assumes properly prepared material (oil drained, copper stripped from motors, refrigerant degassed where required).
Scrap yards in Darwin
3 scrap yards listed in the Darwin area with addresses, phone numbers, and ratings. Browse all 3 yards →
Frequently asked questions about scrap metal in Darwin
Where are the best scrap metal yards in Darwin? +
Our yard directory lists Darwin 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 Darwin pay less than Sydney for scrap metal? +
The 22% gap to Sydney reflects transport costs. Metal sold in Darwin eventually travels to a smelter or export port — typically via the state capital — 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 Darwin? +
Copper, by a wide margin. Our estimate for clean bare-bright copper in Darwin is around $12.27 per kilogram (spot price × 78% payout rate × 0.78 regional factor). 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 Darwin scrap yards require 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. (No scrap-specific Act. Part 14 of the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1990 licenses second-hand dealers; last checked 2026-09-02.)
Can I be paid cash for scrap metal in Darwin? +
No cash ban was found in the Act or Regulations. (Last checked 2026-09-02.)
What other NT cities have scrap yards? +
Yes — Alice Springs, Katherine all have active scrap yards covered on this site.