Scrap Metal Prices in Katherine
Estimated scrap yard payouts in Katherine on : about $10.11/kg for bare bright copper, $1.87/kg for aluminium extrusion, $5.91/kg for yellow brass. These are our estimates from MetalpriceAPI market prices × typical payout rates × Katherine's 0.65× regional factor, not quotes from Katherine yards; call a yard before you go. Where these numbers come from.
Katherine is the largest town in the Northern Territory south of Darwin, serving defence (Tindal RAAF Base), pastoral, and mining customers across vast distances. Remoteness drives the lowest payout rates in the directory — yards must transport metal hundreds of kilometres before any further processing.
Current scrap metal prices in Katherine
Spot price equivalents adjusted for Katherine's regional rate (0.65×). Actual yard payouts apply the grade-specific payout rate on top — typically 12–78% of spot depending on grade.
| Metal | Sydney spot | Katherine equiv. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | $19.94 | $12.96 | Grades & payouts → |
| Aluminium | $4.44 | $2.88 | Grades & payouts → |
| Brass | $15.15 | $9.85 | Grades & payouts → |
| Steel | $0.42 | $0.27 | Grades & payouts → |
| Stainless Steel | $2.40 | $1.56 | Grades & payouts → |
| Lead | $2.77 | $1.80 | Grades & payouts → |
| Zinc | $5.42 | $3.52 | Grades & payouts → |
| Nickel | $23.75 | $15.44 | Grades & payouts → |
Where these numbers come from
| Figure | Value | Source | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper spot price | A$19.94/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Aluminium spot price | A$4.44/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Brass spot price | A$15.15/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$2.40/kg | Calculated: 8% nickel (MetalpriceAPI) + a fixed A$0.50/kg chromium allowance | Our calculation, partly a fixed estimate | |
| Lead spot price | A$2.77/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Zinc spot price | A$5.42/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Nickel spot price | A$23.75/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Katherine regional factor | 0.65× | 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 Katherine compares
Scrap yards in Katherine pay roughly 35% below the Sydney national benchmark (0.65× regional adjustment). Among Australian regional centres, rates here are closest to Alice Springs (0.72×). The lower payout reflects Katherine's distance from major smelters and ports — transport costs to processing facilities reduce what yards can pay sellers.
Where the yards are in Katherine
Katherine has no scrap precinct and no dedicated yard of the kind found in Darwin. Scrap is collected at the council's Katherine Waste Management Facility landfill and shipped out to recycling markets, and one local bin and waste operator pays cash for scrap metal and drink containers. That is the whole market.
There is no kerbside recycling either; residents who want to recycle sort and store material until it is worth a trip. The council is building a materials recovery facility intended to handle tyres, batteries, scrap metal and e-waste, but it is not a scrap buyer.
Where Katherine's metal goes
Darwin is 320 km north up the Stuart Highway, and its Pinelands and Berrimah yards are the nearest commercial buyers with any processing. Katherine is on both the highway and the Adelaide to Darwin railway, so anything going south faces the same 1,500 km run through Alice Springs that Darwin's scrap does. In practice the only regular recycling movement is a semi-trailer of crushed cans and bottles collected roughly monthly. Two freight legs before any smelter is why Katherine carries the lowest price adjustment in this directory.
What's different about selling in Katherine
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. RAAF Base Tindal, 15 km from town, along with cattle stations, mining and Nitmiluk tourism supply most of the scrap: base and contractor steel, station fencing and machinery. The wet season brings serious flood risk, with the 1998 Katherine River flood inundating over a thousand homes, so metal stored low on the ground between December and March can be lost or spoiled.
Sources for the Katherine sections above (last checked ):
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. Darwin is the state capital and typically has the most competitive rates in the state.
Popular items: what they're worth in Katherine
Estimated scrap value at Katherine yards. Assumes properly prepared material (oil drained, copper stripped from motors, refrigerant degassed where required).
Scrap yards in Katherine
We don't list any yards in Katherine yet — submit one to help build the directory. View directory page →
Frequently asked questions about scrap metal in Katherine
Where are the best scrap metal yards in Katherine? +
Our yard directory lists Katherine 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 Katherine pay less than Sydney for scrap metal? +
The 35% gap to Sydney reflects transport costs. Metal sold in Katherine 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 Katherine? +
Copper, by a wide margin. Our estimate for clean bare-bright copper in Katherine is around $10.11 per kilogram (spot price × 78% payout rate × 0.65 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 Katherine 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 Katherine? +
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, Darwin 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.