How We Calculate Scrap Metal Prices
We publish estimated scrap-yard payouts for common metals across Australia. Every figure on this site is derived, not invented, and this page documents the full calculation so you can judge it for yourself.
Where the underlying prices come from
Our base prices come from international metal markets, not from individual yards.
Primary source: MetalpriceAPI. We retrieve daily prices for copper, aluminium, zinc, nickel and lead in Australian dollars. MetalpriceAPI quotes base metals per ounce (the ordinary avoirdupois ounce of 28.35 g, not the troy ounce used for gold and silver), which we convert to AUD per kilogram by multiplying by 35.274.
Correction, 2 September 2026: from the site’s launch on 16 May 2026 until 2 September 2026 this conversion used the troy-ounce factor (32.15) by mistake, so every MetalpriceAPI-sourced figure on the site was 8.9% too low. The error was found when prices from our fallback source, which does its own conversion, came in consistently higher. Every historical snapshot has been restated with the correct factor, so charts, market wraps and today’s prices are now on the same, correct basis. Percentage movements were never affected.
First fallback: Metals.Dev. On days when MetalpriceAPI can’t return a metal (its copper series, for example, is not available on every plan tier), we fill the gap from Metals.Dev’s LME feed in AUD per kilogram. Each day’s snapshot records which source supplied it, and the most recent snapshots show a mix: most days from MetalpriceAPI, some entirely from Metals.Dev.
Second fallback: Yahoo Finance commodity futures. If both APIs are unavailable, we fall back on published futures contracts (HG=F for copper, ALI=F for aluminium) and convert from USD/lb or USD/tonne using the current AUD/USD rate. Yahoo only reliably covers those two metals.
Final fallback: last-known-good cached price. If every live source fails on a given day, we serve the most recent successful fetch and clearly flag the data as delayed. The same delayed-data notice appears at the top of every page whenever the figures you’re looking at are more than 48 hours old, for any reason. We never invent or estimate a missing day’s price.
Every page on this site shows the date of the data we used. If today’s price hasn’t been fetched, you’ll see yesterday’s date — that’s the trust trade-off we make rather than guessing.
How spot prices become yard payouts
International spot prices are what refiners pay for clean, certified metal in tonne quantities. A scrap yard buying 5 kilograms of mixed copper from a member of the public pays substantially less than that. The gap covers their processing, sorting, transport, and margin.
Across Australia, we’ve observed scrap yards typically pay between 45% and 78% of LME spot price for non-ferrous metals, depending on the grade and the local market.
Steel is different: it has no market feed on this site. None of our data sources quotes Australian scrap steel, so the steel “spot” figure is a fixed estimate of A$0.42/kg, entered when the site launched on 16 May 2026 and not updated since. Steel payouts are that fixed figure × 12% (light) or 18% (heavy melting steel). Treat steel figures, and the steel part of any item valuation, as the least reliable numbers on the site. Every page that shows a steel figure labels it as a fixed estimate.
We apply published payout rates for each metal and grade. The full table is below.
| Metal | Grade | Typical Payout Rate (% of spot) |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | Bare Bright | 78% |
| Copper | No. 1 | 70% |
| Copper | No. 2 | 58% |
| Copper | Insulated wire | 25% |
| Aluminium | Extrusion | 65% |
| Aluminium | Cast | 55% |
| Aluminium | Sheet | 50% |
| Aluminium | Cans (UBC) | 45% |
| Brass | Red | 65% |
| Brass | Yellow | 60% |
| Brass | Plumbing | 55% |
| Stainless | 316 (Marine) | 60% |
| Stainless | 304 (Food grade) | 55% |
| Lead | Soft | 50% |
| Lead | Batteries | 30% |
| Zinc | Clean | 55% |
| Steel | Heavy (HMS) | 18% |
| Steel | Light | 12% |
These rates were set on 16 May 2026 and have not been revised since. If the market shifts substantially — say, copper payouts widen during a supply shortage — we will adjust them and note the change and its date here.
How city differences are calculated
Scrap yards in Darwin don’t pay the same as scrap yards in Sydney. The difference is mostly transport: metal sold in a remote market eventually has to travel to a smelter, and the yard prices that in.
We apply a regional adjustment as a final multiplier on the calculated payout. Sydney is set at 1.00 (national benchmark). Other cities range from 0.72 (Alice Springs) to 0.98 (Melbourne). The full table is shown on each city page.
These adjustments are based on a combination of published yard rate cards, freight cost differentials, and the typical distance from each city to the nearest smelter or export port. They were set on 16 May 2026 and have not been revised since.
The formula in plain English
For any city, metal, and grade, the estimated payout per kilogram is:
estimated_payout_per_kg = spot_price_AUD_per_kg × payout_rate × regional_adjustment
We publish a low/mid/high range around this central estimate to reflect natural variation between yards. The range is the central estimate ±15%.
For derived metals (brass, stainless), we calculate the underlying spot using the alloy composition:
- Yellow brass = 67% copper + 33% zinc
- 304 stainless ≈ 8% nickel + 18% chromium (we proxy chromium with a fixed A$0.50/kg allowance, set on 16 May 2026; it is not a market price)
- 316 stainless ≈ 10% nickel + 16% chromium + 2-3% molybdenum
What our estimates don’t capture
We’re upfront about the limits of this approach.
Local yard pricing varies. Two yards in the same suburb can pay different rates on the same day. We publish a central estimate; actual offers will land somewhere within (or occasionally outside) our range.
Grade assessment is subjective. What you bring as “clean copper” might be graded #2 at the yard if it has soldered joints or paint. Our payouts assume yard-side grading.
Quantity matters. Most yards have a minimum weight (often 5-10kg) below which they pay walk-in rates rather than published rates. Large loads (over 100kg) often qualify for a small premium.
Daily volatility is real. Metal prices move every trading day. Our data is refreshed once daily — fast-moving market days can leave our published figures briefly outdated within hours.
Demand factors aren’t visible in spot prices. A yard with full bins of copper will pay less than one waiting for stock. We can’t see this.
Our estimates are not quotes. Always call the yard before transporting a load. The yards we link to are independent businesses; their prices on the day are theirs to set.
What gets included in the calculations
We use cost-free, publicly verifiable inputs:
- Spot prices: MetalpriceAPI (primary), Metals.Dev, then Yahoo Finance (fallbacks)
- Currency conversion: Daily AUD/USD rates from the same source
- Payout rates: Set from published Australian yard rate cards on 16 May 2026 (not revised since)
- Regional adjustments: Modelled from freight cost data and observed yard rate differentials (set 16 May 2026)
- Steel base price and the stainless chromium allowance: fixed estimates set on 16 May 2026, not market prices
Every price page shows a “Where these numbers come from” table listing, for each figure, its source, what kind of source it is (market data feed, our calculation, or a fixed estimate) and the date it was fetched or set.
We do not accept payment from scrap yards to inflate or alter price estimates. Featured yard listings (when implemented) will be clearly labelled, and listing fees do not affect price displays.
When we last updated this page
This methodology was last reviewed on 2026-11-10, when we added the steel and fixed-figure disclosures above and the per-page source tables. The data sources, formulas, and rate tables on this page reflect our current calculation. If we make material changes, we’ll note them on this page along with the date of change.
Questions or corrections
If you’re a scrap yard operator and you’d like to suggest a different payout rate, or you’re a seller who consistently gets results different from our estimates in a particular city, we want to hear from you. Use the contact form to share your data — we’ll review it and adjust if it’s consistent with the broader market.