Scrap metal prices per kg in Nigeria
| Scrap type | Price (NGN) | Change | Global reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-ferrous (per kg) | |||
| Copper Scrap | ₦13,911 / kg | ▲ +2.30% | $5.78 / lb |
| Aluminum Scrap | ₦1,949 / kg | ▲ +1.25% | $0.81 / lb |
| Brass Scrap | ₦8,423 / kg | ▲ +1.45% | $3.50 / lb |
| Stainless Steel Scrap | ₦1,372 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.57 / lb |
| Lead Scrap | ₦1,420 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.59 / lb |
| Zinc Scrap | ₦2,166 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.90 / lb |
| Battery Scrap | ₦554 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.23 / lb |
| Radiator Scrap | ₦7,990 / kg | ▲ +2.15% | $3.32 / lb |
| Wire Scrap | ₦6,715 / kg | ▲ +2.20% | $2.79 / lb |
| Cable Scrap | ₦4,476 / kg | ▲ +2.20% | $1.86 / lb |
| Electronic Scrap | ₦1,925 / kg | ▲ +2.56% | $0.80 / lb |
| Ferrous and bulk (per tonne) | |||
| Steel Scrap | ₦361,001 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $300 / ton |
| Iron Scrap | ₦317,681 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $264 / ton |
| Car Scrap | ₦433,201 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $360 / ton |
| Cast Iron | ₦346,561 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $288 / ton |
Indicative dealer prices for clean, sorted scrap. Global reference is the US board in US dollars; the Nigeria figure applies the exchange rate (1 USD = 1,331.28 NGN) and a local market factor of 0.82.
Dealers quote in naira per kilogram. Prices here are derived from the exchange settlement, converted to naira, and adjusted by a market factor of 0.82, our assessment of a market with genuine mill demand but a long informal chain, currency volatility and restricted export access all sitting between a collector and the world price. That factor is published on the editorial policy page and is open to challenge. The gap is visible in published local rates: a Lagos dealer advertising copper at roughly ₦10,000 to ₦13,000 a kilogram is quoting a buying price several thousand naira below the reference on this board, and that difference is the trade's margin rather than an error in either number.
Nigeria scrap price chart (NGN)
Daily open, high, low and close for the most traded scrap metals in NGN per kg or per tonne. Scroll to zoom and drag to move along the timeline.
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Copper scrap prices by grade in Nigeria
Copper is not one price. Yards grade it by cleanliness, coating and gauge, and the spread from the top grade to the bottom runs 25 to 35 percent. These are the same grades used on export contracts, converted to NGN.
The scrap market in Nigeria
Nigeria is the largest scrap market in West Africa, and the trade has its own vocabulary before it has any regulation. It is iron condemn in the south and bola jari in the north, and it runs through a chain that starts with collectors, passes through the markets, and ends at rolling mills in Lagos, Warri, Onitsha, Kano and Ibadan that melt scrap because domestic billet has been in short supply. Owode-Onirin in Lagos is the trade's best-known market, and the skills there are real: dealers who can identify silver hidden inside a lot of ordinary brass are working knowledge that no formal programme taught them.
What is unusual is where the rules come from. There is no single national scrap licence of the kind Britain or Kenya operates. Instead individual state governments act, and they act suddenly. In January 2026 the Gombe State government announced a ban on the scrap trade following a State Security Council meeting, aimed at vandalism of public infrastructure carried out under cover of legitimate dealing. The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria then clarified publicly that the measure was temporary rather than total, said it had met the state Attorney-General, and reported that a committee had been formed to review the sector with a view to lifting the restriction once safeguards were in place. That sequence, a state ban followed by an association negotiating it back, is the shape of Nigerian scrap regulation.
- Currency
- Nigerian naira (NGN)
- Units
- Kilogram
- Market factor
- 0.82 (our assessment, published on the editorial policy page)
- Trade body
- National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria
- Local terms
- Iron condemn in the south, bola jari in the north
The most valuable scrap by weight in Nigeria today: Copper at ₦13,911 per kg, Brass at ₦8,423 per kg, Radiator at ₦7,990 per kg, Wire at ₦6,715 per kg, Cable at ₦4,476 per kg.
What you can expect to be paid in Nigeria
Scrap is weighed and paid by the kilogram in Nigeria, in NGN. Typical ranges are Copper: ₦ 12,240 to ₦ 15,580 per kg; Brass: ₦ 7,410 to ₦ 9,435 per kg; Aluminium: ₦ 1,715 to ₦ 2,185 per kg; Zinc: ₦ 1,905 to ₦ 2,425 per kg; Lead: ₦ 1,250 to ₦ 1,590 per kg; Stainless steel: ₦ 1,205 to ₦ 1,535 per kg. Across common non-ferrous grades that puts most material between ₦ 1,205 and ₦ 15,580 per kg, with copper at the top of the range and stainless steel near the bottom.
These are ranges rather than quotes. The band reflects day-to-day movement in the metal market and the spread between one yard and another, which our own research has found can reach 40 percent or more for the same metal in the same city. The midpoint is derived from the international exchange settlement converted to NGN and adjusted by our published market factor of 0.82. Expect a local buyer to sit toward the lower end, because they carry collection, sorting, processing and their own margin. Always confirm the rate per kilo for your specific grade before anything is weighed.
- Copper: ₦ 12,240 to ₦ 15,580 per kg
- Brass: ₦ 7,410 to ₦ 9,435 per kg
- Aluminium: ₦ 1,715 to ₦ 2,185 per kg
- Zinc: ₦ 1,905 to ₦ 2,425 per kg
- Lead: ₦ 1,250 to ₦ 1,590 per kg
- Stainless steel: ₦ 1,205 to ₦ 1,535 per kg
What vandalism is actually costing the grid
Two facts from the same year tell the story. On 4 March 2025 the Transmission Company of Nigeria transmitted a historic peak of 5,801.84 megawatts, the highest ever recorded in the country. Across that same period, TCN infrastructure was vandalised 131 times.
The pattern is not new. TCN recorded around 276 vandalised installations between 2022 and 2025 nationwide. Between January and August 2026, at least 20 transmission towers were vandalised, with four suspects arrested and one person killed. NISO has estimated that transmission losses cost the electricity market around 8 billion naira a month.
The financial damage runs deeper than replacement cost. TCN has to redirect money earmarked for grid expansion into repairing what has been destroyed, so every tower taken down delays the expansion that would have improved supply.
Telecoms is hit on the same scale. Nigerian Communications Commission data showed 656 critical power assets looted across 2025, comprising 152 generators and 504 batteries, in a sector valued at 76 billion dollars. January and February 2026 continued the trend with 64 batteries and 17 generators taken.
The courts are now handing down real sentences
This is the part worth knowing if you buy or sell metal in Nigeria, because it establishes what the material is legally.
In July 2025 a Lagos Magistrate Court sentenced Inya Bethel to ten months in prison, without the option of a fine, for stealing core electrical cable lines in Ikoyi. In August 2026 an Edo State court sentenced Abubakar Dauda to two years for destroying a 200KVA transformer. In April 2026 an Oshodi Special Offences Magistrate's Court convicted thirteen individuals for vandalising Terminal 1 construction sites at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and stealing building materials.
Even small-scale removal is prosecuted. A Lagos Magistrate Court at Oshodi sentenced a man to four months for attempting to take structural scraps and nuts from the Jibowu Bridge, after he was caught by the Lagos State Kick Against Indiscipline Brigade.
Telecom infrastructure has been formally declared critical national infrastructure. Material that comes off it is not scrap in the ordinary sense, and a yard that buys it is buying evidence.
Selling scrap metal in Nigeria: rules, ID and payment
For a household seller there is no licence to obtain and, in most states, no restriction to worry about. The two things to know are that state governments can and do suspend the trade at short notice, and that exporting is a different matter from selling domestically. Non-ferrous scrap exports face regulatory scrutiny and require permits and documentation, and enforcement against undocumented containers moving through Lagos ports has produced arrests and prosecutions. Anyone contemplating export should treat it as a customs and licensing exercise rather than a scrap sale. Nigeria is not alone in this direction: as of March 2025 some 48 countries restricted ferrous scrap exports, with a substantial share operating outright bans, and neighbouring Ghana has projected significant revenue from moving to processed exports instead of raw scrap.
Before you sell
- Separate ferrous from non-ferrous before selling. The trade calls the sorting stage sweeping, and it is where the value is decided.
- Learn what your material actually is. Dealers at Owode-Onirin who can distinguish silver inside a brass lot earn many times the brass price, and the same knowledge protects a seller from underselling.
- Check the position in your state before building a business around collection. Restrictions have been announced at state level with little notice.
- Never sell metal taken from public infrastructure. Vandalism is the stated reason behind state action, and it is what puts the whole trade at risk.
- Treat export as a licensing exercise. Non-ferrous exports need permits and documentation, and undocumented containers through Lagos ports have led to prosecutions.
Scrap prices by city in Nigeria
City pages carry local yard prices and directories for the main scrap markets. Pages that are not live yet are shown without a link.
Scrap yards in Nigeria
Find a yard by region or city, or use your location to see the nearest. Every listing shows where its details came from and when they were checked.
Yard listings for Nigeria are being added from official dealer registers and trade directories. Nothing is published until it has been verified against a named source, which is why this section is not yet populated.
Nigeria scrap price FAQ
Is scrap metal trading legal in Nigeria?
Yes nationally, and there is no federal scrap dealer licence. What varies is state policy: individual state governments have suspended the trade within their borders, as Gombe State did in January 2026, and those measures can arrive with little notice.
Was scrap metal banned in Gombe State?
A restriction was announced in January 2026 after a State Security Council meeting, aimed at infrastructure vandalism carried out under cover of scrap dealing. The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria said publicly that the measure was temporary rather than total, and that a committee had been set up with a view to lifting it once safeguards were agreed.
What is iron condemn?
The everyday Nigerian term for the scrap metal trade, used mainly in the south. In the north the same business is called bola jari. Both refer to the whole chain from collection through the markets to the mills.
Where is the main scrap market in Nigeria?
Owode-Onirin in Lagos is the best known, and it functions as a trading centre as well as a market. The expertise there is genuine: dealers who can identify silver inside an ordinary-looking brass lot are working at a level that no formal training programme produced.
Can scrap metal be exported from Nigeria?
Not freely. Non-ferrous scrap exports face regulatory scrutiny and require permits and documentation, and enforcement against undocumented containers through Lagos ports has produced arrests and prosecutions. Treat export as a customs and licensing exercise rather than a sale.
Where does Nigerian scrap actually get melted?
At rolling mills in Lagos, Warri, Onitsha, Kano and Ibadan among others. Domestic billet has been in short supply, which is why mills turned to scrap as feedstock and why there is real domestic demand for ferrous material.
Why is the price a Lagos dealer offers below the price on this page?
Because the board is a reference for the metal and a dealer is several layers below the mill that will consume it. A Lagos dealer advertising copper at around ₦10,000 to ₦13,000 a kilogram is quoting a buying price, and the gap to the reference is the margin that funds collection, sorting and transport.
What is sweeping?
The sorting stage, where purchased metal is separated into ferrous and non-ferrous before it moves up the chain. It is where the value of a lot is actually decided, which is why doing it yourself before selling changes what you are paid.
Sources and methodology
Prices on this page start from the global reference board (US dollars per pound or per ton), are multiplied by a Nigeria market factor of 0.82 that reflects local demand, freight and trade rules, and are converted to NGN at 1 USD = 1,331.28 and to metric units (kilograms and tonnes). The board refreshes daily, with the time of the latest update shown at the top of the page.
Reference sources
- National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria statements on the Gombe State restriction, January 2026
- Nigeria Customs Service enforcement reporting on undocumented scrap exports through Lagos ports
- Academic survey of scrap iron and steel recycling in Nigeria, on mill locations and billet shortage
- Published rates from Lagos scrap dealers, used for comparison rather than as a market benchmark
Prices are indicative and for information only; they are not offers to buy or sell. Actual yard prices depend on grade, quantity, location and the buyer. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it against our sources.