Every copper grade priced in ZAR per , updated daily from exchange settlements and this market's own level.
Copper scrap in South Africa is worth R 52.03 to R 186.00 per kg today, depending on grade. Bare Bright Copper sits at the top of the board and communication wire at the bottom, a spread of about 3.6 times. Prices are quoted in ZAR per kg and move daily with the exchange settlement.
Yards grade copper by cleanliness, coating and gauge. The spread from the top grade to the bottom runs 25 to 35 percent, so identifying what you hold matters more than the day you sell.
Converted from the exchange settlement at this market's rate and level. Indicative reference prices, not offers. Aluminium, brass and steel prices in South Africa.
Dealers quote non-ferrous scrap in rand per kilogram and ferrous scrap per tonne. Copper prices follow the LME in rand, less the discount required by the price preference system.
Against the global reference: The price preference system and export controls keep South African prices well below the US reference.
Grade names travel less well than the metal does. Whatever a local merchant calls it, the specification behind each grade is the same one used on export contracts, which is why the ReMA code appears on every card above.
The board above is the national indicative level. City yards trade around it rather than exactly on it, because local competition, freight to the nearest consumer and export demand all move the spread. Two quotes in the same city can differ by several percent on the same morning.
Johannesburg is South Africa's deepest scrap market, but prices sit below world parity because the price preference system makes dealers offer material to local mills at a discount before any export. Copper carries strict origin checks; expect ID, records and non-cash payment for regulated grades.
Copper that moves here: Millberry and bright copper with clean provenance.
Cape Town scrap prices follow the LME in rand under the same price preference discount as the rest of South Africa, with fewer buyers than Gauteng but a port that matters when export permits flow. Yards cluster in Epping, Parow and Montague Gardens; ID and records are standard.
Copper that moves here: Copper and cable from electrical and renovation work.
Durban is South Africa's busiest port, so its scrap prices feel export policy first: when permits flow, harbour-side buyers firm the bids, and when they tighten, the discount to world prices widens. Yards cluster in Jacobs, Mobeni and Pinetown; the national ID and record rules apply.
Copper that moves here: Container-grade aluminium and copper when export demand is open.
The Second-Hand Goods Act requires dealers to be registered and to record the seller's identity and the material; copper cable and other theft-prone grades face extra scrutiny and periodic export bans. Bring ID and proof of origin for cable, rail or infrastructure metal.
Copper attracts more scrutiny than any other scrap metal because it is the most stolen. A yard that asks for identification is following the law; one that does not is the greater risk to you, since a load with no paper trail is the load a buyer can dispute later.
South Africa's scrap market is shaped by policy: under the price preference system, scrap must first be offered to domestic consumers at a discount to the export price, and exports of some grades have been banned or taxed for periods to fight infrastructure theft and support local mills. Local prices therefore sit below international levels.
Gauteng, around Johannesburg, is the biggest collection and consumption hub; Durban and Cape Town handle exports when they are permitted.
Copper sits differently in that picture from the ferrous grades. It is worth enough per kilogram to travel, so a merchant a long way from a refinery can still pay close to the reference by shipping to one. That is why the spread between the best and worst copper quote in a country is usually narrower than the spread on steel, where freight eats the margin.
Grade decides more of your payment than timing does. Four checks settle almost every load.
Sorting into separate piles before you weigh is the highest-paid work in this trade. A mixed load is graded at the lowest grade present, so one soldered joint in a clean pile can regrade the lot.
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR) |
|---|---|
| Price units | Per kg for non-ferrous, per tonne for ferrous |
| Benchmarks | LME prices in rand less the price preference discount |
| Main hubs | Johannesburg and Gauteng, Durban, Cape Town |
| Trade position | Exports controlled by the price preference system |
Between R 52.03 and R 186.00 per kg depending on grade, quoted in ZAR. The board above shows every grade, updated daily.
Because they have different outlets. A merchant who can sell straight to a refinery pays closer to the reference than one who has to ship material onward, and both build their freight into the quote. Local competition does the rest, which is why calling two or three merchants is worth more than picking the day.
Bare Bright Copper, at R 186.00 per kg today. It is the strictest grade on the board: clean, uncoated, unalloyed wire of heavier gauge, with no oxidation and no attachments.
Above roughly 48 percent copper recovery, usually yes. Below it, usually not. Thick building cable strips quickly and pays; thin communication cable does not. Burning insulation is never the answer: it is unlawful in most jurisdictions and it downgrades the copper rather than improving it.
Yes, though less than most sellers expect. The board on this page is the national indicative level and city yards trade around it. What moves a local quote is how many buyers can economically reach you, how far the material has to travel to a consumer, and whether there is an export outlet nearby.
Daily. Copper settles on the exchange every business day and every scrap grade moves with it, because each grade is priced as a share of the refined metal price rather than set independently.
$6.22 / lb
C$8.34 / lb
£9.74 / kg
A$18.08 / kg
€12.04 / kg
€11.81 / kg
€12.16 / kg
€11.81 / kg
€11.81 / kg
€11.93 / kg
CN¥90.30 / kg
¥2,077 / kg
₩18,096 / kg
₹1,193 / kg
৳1,483 / kg
Rs 3,274 / kg
AED 47.84 / kg
SAR 47.82 / kg
₺691.10 / kg