Aurubis
Lünen, Germany
MANUFACTURER-STATEDRecycler / Smelter / refiner
Multi-metal smelting and refiningCopper-bearing recycling materials
Acceptance criteria and buying availability UNKNOWN
Grades: unknown · no direct qualification
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Copper Scrap: Forms, Price Data and the Companies That Handle It.
Start with the form you hold, see what a grade name does and does not tell a buyer, check how public copper scrap indexes have moved, then read what each company says it handles and where that claim comes from. Free to use. ScrapBasin never buys, sells or brokers metal.
Which Copper Do You Hold?
Describe the form, then inspect the company’s stated inputs, source and commercial gaps.
01020304The Insulation and Conductor Both Matter.
Confirm conductor material, insulation, separation needs and the receiving company’s input limits.
What a Grade Name Tells a Buyer, and What It Does Not
Buyers, sellers and price indexes use trade names for copper scrap, such as No. 1 and No. 2 copper. The definitions belong to the ReMA ISRI scrap specifications circular. ScrapBasin links to the circular and does not reproduce it. A grade name on its own does not establish purity, coatings or acceptance by a particular site.
Send with any grade name:
- the physical form
- the origin of the material
- any analysis, with its date and sampling scope
- known coatings, insulation or attachments
- quantity and whether supply recurs
How Copper Scrap Indexes Have Moved
These are free public series: US producer price indexes for copper scrap grades, and the World Bank's monthly refined copper average shown as a change only. They show the direction and size of moves, not the price you will be paid.
Scrap Indexes Rose with Refined Copper
Index, December 2025 = 100. Refined copper (World Bank) to September 2026 against US No. 1 and No. 2 copper scrap (BLS) to August 2026, from January 2025.
- Dashed: preliminary months (May to August 2026), revised by the BLS
| Series | Latest month | 1 month | Dec 2025 to Aug 2026 | 12 months | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 copper scrap, including wireBLS WPU10230101 | Aug 2026 (P) | +5.5% | +30.2% | +41.2% | +55.4% |
| No. 2 copper scrap, including wireBLS WPU10230102 | Aug 2026 (P) | +1.4% | +24.9% | +52.9% | +57.6% |
| Copper base scrapBLS WPU102301 | Aug 2026 (P) | +4.2% | +27.6% | +43.0% | +56.5% |
| Yellow brass scrapBLS WPU10230103 | Aug 2026 (P) | +2.5% | +22.5% | +39.9% | +43.6% |
| Refined copper, World Bank monthly average, same monthsShown as a change only | Aug 2026 | +5.8% | +21.6% | +48.1% | +52.9% |
How to Read It
Over five years, the No. 1, No. 2 and copper base scrap indexes rose by similar amounts to refined copper (55% to 58% against 53%). Over shorter windows the gap moves around, and the latest four months will be revised.
Revisions Are Real
The BLS revises the latest months. The No. 1 copper scrap index for March 2026 was first published at 690.8 and now stands at 744.0, a revision of 7.7% (ALFRED vintage data).
UK Exports of Copper Waste and Scrap (HS 7404)
July 2026: 22,775 tonnes; average declared value per tonne up 43.0% on July 2025. Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Shown as a percentage change only; values per tonne are published by HMRC in pounds and are not converted.
What a Fixed Price Misses
Illustrative example. Not a client case.A seller who fixed a price in December 2025 at 92% of the refined copper reference would, by September 2026, be receiving 74.9% of it (92.0 / 122.8, using the World Bank average rebased to December 2025 = 100). A percentage-of-reference contract would still be at 92%.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED (public domain); World Bank Pink Sheet, update of 2 October 2026, CC BY 4.0, shown as change only; HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics (OGL v3.0). Calculations by ScrapBasin. Indexes and customs averages, not prices or offers.
Copper Company Records
Find companies.
Read the source.
A bounded copper research set in Germany. Published capability is a starting point; purchasing, grades and lot acceptance require confirmation.
3 matching sourced recordsResearch reviewed 1 October 2026
KME Germany GmbH
Osnabrück, Germany
MANUFACTURER-STATEDProcessor / Smelter / refiner
Copper melting and selective fire refining; second furnace announced commissioned May 2025Copper scrap
Third-party sourcing terms UNKNOWN
Grades: unknown · no direct qualificationWieland
Vöhringen, Germany
MANUFACTURER-STATEDProcessor / Industrial buyer, source-stated model
Recycling/refining centre with commissioning target 2026/27Copper-containing scrap
Commissioning status REQUIRES VERIFICATION
Grades: unknown · no direct qualificationSource-stated research leads, not approved counterparties. The Wieland centre is prospective; commissioning remains to be verified. No current buying availability or live price feed.
Read Before You Send a Sample
Copper
Give the Buyer a Usable Copper Description
The fields a buyer needs to assess your copper lot, from form and origin to analysis, coatings and quantity.
Read moreCopper
Copper Prices in 2026 from Public Data: What the Monthly Series Show for Scrap Sellers
Refined copper rose 22.8% from December 2025 to September 2026. What that means for scrap prices and contracts.
Read moreCopper
Electric Motor and Transformer Scrap: How Copper Recovery Is Assessed and Priced Publication held
How buyers value motor and transformer scrap: copper recovery, iron and aluminium credits, when dismantling pays.
Read more Publication heldMulti-metal
Scrap Price Indices You Can Use Without a Subscription: The BLS Producer Price Series Explained Publication held
Twenty free BLS producer price indexes track scrap metal: what each measures and how much they are revised.
Read more Publication heldMulti-metal
Material Status Changes the Question
Waste, by-product and end-of-waste are separate questions. Settle the status before you choose a route.
Read moreMaterial Value Does Not Determine Legal Status.
Keep waste, by-product and end-of-waste questions separate from the commercial role map.
Need Every Buyer or Processor for Your Copper, Not Three?
A Market Map is a sourced shortlist for one material in one geography, with what each company says it handles and the questions to ask before you send a sample. Scoped and quoted before work starts.
Request a researched shortlist Paid research · scope and fee agreed before work starts.