As you will already know, wherever you are in Australia, scrap metal yards will accept a whole range of different forms of materials as a direct consequence of the consistently increasing scrap metal prices. Due to this it is possible for you to make a really healthy sum of money from scrapping your junk metal too. Obviously it is key for us to make the point that some types of scrap metal will fetch far more money than others, however we have made sure to provide you with a full list of scrap metal prices per kilo on the right hand side of our website.
In addition to this, if you are keen on discovering how much you can make from locally based scrap yards then you should navigate to each regions page of our website, these links can be found below. As of 2016 we are now affiliated with over 1000 different scrap dealers all throughout Australia, predominantly on the east coast of the country.
Now, before I go ahead on explain more about how you can personally go about getting updated prices with the various types of scrap metal, you should first spend some time reading about how scrap yards trade their metals. Firstly, it is key to understand that scrap metal is is traded in much the same way as stocks are on the stock exchange. What I mean by this is that it is ultimately driven by supply and demand. Therefore we are always seeing the prices changing constantly and it is difficult for people to set a one time price that fits all situations. Scrap metal is traded on a local level and so prices also vary on a locally based system too, some regions of Australia will have a very high demand of copper and others not so – so the prices will be higher or lower depending on where you live.
There is always a positive trend in terms of scrap metal prices in Australia, what I mean by that is that we are always seeing the prices generally trending upwards over time. This is due to there being an increasing demand for the main types of scrap metal; copper, aluminium, lead, iron and steel. In Australia we trade scrap metal by the kilo and it is usually priced based on the pure weight of the metal. This is why it is always important for people to clean their scrap metal before taking it to a scrap yard, I will be detailing how to do this in much more detail further down on this page. Firstly I will be explaining what grades of metal means in the context of metal pricing:Grade i – This type of metal is clean and is not associated with any type of metal alloy. They are the most expensive and so they will sell for the most amount of money. If you have a stash of grade 1 scrap metal then you will be able to sell that for a considerable amount of cash.
Grade ii – This type of metal is similar to grade i, however they are typically far less refined and are not seen as being pure. Sometimes these are found to be bound to different types of metal in an alloy. Grade ii scrap metal is valuable still, just marginally less so than grade i.
Grade (iii) 3 – Depending on the type of metal, there may be additional classifications that exist too. Examples of this include aluminum and lead. There are a number of sub-classifications that exist here and they are often the cheapest and least valuable forms of scrap metal that exist.
No grade – Some metal is not attributed in the same way as those above and is seen as having no grade whatsoever, these can sometimes be incredibly valuable and other times not so.
Scrap Copper Prices Per Kilo
If you are set on getting extremely high scrap copper prices per kilo then you should be first considering potential methods by which you can ensure your copper is as pure as possible. This is not always as simple as it first seems however, there are a lot of different ways by which you can clean scrap copper up, much of which I will detail later on. If you want to receive high scrap copper prices then you should always endevour to clean up your metal. Prior to beginning the cleaning process, first you should distinguish whether or not you have a pure form of copper or a mixed or plated version. Mixed copper can be scratched extremely easily, whereas pure copper is very durable and can be cleaned much easier.
Furthermore there are a lot of other factors that weigh into scrap copper prices per kilo. Another key factor is the fact that many times people will bring copper that is in some way bound to other metals to scrap yards. This is not the best practice if you are wanting to get an optimum return for your scrap, in actual fact you should always remove these additional materials from your copper. The issue in doing this is that some yards will see it as an extra job and therefore offer less money for these pieces of scrap copper and other scrap dealers will simply reject this type of metal. The most valuable type of copper is copper in its purest form, such as wires, plates or tubing. While it is extremely difficult in some cases to find copper in this way, if you can strip away any other materials from your copper then you will get a very good price for it per kilo.
In Australia you can find copper almost anywhere, in actual fact most people are totally unaware of this fact and so this acts to increases scrap copper prices across the country. The most common places where you can find copper is within all types of household electrical equipment.
Scrap Lead Prices Per Kilo
Another type of popular scrap is lead and this metal is another where you can get a really good amount of money from it. Scrap lead prices are notoriously volatile and are constantly changing all across Australia. Yet again, it is very hard for you to find a pure source of scrap lead, but if you do then you will have to be careful to ensure that you do not contaminate your surroundings with it as it is extremely toxic. Lead is also a very heavy metal that is hard to transport if you have a bulk quantity of it, but I will go ahead and say that due to its high demand it is very much worth the extra effort. Scrap lead prices per kilo are almost always very high and if you have a constant supply of it then you will get paid very well for it. Currently there are not many easily available sources of lead, but if you live close to mines in the more rural locations of Australia then you should strive to get your hands on some whenever physically possible. Once again, please take care when handling lead.
Scrap Aluminium Prices Per Kilo
Scrap aluminium is very sought after all over Australia and it is easy to get rid of too. Scrap aluminium prices per kilo are consistently high and while they do fluctuate considerably throughout the year you can always get a good return for it. I will say that aluminium is quite hard to find in its purest form, which is the most valuable, but if you know where to get it then you should take it right away to your local scrap metal yard. On a daily basis it is very frequent that we see the cost increase or decrease by as much as fifty percent, this high level of volatility is very much reliant on supply and demand in your locality. Some regions, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and NSW are almost always in high demand, whereas others are always low. It really does simply depend on whether your local dealer needs the metal or not and this demand is driven by industry demands in your area. Scrap aluminum can be found in a range of household goods, but it is slowly being removed from the marketplace due to increasing costs and cheaper alternatives, including certain aluminium based alloys.
Scrap Steel Prices Per Kilo
Australia is also always in high demand of scrap stainless steel and steel too. Most of the time that you find stainless steel it will be in a very pure form, this is because steel is already an alloy and it is very easy to reduce down to a liquid form. Scrap stainless steel prices per kilo are very stable in the country and so you can always rely on getting good value for it too. One consideration you must think about when you plan on taking it to a scrap yard is that it is a very heavy type of metal. It’s not something that you can easily transport anywhere and so it is key to put the appropriate measures into place to ensure that you can get it to your dealer to sell.