Which Factors Influence the Price of Copper Scrap?

1. Which Factors Influence the Price of Copper Scrap? Introduction Copper is a metal that is recycled with no loss in quality. Copper can be melted down and formed into new products over and over without any loss in quality of the original metal. This is why copper scraps can be valued at up to 90 percent of the cost of the original copper. Not only does selling copper scraps for recycling return a good profit but it also has a positive impact on the environment by saving energy and reducing the waste resulting from mining virgin copper. Before scrap copper can be sold, it is necessary to sort and consolidate it according to a grading system. An individual who grasps the law can have some knowledge of the future trend. Copper recycling market sometimes just like weather. Which factors influence the price of copper scrap? 1.The Copper Grade This is because bright copper with little impurity substance can be directly smelted while that with many impurities needs another process, that is, sorting process. Briefly, mineral grade refers to the percentage content of minerals in the ore.The higher ratio, the less impurity. So it possesses the lower smelting difficulty, higher smelting production and more exploitation value. This kind of circumstance is suitable for the scrap copper industry. The higher copper content, the high price. Due to the requirements of industrialization, a complete set of smelting equipment is designed for certain mineral grade, which means that if the height of the ore grade does not meet the equipment requirements, it cannot then be smelted, so low grade is not of exploitation value of mineral resources, this is the grade demands of mineral deposits. 2.Supply and Demand Situation The second and maybe the most important reason is demand and supply situation. For example, the price of copper scrap in some coastal places is lower because of the import of abroad copper scrap while the price of that in inland places is higher because comparatively inadequate supply. Then we will talk about them in details. A. One of the biggest factors affecting the price of copper scrap is the demand. Copper is a material used in a great deal of applications, including optical fiber and cable, Hardware & Building Materials, electronic communications, electronic components, electric appliance, automotive, aerospace, military weapons,

2. etc. If economies are growing, then the demand for these fields also grows along with it. Building, for example, accounts for approximately half of all copper use, with engineering accounting for nearly 25 percent, and electrical applications accounting for approximately 17 percent. Growth in Asian economies in particular, which account for 50 percent of all copper use, is another important factor. Copper scrap is a very significant factor in making the United States self sufficient in its overall consumption vs. production of copper. In 1995, U.S. mine production was 2,050.3 thousand short tons; 1,673.9 thousand short tons of copper in domestic scrap entered the stream giving a total copper consumption of 3,724.2 thousand short tons. Scrap provided 44.4% of the total copper consumed. As shown below, scrap consumption over the past 20 years has provided between 44 and 54.7% of the total copper consumed in the U.S. The intrinsic value of copper scrap drives this process. No. 1 copper scrap commands over 90% of the price of new refined copper. B. Another factor affecting copper prices is the supply. While supply may increase or decrease over time, the trend tends to show an overall decrease in the amount copper being mined. Copper production comes mainly from America, Europe, and Asia, which combine for more than 90 percent of the copper produced in the world. As less copper is produced, the more precious of a commodity it becomes, and thus the higher copper prices tend to be. Counteracting this effect is the mining of more copper, finding new stores of copper, or finding other price-competitive materials that can take the place of copper. The United States is a significant exporter of copper and copper alloy scrap as shown on Tables 3 and 8, and has been the world’s largest exporter of copper-based scrap since 1999. U.S. net exports of scrap in 2011 were estimated at 944,890 tons, up from a net export of around 62,700 tons in 1993, and 140,000 in 1997. The most significant U.S. scrap export destinations are in Western Europe and Asia. Although the amounts have been declining since 1997, the United States also imports around 100,000 tons per year of scrap. The most important U.S. import sources of copper and copper alloy scrap in 2008 continued to be Canada (40%) and Mexico (35%). Scrap exports generally have been increasing since the early 1970's. More to read at http://www.copper-wire-recycling.com/news/copper_wire/Copper_Scrap_Price.html