What is copper scrap and how does the industry classify it?
Copper scrap is any recoverable copper-bearing material recycled back into secondary copper — from a stripped power cable to a used electric motor to a rod-mill turnings drum. Global trade classifies copper scrap under HS code 7404 (copper waste and scrap), but industrial buyers contract against the ISRI Scrap Specifications Circular's memorable single-word grade aliases: Barley for #1 bare bright copper wire, Berry for #1 clean copper, Candy for #2 copper, Cliff for insulated wire mix, Birch for #1 bare wire, Cobra for copper radiators, Elmo for insulated copper wire, Ocean for enameled copper, Palms for copper-with-brass. The ISRI code is the working vocabulary of every reputable refinery and rod mill worldwide. Contract discounts against LME Copper Grade A cash settlement are set per ISRI grade, so learning which grade fits which downstream buyer is the highest-leverage skill for procurement.
Millberry — the flagship copper grade and its exact specification
Millberry (ISRI code Barley) is the highest grade of copper wire scrap: uncoated, unalloyed, unsoldered, uncoated bare bright copper wire recovered from clean cable stripping, minimum 99.9% copper by weight, minimum 1.6 mm gauge (or bunched fine copper wire meeting equivalent recovery). Nautica's Millberry contract specifies: 99.9% Cu min, oxygen ≤ 400 ppm, tin ≤ 20 ppm, lead ≤ 30 ppm, no insulation residue, no oxidation, no charring, free of tinned wire, free of aluminum-clad. Physical form is loose bright wire, densified into 1 m³ bales at ~1.6 t/m³. Millberry ships against LME Copper Grade A cash settlement at 96–98% CIF — the tightest discount in the copper complex — because it is direct rod-mill feedstock for copper conductor manufacturing without further refining. See /copper-millberry-scrap for the full spec.
Berry, Candy and the numbered copper grades
Berry (ISRI Berry) is #1 clean copper: mixed clean copper solids including tube, wire, bus bar, pipe fittings, minimum 99.5% copper, free of solder, brazing, plated coatings and mixed metals. Candy (ISRI Candy) is #2 copper: unalloyed copper scrap including tube, wire and heavy solids with some solder, tinning, brazing and light attachments; minimum 96% copper, oxidation permitted. The numbered grade convention (#1 = clean, #2 = with attachments) predates ISRI and is still used in North American trade — a #1 copper container ships as Berry; a #2 as Candy. Discount to LME Copper Grade A cash: Berry 92–95%, Candy 84–88%. See /copper-scrap for the general grade page and specific dedicated pages linked below.
Birch and Cliff — the wire family below Millberry
Birch (ISRI Birch) is #1 bare copper wire and cable, uncoated and unalloyed, minimum 99% copper, wire gauge fine or medium, may include a small percentage of solder. Cliff (ISRI Cliff) is #1 heavy copper wire and cable with light lead solder or tinning, or mixed cable including some coated wire, minimum 96% copper. The pair 'Birch/Cliff' is often quoted together for buyers of cable-recycling operations who accept the fuller mixed feed. Birch alone trades at 90–94% LME; Cliff alone at 82–86%; the combined Birch/Cliff mix at 86–90% depending on the exact ratio. Nautica's Birch/Cliff is stripped from EU cable-recovery yards and ships baled or drummed. See /birch-cliff-copper-scrap for the full specification.
Copper wire scrap categories and cable-recovery grades
Beyond the bare-wire grades, copper wire scrap trades in several insulated categories: Cobra (insulated copper wire chops from cable-recovery machinery, 60–80% copper depending on gauge), Elmo (mixed insulated copper wire, 55–75% copper), Ocean (enameled copper wire from motor windings, 92–95% copper), Talon (insulated aluminum-conductor copper-clad wire, mixed metal). Whole insulated cable is quoted per the copper recovery percentage and either shipped as-is for the buyer's own chopping line or pre-chopped by our EU partner recovery yards. Insulated cable ships in bales or drums; chopped material ships as loose granules or densified pellets. See /copper-wire-scrap for the full wire-scrap taxonomy.
Electric motor scrap — sealed unit trading and inside chemistry
Sealed electric motors are traded as ISRI Coyote — mixed sealed motor units without size or type sorting, typically 15–25% copper by weight (windings), 60–70% steel (rotor and stator laminations), 5–10% aluminum (housings and end bells), balance insulation. Contract terms specify the copper content basis: a container of Coyote priced against LME Copper cash × 0.20 × recovery percentage. Some contracts split the payment across copper and ferrous LME references. Nautica's motor scrap is sourced from EU end-of-life appliance and industrial dismantlers, shipped in 20GP containers at 22–25 MT net. See /electric-motor-scrap for the full specification.
Compressor scrap — refrigeration and HVAC copper recovery
Compressor scrap (ISRI code depends on unit type — hermetic refrigeration compressors trade as a distinct grade) yields copper (motor windings and refrigerant tubing), steel (housing) and residual refrigerant oils. Nautica's compressor scrap is drained of refrigerant and oil under EU F-Gas regulation before shipment, then quoted against the copper recovery basis (typical 8–15% copper depending on compressor size and vintage). Old commercial compressors yield more copper than modern high-efficiency hermetic units. See /compressor-scrap for the full specification.
LME anchoring for copper — a tighter market than aluminum
Every Nautica copper quotation anchors to the LME Copper Grade A cash settlement on a stated date, adjusted by a grade-specific discount percentage. Typical 2026 trading bands CIF: Millberry 96–98%, Berry 92–95%, Birch 90–94%, Cliff 82–86%, Candy 84–88%, motor scrap (copper basis) 55–65%, compressor scrap (copper basis) 60–70%, Ocean enameled wire 85–90%. Copper markets are tighter than aluminum because the LME Copper contract is deeper and inventory arbitrage is faster — traders exploit any dislocation between physical scrap and LME within days. Nautica's LME-anchored quotations show the exact settlement date used, the discount applied, and the resulting USD per metric tonne with no hidden basis.
Container loading for copper — high-value density-optimised
Copper is dense (bulk density 4–5 t/m³ for wire, 6–7 t/m³ for solid) and always loads 20GP. Target net weights: Millberry densified 22–24 MT, Berry solids 24–26 MT, Cliff mixed 20–22 MT, motor scrap 22–25 MT, compressor scrap 20–24 MT. Because unit value is high (a 25 MT container of Millberry represents roughly USD 220,000 in copper at LME 10,000/tonne), security controls are stricter than for aluminum or ferrous: ISO/PAS 17712 high-security bolt seals, container-interior photography at every load stage, dual-witness weighbridge tickets, and continuous CCTV of the loading bay archived for 90 days. See /export-process-container-loading for the full loading protocol.
Third-party inspection and destination-country certification
Every copper container can be inspected by SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek or CCIC at our Rotterdam yard. The inspector attends stuffing, verifies gross/tare/net weights, draws a representative sample per container (30 kg composite for solid grades, dedicated sub-sampling for wire and chopped-cable grades), verifies the container number and seal, and issues the pre-shipment inspection certificate. India-bound copper requires BIS-1; China-bound requires CCIC per AQSIQ/GACC rules and additional GB/T Chinese national spec compliance; Turkey requires TSE. Copper attracts heavier destination-country scrutiny than aluminum because value at risk per container is higher.
EU regulatory framework for copper scrap
Copper scrap is non-hazardous green-listed under EU Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 Annex III (Basel B1010). Non-OECD-destination shipments require an Annex VII movement document — Nautica issues Annex VII in the buyer's name for every non-OECD copper shipment. Preferential origin certification (EUR.1) applies to Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. Non-preferential certificates of origin issue through the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce for India, China, USA, UAE and other non-preferential destinations. Note that some jurisdictions (China since 2019, Malaysia since 2021) impose stricter minimum copper content thresholds on scrap imports — Nautica's Millberry and Berry comfortably exceed all published thresholds; lower grades are pre-cleared with the buyer against local rules before contract.
End-use industries — who buys European copper scrap
Copper refineries in India (Sterlite, Hindalco), Belgium (Umicore), China (Jiangxi, Tongling) and Zambia buy #2 copper (Candy) as blister feed. Copper rod mills in India, Turkey, UAE and Vietnam buy Millberry and Berry directly for hot-rolled copper conductor manufacture. Brass makers in India, Turkey and China buy Candy, mixed copper-brass fractions and low-grade wire as a copper source for brass alloying. Motor and compressor scrap flows primarily to Indian and Chinese secondary refiners with the copper-recovery infrastructure to sort at scale. Insulated cable (Cobra, Elmo) flows to cable-recovery operators worldwide who chop and separate at destination.
European sourcing map for copper
Nautica sources copper from three main European channels. Post-consumer wire and cable arrives from licensed cable-recovery yards in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, stripped and sorted by insulation type. Motor and compressor scrap arrives from EU end-of-life appliance dismantlers under the WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU) — refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, industrial pumps. Copper solids (Berry, Candy) arrive from EU demolition contractors — plumbing, HVAC, industrial process copper. Every supplier is licensed for waste handling and traceable to the arising site. We do not buy from unlicensed informal operators.
Payment terms and value-at-risk controls for copper
Because copper containers carry the highest value-per-box in the non-ferrous complex, payment discipline is stricter than for aluminum or ferrous. Standard: 30% TT advance + 70% TT/LC at sight against scanned B/L. Many copper buyers move directly to 100% LC at sight against copy documents to eliminate wire-transfer timing risk. D/A is available only for buyers with 24+ months of on-time payment history for copper specifically. Marine cargo insurance under Institute Cargo Clauses (A) at 110% invoice value is included in CIF; buyers with high-value monthly volumes often add their own supplementary marine policy on top.
Rotterdam as the European copper-scrap export hub
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest copper-scrap export gateway in continental Europe, with weekly direct sailings to every major refining and rod-mill destination. Nhava Sheva 18–22 days for Indian refiners; Mundra 20–24 days for west-coast Indian rod mills; Xingang 32–38 days for Chinese refineries; Mersin 14–18 days for Turkish rod mills; Jebel Ali 20–24 days for UAE rod mills; Alexandria 12–16 days for Egyptian refiners. Rotterdam terminal density and empty-container availability mean copper containers move from stuffed to gated-in for the sailing week same-day. See /rotterdam-port-operations for the full operational profile.
Downloadable specifications and technical data sheets
Every copper grade Nautica exports has a dedicated technical product page with the ISRI specification, chemistry envelope, physical form, packaging, HS code, LME anchor and destination-country compliance notes. The grade pages linked in the sidebar are the canonical downloadable specification for each grade — printable, buyer-shareable and always the current contract-binding version. Composite TDS packs and PDF versions for multi-grade contracts are available on request via /contact.
Side-by-side ISRI grade comparison — Millberry vs Berry vs Birch vs Cliff vs Candy
Buyers new to the copper trade routinely confuse the five most common ISRI grade codes because they overlap visually but diverge sharply on chemistry, price and destination. Millberry (Barley) is 99.90% copper minimum, bare bright uncoated wire ≥ 1.6 mm, direct rod-mill feed, trades 96–98% of LME cash. Berry is 99.50% copper minimum, clean mixed copper solids including tube, bus bar and pipe, direct refinery feed, trades 92–95%. Birch is 99.00% copper minimum, bare wire and cable with light solder or attachments, trades 90–94%. Cliff is 96.00% copper minimum, heavy wire and cable with tinning or mixed insulation attachments, trades 82–86%. Candy is 96.00% copper minimum, mixed unalloyed copper with solder, brazing and coatings — a broad 'catch-all' #2 grade, trades 84–88%. A buyer sizing a container against LME 9,500/tonne sees: Millberry ~USD 9,215/t CIF, Berry ~USD 8,890/t, Birch ~USD 8,700/t, Candy ~USD 8,170/t, Cliff ~USD 7,980/t. The 15% spread between Millberry and Cliff on the same LME base is the reason chemistry-verified sorting matters at Rotterdam intake and why grade-drift disputes are the most common copper contract problem in the trade.
Common impurities in copper scrap and the quality standards that police them
The five contaminants that most often reject a copper shipment at destination are iron (from mixed attachments or steel-cored cable), lead (from historical solder in plumbing and cable), tin (from tinned electrical wire), zinc (from brass contamination in mixed loads) and organic residue (from insulation, oils, plastics or paper labels). Downstream refineries and rod mills police these against three published standards. ISRI's Scrap Specifications Circular sets the physical-form baseline (Barley, Berry, Birch, Cliff, Candy). BS EN 12861:1999 and the equivalent DIN 40500 set European chemistry references for copper cathode and refined-copper products, which trickle back into scrap contract wording. China's GB/T 38470-2019 sets minimum copper content and maximum impurity limits for reclaimed copper raw material imports (minimum 97% copper for higher-grade categories, minimum 94% for lower-grade). India's BIS-1 pre-shipment inspection scheme cross-checks against the invoice grade declaration. Nautica's inbound protocol tests XRF chemistry on 5-point sampling of every truck, magnet-checks for ferrous, moisture-checks against a 0.5% cap, and rejects any load that fails against the buyer's contract chemistry envelope.
Packaging and bale specifications for every copper grade
Packaging drives both freight economy and cargo security. Millberry: hydraulically pressed to 1 m³ bales at 1.55–1.65 t/m³, banded with four galvanised steel straps, no lining required, stacks 22–24 bales per 20GP for 22–24 MT net. Berry solids: loose stow in 20GP with no lining, 24–26 MT net, bulkhead at the door with 1.4 mm plywood to prevent load shift. Birch/Cliff wire: 200 kg mill bales or 300 kg loose drums depending on buyer preference — bales load 22–24 MT, drums 18–20 MT. Candy: loose stow 20GP 24–26 MT. Cobra insulated wire chops: bulk 20GP with PP fabric floor liner to prevent fine loss, 22–24 MT net; alternatively 1 t supersacks stacked 20–22 per 20GP. Motor scrap: loose stow in 20GP at 22–25 MT, bulkheaded. Compressor scrap: loose stow at 20–24 MT, F-Gas certificate travels with pack. Every bale is stencilled with grade, lot number, tare and gross; every drum tagged; every container photographed inside at empty/quarter/half/three-quarter/full plus door-closed with seal. See /export-process-container-loading for the full protocol.
Third-party inspection in detail — SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, CCIC scope of work
The four inspection houses most often nominated on Nautica copper contracts each have distinct strengths but the standard scope is common. SGS Rotterdam is the volume default, with dedicated non-ferrous metallurgists at the Botlek office; standard scope is grade verification, weight verification (draft survey or weighbridge), chemistry composite (5-point XRF plus optional ICP-OES for cathode-adjacent grades), physical form check, container/seal verification, and issuance of the Certificate of Weight, Quality and Sampling. Bureau Veritas (BV) Rotterdam covers the same scope with strength in destination-country regulatory certification (BV is a BIS-approved agency for India-bound consignments and holds AQSIQ credentials for China). Intertek Rotterdam is the specialty choice for chemistry-critical grades (Millberry, cathode) with its own accredited Rotterdam-Botlek laboratory. CCIC (China Certification & Inspection Group) is mandatory for many China-bound cargoes under GB/T 38470-2019 verification requirements — CCIC's Rotterdam office attends stuffing, drafts the CCIC certificate and lodges it with China Customs pre-arrival. Turnaround on a standard SGS/BV/Intertek certificate is 24–72 hours post-loading; CCIC 48–96 hours. Costs typically fall in the USD 350–700 per container band and are either paid by buyer or included in CIF at cost pass-through.
Export documentation checklist for every copper shipment
Every Nautica copper container ships with a fixed documentation pack: (1) Commercial invoice referencing the LME date and discount used to build price; (2) Packing list itemising bale/drum count, gross/tare/net, ISRI grade and seal number; (3) Bill of lading (original or telex-release depending on payment terms); (4) Certificate of origin — non-preferential CoO from the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce for most destinations, or preferential EUR.1 for Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and other EU-preferential trading partners; (5) Annex VII movement document under EU Regulation 1013/2006 in the buyer's name for every non-OECD destination; (6) Pre-shipment inspection certificate from the nominated agency; (7) Composite chemistry summary — XRF five-point plus optional ICP-OES; (8) Container-interior photograph pack (empty through full); (9) Weighbridge tickets (in and out); (10) High-security seal number confirmation letter; (11) F-Gas recovery certificate for compressor consignments; (12) BIS-1 certificate for India, CCIC certificate for China, TSE for Turkey, SUCOFINDO for Indonesia where required. Documents scan-out within 24 hours of loading and originals courier within 3 working days.
Logistics from Rotterdam — transit times to India, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkey, the Middle East
Rotterdam's carrier density means the buyer never waits for a sailing. Weekly direct or one-transhipment services to every destination in the copper-importing world. Rotterdam–Nhava Sheva (Mumbai) 18–22 days via Suez, direct on Maersk / MSC / CMA CGM / ONE. Rotterdam–Mundra 20–24 days. Rotterdam–Chennai 21–25 days. Rotterdam–Shanghai 30–34 days via Suez and Singapore transhipment. Rotterdam–Xingang (Tianjin) 32–38 days. Rotterdam–Ningbo 30–34 days. Rotterdam–Busan (South Korea) 32–36 days via Singapore. Rotterdam–Ho Chi Minh City 28–33 days via Singapore. Rotterdam–Haiphong 30–35 days. Rotterdam–Karachi 18–22 days direct or via Jebel Ali. Rotterdam–Port Qasim 19–23 days. Rotterdam–Mersin (Turkey) 14–18 days on Mediterranean rotation. Rotterdam–Aliaga 12–16 days. Rotterdam–Jebel Ali (UAE) 20–24 days. Rotterdam–Sohar (Oman) 22–26 days. Rotterdam–Dammam (Saudi Arabia) 22–26 days. Rotterdam–Alexandria 12–16 days. Nautica books space through the same freight-forwarder every week (Rhenus Logistics for high-value copper containers), which secures priority slot allocation during peak season and eliminates the roll-over risk that hits smaller exporters. See /rotterdam-port-operations for the full sailing calendar.
LME pricing factors specific to copper — what actually moves the number
The LME Copper Grade A cash settlement responds to a well-known set of drivers, and any Nautica copper buyer benefits from understanding them because the settlement date used to build a contract quotation determines the final USD/tonne. Primary drivers: Chinese refined-copper demand (China consumes roughly half the world's refined copper and its stimulus, real-estate and power-grid capex cycles dominate the LME price); LME warehouse stock levels (falling stocks at Rotterdam, Busan, Kaohsiung and New Orleans lift price on tight physical availability); mining supply disruptions (Chilean strikes, Peruvian community disputes, Grasberg output shifts); US dollar strength (copper trades in USD and dollar strength depresses USD-denominated commodity prices); interest-rate expectations (financing cost of physical inventory affects contango/backwardation). Copper-specific factors: treatment-and-refining charges (TC/RC) between miners and smelters, which signal smelter tightness or looseness; scrap-to-refined price differential (a narrow differential draws scrap into refineries, tightening scrap supply); and the copper concentrate blend index published by Wood Mackenzie and CRU. Nautica's quotations always cite the specific LME cash settlement date used and reprice if the LME moves more than ±2% within the 48-hour quote validity window.
China, South Korea and India — the three biggest buyer markets in detail
The three largest destinations for Rotterdam-loaded copper scrap in 2026 are China, South Korea and India, each with distinct import mechanics. China accepts copper scrap only under the GB/T 38470-2019 reclaimed-copper-raw-material regime — Millberry, Berry and clean Birch qualify without special treatment; Cliff and mixed insulated cable require case-by-case pre-approval; every container ships with CCIC pre-shipment certificate and typically enters through Xingang, Ningbo or Guangzhou. South Korea (Busan, Incheon, Ulsan) is a smaller but stable market for Millberry and Berry into LS-Nikko, Poongsan and Iljin rod mills; contracts run monthly LME-average pricing; K-BIS (Korean equivalent of BIS-1) certification is not mandatory but many Korean mills prefer SGS pre-shipment inspection. India (Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Chennai) is now the largest single-country destination for European copper scrap on Sterlite (Vedanta), Hindalco Birla Copper and Adani Copper's growing appetite; BIS-1 pre-shipment inspection through SGS or BV is mandatory since 2020; documentation must include Indian importer's IEC (Import-Export Code) and consignee GST number on the invoice for GST reverse-charge mechanism to work correctly.