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Metals & Recycled Scrap
All Metal Scrap

Brass Scrap

Honey yellow brass, Ebony red brass and Ocean radiators

Brass is a copper alloy, and it is bought as one. Honey — yellow brass solids — runs roughly 60–63% copper with the balance mostly zinc, and covers the everyday stream of fittings, valves, locks, handles, sheet and rod. Ebony is red brass, the 85-5-5-5 composition family at around 85% copper, worth substantially more per tonne for exactly that reason and worth segregating at the yard rather than letting it disappear into a yellow bale. Ocean covers mixed brass radiators, which are really a copper-and-brass composite and price on the declared split between the two. Below the solids sit brass turnings and borings, which carry cutting oil and fines and discount accordingly,. Military scrap, including fired or unfired cartridge cases, is not offered. Because value tracks contained copper, the working rule is simple: segregate by copper content, because a mixed bale prices to the lowest plausible content in it.

Two specification points do more damage than they should when they are left out of the contract. The first is lead. Free-machining brasses such as CuZn39Pb3 carry up to about 3.5% lead by design, and buyers supplying drinking-water fittings — or working to EU or US low-lead plumbing rules — need the lead content declared and held, not discovered on assay. The second is iron and non-metallic attachment: steel screws, springs, plastic handles, rubber seals and chrome plating all reduce payable metal, and chrome-plated brass in particular is often mistaken for yellow solids. We XRF at purchase and again at loading, contract an attachment ceiling, and price against the LME copper cash settlement applied to the contained copper, less a refining allowance that varies by grade and preparation. Sourcing runs through plumbing and valve manufacturers, machine shops, demolition, radiator and HVAC dismantling and general yards across Europe, the UK and North America, with radiation certification, SGS or Intertek supervision and 22–25 MT per 20ft container on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices Misurata to Izmir scrap freight on LaycanDesk.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.

Indicative reference

$4,300–5,400 USD / MT

as at September 2026

IncotermsFOB · CFR · CIF
OriginsEurope, UK, USA, Southeast Asia
PackagingLoose, baled or drummed in 20ft containers; turnings drummed or briquetted
HS Code7404.00

Reference level only — not an offer, and reviewed quarterly. Levels shown are as at September 2026. Firm pricing is quoted per RFQ, subject to volume, terms and inspection.

Europe · UK · USA · Southeast Asia

Typical Specification

Yellow Brass (Honey)Cu 60–63% · balance mainly Zn
Red Brass (Ebony)Cu ≈ 85% · Sn/Pb/Zn balance
Lead ContentDeclared — up to ≈ 3.5% in free-machining brass
Pricing BasisContained Cu × LME cash, less refining allowance
Iron & Attachments≤ 1% · chrome-plated material declared
Loadability22–25 MT per 20ft container

Specifications are indicative and adjusted to the agreed contract and destination requirements. Final spec confirmed on COA / SGS.

Available Grades

Honey — Yellow Brass Solids (60–63% Cu)Ebony — Red Brass / 85-5-5-5 (≈ 85% Cu)Ocean — Mixed Brass RadiatorsBrass Turnings & BoringsBrass Pipe, Rod & Sheet Clippings

Applications

  • Brass ingot & billet casting
  • Valve, fitting & sanitaryware manufacture
  • Secondary copper refining
  • Bronze & alloy foundry

Category

Metals & Recycled Scrap

Incoterms

FOB · CFR · CIF

Pricing basis

USD / MT

Inspection

SGS / Intertek at load port

Brass Scrap — buyer questions

Which origins do you not handle?

Scrap of excluded origin is not offered, including material collected, processed or re-exported through a third country. Each lot moves with a certificate of origin and a radiation-free certificate, and the seller declares where the scrap was generated before a price is discussed.

Why is red brass worth so much more than yellow brass?

Copper content. Yellow brass (Honey) runs 60–63% copper with the balance mostly zinc; red brass (Ebony) is the 85-5-5-5 family at around 85% copper. Since brass is priced on contained copper against the LME settlement, that gap flows straight through to the tonne price. It is also why letting red brass disappear into a yellow bale is one of the most expensive sorting mistakes a yard can make.

Do you declare lead content on brass cargoes?

Yes, and you should insist on it. Free-machining brasses such as CuZn39Pb3 carry up to about 3.5% lead by design. If you are supplying drinking-water fittings or working to low-lead plumbing rules in the EU or US, the lead ceiling has to be a contract term verified by XRF, not something you find out on assay after the cargo has discharged.

How are brass radiators priced?

On the declared copper-to-brass split, because Ocean-grade radiators are a composite rather than a single alloy. A radiator lot with a high copper-tube content is worth materially more than one that is mostly brass tank and header. We have the split verified before contracting rather than pricing the whole lot at a blended guess, which protects both sides when the mix turns out different from the description.

What contamination reduces payable weight most?

Steel screws and springs, plastic handles, rubber seals and chrome plating. Chrome-plated brass is the one that catches people out — it looks like yellow solids and assays differently. We XRF at purchase and at loading and contract an attachment ceiling, normally 1%, so the payable metal reflects what a refiner will actually recover.

Ready to source Brass Scrap?

Send your quantity, specification, preferred Incoterms and destination port. Qualified requirements receive a workable offer against verified supply.

Have Brass Scrap to sell? Submit an offer — we'll match it against live buyer demand.

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