Clean, bare, untinned, unalloyed copper wire ≥16 gauge, over 99.9% copper. The highest-value copper scrap — charged directly by rod producers and refiners.

ISRI Grade Name: Berry (No. 1 Copper Wire Scrap)

ISRI Description and Specification

Berry is the international benchmark for the highest quality recyclable copper wire — clean, untinned, uncoated, and unalloyed bare copper wire and cable, not smaller than 16 B&S gauge (approximately 1.29 mm diameter). The material must be free of brittle burnt wire (wire that has been overheated to the point of embrittlement and oxide formation, which indicates contamination), tin or lead coatings, solder, oil, and iron. Berry is essentially the clean bare copper wire generated from electrical installations, motor rewinds, transformer dismantling, and cable manufacturing offcuts, after insulation has been stripped. It represents the cleanest, most directly usable form of secondary copper scrap, with typical purity exceeding 99.9% copper on a clean, dry basis.

Why Berry Commands the Highest Copper Scrap Premium

Berry scrap can be directly charged into copper fire-refining or continuous casting furnaces without extensive pre-processing, achieving the highest metal recovery rates and lowest refining cost of any copper scrap grade. The absence of tin, lead, solder, and coating means that downstream producers face minimal contamination management requirements. Copper rod producers (who draw wire rod for electrical conductor applications) and copper tube manufacturers who require high-conductivity OFHC or ETP copper specifications prefer Berry as their primary scrap input. The price of Berry typically tracks very closely to the LME copper price, with a discount that narrows to as little as 2–5% of cathode equivalent in markets with tight supply.

Who Uses Berry Scrap

Copper cathode producers and fire-refining facilities are the primary consumers of Berry. In India, large copper rod producers such as Hindalco, Sterlite (Vedanta), and KM Cables process Berry-grade wire as a key scrap component in their anode-copper production. Brass ingot manufacturers who produce free-cutting brass (CuZn39Pb3 / CZ121 equivalent) mix Berry with zinc and other copper scrap to achieve brass chemistry. Copper alloy producers — manufacturing bronze, gunmetal, and specialist electrical alloys — use Berry as a clean copper source where copper purity is critical to alloy specification. Transformer rewinding shops, motor rewinding services, and electrical installation contractors generate Berry through their service operations. Municipalities and utilities replacing overhead transmission and distribution lines generate significant Berry volumes from stripped aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) and pure copper conductor removal.

Trade and Logistics Notes

Berry is one of the most internationally traded copper scrap grades, with significant flows from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia to Asian processing markets including India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. It is typically traded by the metric tonne, with pricing referenced to the LME copper official settlement price plus or minus a negotiated premium/discount per metric tonne (e.g., “LME minus $150/MT”). Pre-shipment inspection is standard practice for import shipments into India, given DGFT requirements for copper scrap imports and CPCB/MOEF environmental norms governing non-ferrous scrap imports. Radiation pre-certification (AERB compliance) is mandatory for all copper scrap imports into India.