# How to Calculate Scrap Rate: The 4-Step Formula Dealers Use — 18 October 2026 Scrap dealers calculate the scrap rate from the exchange price of the metal: take the MCX or LME quote, multiply by the metal's recovery factor, subtract melting and processing costs, then adjust for city and transport. Today, with MCX copper at ₹1,401.5, a Delhi kabadiwala pays about ₹635 per kg for copper scrap — roughly 45% of the exchange price. Below is how to calculate scrap rate step by step, with today's real numbers. Check today's live rates for all 8 metals across 15 Indian cities on our daily rates page. How to Calculate Scrap Rate in 4 StepsStep 1: Start with the day's exchange anchorStep 2: Apply the recovery factor for your gradeStep 3: Subtract melt loss and processing costStep 4: Adjust for city, transport and weighingWorked Example: 1 Kg of Honey Brass Priced TodayHow to calculate scrap rate on a mixed lotWorked Example: Iron Scrap From the Steel IndexWhy Two Kabadiwalas Quote Different PricesThe Quick Formula CardFAQsHow to calculate scrap rate for old utensils (bartan)?Why is the kabadi price so much lower than the MCX price?Do scrap rates change every day? How to Calculate Scrap Rate in 4 Steps Every dealer runs the same mental math before quoting a price. Step 1: Start with the day's exchange anchor Every scrap price starts at an exchange. Indian dealers watch the MCX for copper, zinc, aluminium and lead; globally they watch the LME. On Friday 16 October, MCX copper closed at ₹1,401.5 per kg, zinc at ₹418.4 and lead at ₹194.4. LME three-month copper was $14,485 a tonne — at about ₹95 to the dollar, roughly ₹1,376 per kg of import parity. Markets stay shut on Sunday, so today's anchor is Friday's close. Knowing how to calculate scrap rate begins with the anchor, not the kabadiwala's mood. Step 2: Apply the recovery factor for your grade No scrap is pure metal. A dealer multiplies the anchor by the recovery factor — the share of saleable metal in that grade. Bare bright copper wire is near 99% copper; armature scrap from motors is a mix; honey brass is 60% copper and 40% zinc; mixed brass at a kabadi shop is an ungraded lot worth far less. Sorted brass honey's trader reference today is ₹938 per kg — 93% of its melt value. Step 3: Subtract melt loss and processing cost Melting burns off a few percent as dross, oxidation and slag, and the smelter charges for the melt itself. For honey brass: 0.6 × 1,401.5 + 0.4 × 418.4 = ₹1,008.3 per kg of melt value today. The Jamnagar trader pays ₹938 — about 7% below melt — keeping a processing margin. That gap is the dealer's earnings, not a cheat. Step 4: Adjust for city, transport and weighing The same copper scrap fetches ₹660 in Mumbai and ₹635 in Delhi today copper scrap — transport, local demand and yard costs differ by city. Then comes the scale: digital weighing, tare weight of the bag deducted, and a cut for contamination such as paint, insulation or steel inserts. A seller who sorts grades cleanly earns more than one who dumps a mixed lot. Worked Example: 1 Kg of Honey Brass Priced Today TABLE: InputValue todayMCX copper (60% of alloy)₹1,401.5/kgMCX zinc (40% of alloy)₹418.4/kgMelt value (0.6 × 1,401.5 + 0.4 × 418.4)₹1,008.3/kgTrader reference, sorted honey brass₹938/kg (93% of melt)Delhi kabadi, mixed brass₹426/kg The ladder: exchange anchor, then melt value, then sorted trader price, then mixed kabadi price. Each step down reflects real cost — sorting, baling, transport, margin. Delhi's mixed-brass ₹426 sits at 42% of melt because the lot is ungraded; the kabadiwala prices in the worst-case grade. How to calculate scrap rate on a mixed lot Dealers price a mixed lot at its lowest probable grade. Ten kilos that look "mostly brass" get quoted as mixed brass, not honey. If you are selling, separate the honey-coloured heavy pieces from the dull bits — the same 10 kg can move from ₹426 per kg toward ₹900-plus once sorted. Worked Example: Iron Scrap From the Steel Index Ferrous scrap skips the exchange and starts at the mill gate. The BigMint domestic end-cutting index closed at ₹39,300 a tonne on 16 October — ₹39.3 per kg. A Delhi kabadiwala pays ₹39 per kg for iron scrap today, almost exactly the index. The formula is the same; only the anchor changes: a mill-gate index instead of MCX. BigMint's weekly round-up also notes copper armature scrap easing week-on-week to ₹695,000 a tonne ex-Delhi (motors-mix grade), while re-melted lead ingots held firm. Why Two Kabadiwalas Quote Different Prices Grade sorting: honey versus mixed brass is a ₹500-per-kg gap. Contamination: insulated wire, painted sheets and rusty iron get docked before weighing. Scale and tare: an uncalibrated scale and ignored tare quietly shave off kilos. Volume and payment: bulk sellers and cash-upfront deals get better rates; small lots cost more to collect. City: Mumbai copper at ₹660 versus Delhi at ₹635 today — same metal, different market. The Quick Formula Card Scrap rate = (Exchange anchor × Recovery factor − Melt/processing cost) − City and transport adjustment. Anchors move every session, so run the formula fresh on the day you sell. FAQs How to calculate scrap rate for old utensils (bartan)? Weigh the bartan, identify the metal — brass is heavy and yellow, aluminium light and silvery — and price it at that metal's mixed-grade rate. Clean heavy brass pieces fetch more once separated. Why is the kabadi price so much lower than the MCX price? MCX quotes 99%+ pure metal. Your scrap needs sorting, transport and melting with a few percent lost, and every hand in the chain takes a margin. Copper at ₹635 against an MCX of ₹1,401.5 is normal — about 45% is the retail mixed-grade share of the exchange price. Do scrap rates change every day? Yes for non-ferrous — MCX and LME move every session, and aluminium scrap follows the same chain. Ferrous follows mill-gate indices like BigMint's, which moved ₹100 a tonne on 16 October. Always check the day's rate before you sell. See today's live rates for all 8 metals across 15 cities — copper, brass, aluminium, iron, steel, stainless steel, battery and lead — on our daily rates page.