Copper Grades Guide: Cathode vs Mill Berry vs Wire Scrap vs Ingot

"Copper" on a purchase order isn't one product — it's a family of grades that differ in purity, form, and price. Choosing the right one decides your furnace yield, your landed cost, and whether the material drops straight into your process. Here's how the four grades Atlas Copper supplies in bulk compare.

The quick comparison

Copper cathode — the purest form

Copper cathode is refined electrolytic copper, typically 99.99% pure (LME Grade A), produced as flat plates. It's the benchmark product the London Metal Exchange settles against, so it carries the smallest discount — often a premium — and is favoured by rod mills and alloyers who need consistent, certified purity. If your process demands tight chemistry with no surprises, cathode is the cleanest input you can buy.

Mill berry — the premium scrap grade

Mill berry is No. 1 bare bright copper wire, 99.9%+ pure, specified under the ISRI Barley code. Because it's clean, uncoated, and unalloyed, it re-melts with almost no processing — which is why it earns the highest scrap premium and the smallest discount to the LME of any recovered grade. For a deeper look at the Barley specification, read our mill berry copper guide.

Copper wire scrap — volume feedstock

Copper wire scrap covers mixed gauges and conditions, commonly traded under ISRI codes such as Cliff and Palm, and container-loaded for bulk export. Purity and yield vary by sub-grade, so it sits at a wider discount than mill berry — but for refiners and recovery operations running at scale, it's an economical, steady feedstock. It's a frequent choice for mixed-grade container loads.

Copper ingot bars — ready-to-melt units

Copper ingot bars are 99.9%+ pure cast bars, palletised and banded for easy handling. They give foundries and manufacturers a clean, uniform, ready-to-charge unit with predictable weight per piece — useful where loose scrap is impractical to handle or meter into a furnace.

Which grade should you buy?

• Need certified purity for a rod mill or alloy? Copper cathode.
• Refiner wanting premium scrap with minimal processing? Mill berry (Barley).
• Running volume and optimising cost per tonne? Copper wire scrap, single or mixed grade.
• Foundry wanting clean, uniform charge units? Copper ingot bars.

Still unsure? An export container can be filled with a single grade or mixed grades, so you can trial a combination before standardising.

Frequently asked questions