Indicative. Final price depends on grade, contamination and quantity, and is confirmed on weighment at pickup.
The rate above is what National Recycling pays for brass scrap today in Mumbai and Thane. Brass has no exchange of its own, so it is priced off live copper with an adjustment for the zinc content in the alloy. That is why the brass rate moves the day copper moves.
Brass is the most varied metal most industrial sellers handle. It is an alloy of copper and zinc, but the ratio changes by application, and some brasses carry lead or tin deliberately. Since copper is the expensive half, brasses with more copper in them are worth more. Knowing which of yours is which is most of the game.
Brass scrap grades
| Grade | What it is | How it prices |
|---|---|---|
| Red brassgunmetal, bronze | Higher copper content, often with tin. Valve bodies, pump castings, bearings, marine fittings. Reddish tone. | The top grade, because it is closest to copper. |
| Yellow brasshoney brass | The everyday brass. Taps, fittings, locks, hinges, decorative items, sheet and rod. Clean yellow tone. | The benchmark grade, and the one most quotes refer to. |
| Brass turnings | Machining swarf from brass component manufacture. | Below solid brass, because of oil contamination and melt loss. Keep dry and separate. |
| Radiator brass | Brass and copper heat exchangers, often with steel headers or solder. | Priced on recoverable metal after the attachments. |
| Mixed or dirty brass | Brass with steel screws, rubber washers, plastic handles, plating or solder still attached. | Discounted to cover the stripping work and the deducted weight. |
| Plated brass | Chrome or nickel-plated taps and fittings. | Below bare brass. The plating has to burn off and does not recover. |
How to tell red from yellow. Colour is the quick check, and a file cut on a clean surface makes it clearer. If you are unsure, keep the suspected red brass aside rather than mixing it in. It is worth more, and once it is in the yellow pile you have given away the difference.
Where industrial brass scrap comes from
- Plumbing and sanitaryware. Taps, valves, mixers, stopcocks, fittings from renovation and site clearance. Usually yellow brass, frequently plated.
- Valve and fitting manufacturers. Machining turnings, rejected castings, offcuts. Often the cleanest and most consistent brass available, and worth a standing collection arrangement.
- Electrical accessories. Switchgear parts, terminals, lamp holders, connector bodies. Small pieces, good grade, usually mixed with plastic.
- Industrial maintenance. Pump bodies, bearing shells, bushes, marine and boiler fittings. This is where most red brass and gunmetal comes from.
- Locks, hardware and furniture fittings. Handles, hinges, nameplates, decorative trim. Nearly always has steel fixings to remove.
- Heat exchangers and radiators. Brass and copper cores from industrial cooling and automotive.
What moves the brass rate
Copper, first and foremost
Copper makes up most of the alloy and nearly all of its value. When LME copper moves, brass follows the same day. If you want to anticipate the brass rate, watch copper.
Zinc, secondarily
Zinc is the other half of the alloy and does influence pricing, but its contribution is smaller because zinc is much cheaper than copper.
Domestic manufacturing demand
India has a substantial brass component industry, with Jamnagar the best known cluster. Demand from valve, fitting and hardware manufacturers for remelted brass feeds directly into scrap pricing.
The rupee
Because the underlying metals are dollar-priced internationally, a weaker rupee raises the rupee brass rate even when global prices are unchanged.
Getting more for your brass
- Separate red from yellow. The gap is worth the sorting time on any meaningful quantity.
- Pull the steel out. Screws, springs, spindles and mounting plates are deducted as weight and make the load less attractive.
- Remove rubber and plastic. Washers, O-rings and handles all come off the weight.
- Keep turnings dry and separate. Oily swarf loses more in the melt and should never go into a solid brass pile.
How we weigh and pay
Collection is free for business quantities. We bring the vehicle and labour, weigh on site, and pay against the weighment slip. Grading is agreed before loading, not after. For mixed loads we will ask for photographs or send someone to look first, which is usually faster for everyone than discovering the problem at the weighbridge.
You receive a weighment record, a material-wise breakup and recycling documentation suitable for audit.
Other rate calculators
Brass scrap questions we get asked
What is the brass scrap rate today in Mumbai?
The live figure is at the top of this page. Brass has no exchange of its own, so the rate is derived daily from live copper pricing adjusted for the zinc content in the alloy. It reflects clean yellow brass. Red brass prices above it, contaminated and plated brass below.
Why does the brass rate follow copper?
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and copper is both the larger and by far the more valuable component. Movements in the copper price therefore pass almost directly into brass, usually the same day. Zinc affects the number too, but much less.
What is the difference between red brass and yellow brass?
Red brass carries a higher proportion of copper and often some tin, and is used for valve bodies, pump castings and bearings. Yellow or honey brass is the common alloy found in taps, fittings, locks and hardware. Red brass is worth more precisely because it contains more copper.
Do you buy chrome-plated brass taps?
Yes, but plated brass prices below bare brass. The plating does not recover in the melt and has to be dealt with as loss, so the rate reflects that. Large quantities of plated sanitaryware are worth discussing before collection.
Should I remove steel screws from brass fittings?
If the quantity justifies the labour, yes. Steel is deducted as weight and heavily mixed loads drop a grade. For a few pieces it rarely matters, but across a few hundred kilos of hardware it adds up.
Do you collect brass machining turnings?
Yes, and regularly. For manufacturing units producing turnings continuously we prefer to set up a scheduled collection. Keep swarf dry, drained and separate from solid brass, since mixing the two costs you money on both.