Millberry copper
Bare bright copper wire — the highest-priced copper grade in the trade, and the one most often mis-declared. This is what the grade actually requires, and what it is worth.
CuBright & Shiny Bare Bright Copper Wire
- Min 99.9% Cu, unalloyed, uncoated, untinned
- No insulation, paint, solder or oxidation
- Wire gauge no thinner than 16 AWG
- Direct-melt quality for rod and cathode substitution
Typical outlets:
- Copper rod mills
- Wire & cable production
- Electrical conductors
- Ingot makers
What Millberry is
Millberry is the trade name for No.1 bare bright copper wire: clean, untinned, uncoated, unalloyed bright copper wire of minimum 99.9% copper. It carries no insulation, no paint, no solder, no oxidation and no foreign attachment of any kind. Most of it is recovered from stripped power cable and busbar.
It is worth being precise about the name. Millberry is a trade term rather than an ISRI code — the wider trade uses it internationally and understands it identically, but you will not find it in the ReMA specifications the way you find Berry or Birch. That matters when a contract is written, which is why we describe material by both the trade name and the specification it actually meets.
Why it commands the highest price
Because it goes straight into a furnace. Bare bright is direct-melt quality: a rod mill or ingot maker can substitute it for cathode with no intermediate processing, no separation and no loss to burn-off beyond the ordinary. Every other copper grade needs something done to it first, and the cost of that work is the discount.
That is also why the grade is unforgiving. The value sits in the absence of contamination, not in the copper itself — the copper is the same element in every grade on this page's parent.
What downgrades it
Tinned or soldered wire takes the lot out of bare bright entirely. So does enamelled or lacquered winding wire, which looks bright under the coating and is not.
Oxidised or burnt wire fails the grade. Burnt wire in particular is a separate commercial conversation and, depending on how it was burnt, a regulatory one.
Wire thinner than 16 AWG generally falls outside the specification, because fine wire carries a higher surface-to-mass ratio and therefore more oxide.
Mixed in with No.1 copper wire that is merely clean rather than bright, the whole load is paid as Berry. Mixed with coated, tinned or oxidised wire, it is paid as Birch. The economics of separating at source are usually obvious once you see the two prices side by side.
How it is priced
Millberry is quoted as a percentage of the LME copper price, and the percentage is what a quotation actually decides. It moves with the exchange daily, and with the tonnage, the location and how the material is presented.
We do not publish a figure per tonne, because it would be wrong by the time you read it and wrong for most lots even when written. Send photographs and a tonnage and we will give you a firm price with a stated validity.
Every grade we trade in this metal is listed on the Koper page. If you have material to sell, see how to sell non-ferrous scrap metal.
Veelgestelde vragen
Millberry copper, explained
Is Millberry the same as bare bright copper?
Yes. Millberry is the trade name used internationally for No.1 bare bright copper wire. The two terms describe the same material: clean, untinned, uncoated bright copper wire of minimum 99.9% copper.
Is Millberry an ISRI code?
No. It is a trade term rather than a ReMA/ISRI designation, though it is understood identically across the international trade. Berry and Birch are the formal codes for No.1 and No.2 copper wire respectively.
What is the difference between Millberry and Berry copper?
Berry is No.1 copper wire: clean, unalloyed and uncoated, but it may carry some oxidation and does not have to be bright. Millberry must be bright as well as clean. The price difference between them is real, which is why they are kept apart.
Does tinned copper wire count as Millberry?
No. Tinning, soldering, enamel and lacquer all disqualify wire from bare bright. Tinned wire has its own grade and its own price.
What price do you pay for Millberry in the UK?
It is quoted as a percentage of the LME copper price and settled per tonne. The percentage depends on quantity, location and presentation, and the LME itself moves daily, so we quote firm against photographs and a tonnage rather than publishing a list.
Verhandelt u Millberry copper?
Stuur de kwaliteit, hoeveelheid, foto's en locatie, en u ontvangt een vaste offerte.
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