What is Millberry copper and how much is it worth

Millberry is the purest grade of copper scrap — bright wire without insulation. We explain where the name Millberry comes from, how to recognise it, how it differs from copper heavy and unsorted copper, and why it is priced the highest.

Millberry is the purest grade of copper scrap — clean, bright copper wire without insulation and without coatings, with a copper content of at least 99.5%. The name is the English trade term "Millberry" (Polonised in the trade as milbera), which in international trading denotes precisely top-grade copper wire. In scrap buying, Millberry is the point of reference for the whole family of copper grades.

Where the name Millberry comes from

"Millberry" is one of the designations in the international classification of non-ferrous metal scrap. In the Polish trade it has been adopted phonetically as milbera (sometimes "milberka"). It denotes clean, uninsulated copper wire of high purity — free of lacquer, tin, alloys and contaminants.

How to recognise Millberry

You can recognise Millberry by several features:

Bright, shiny colour — the characteristic "copper" sheen, without matting or an oxide film.
Bare metal — no insulation, lacquer or tin coating. Lacquered (winding) wire or tinned wire are separate, lower grades.
Homogeneity — copper wire and conductor only, with no admixtures of steel, brass or solder residue.

Not sure? That is normal — grading is our job. Atypical material we check with a handheld spectrometer at the branch and price by its actual composition.

Millberry compared with other copper grades

Millberry sits at the top of the copper value hierarchy. Below it, in order, are:

Copper heavy — clean, solid copper in a thicker form (pipes, sheet, busbars).
Cu III unsorted ("the three") — mixed or soiled copper, priced lower.
Copper granules — copper recovered from cables through a granulation process.

You will find a full overview in the article on copper grades in scrap buying. What separates an exchange quotation from the rate for material we describe in the piece on what determines the copper price.

Millberry from cables and wires

A significant part of Millberry comes from stripping down cables and wires. Heavy power cables, once the insulation is removed, yield clean copper wire. You usually do not need to strip cables yourself — we price them by their type and estimated copper yield.

Have clean copper wire or cables to settle? Check the quote — for Millberry we pay the highest rate of all the copper grades.

Frequently asked questions

What is Millberry?

Millberry is the purest commercial grade of copper scrap: clean, bright copper wire and conductor without insulation, with a copper content of at least 99.5%, free of any trace of lacquer, tin or oxidation. It is the material closest to the exchange commodity, which is why it is priced the highest of all the copper grades.

How do you tell Millberry apart from unsorted copper?

Millberry is bright, shiny and homogeneous — bare copper wire without coatings. Unsorted copper (Cu III) is matt, soiled or lightly oxidised, with admixtures. Millberry contains no tin, lacquer or insulation; lacquered or tinned wire is already a different, lower grade.

How much does Millberry cost?

Millberry is priced the highest of all the copper grades, close to the LME exchange quotations (in PLN per tonne, with a date — see the quotations). We do not publish a specific rate, because it depends on the current market and the purity of the batch. Send photos — we will assess the grade and give you the current price.