COPPER ORE VALUE CALCULATOR
Estimate the gross USD value of a copper ore or concentrate lot from grade, tonnage and payable %. The full calculator adds treatment & refining charges, transport, FX conversion and a branded PDF report.
The copper ore valuation formula
Example: 1,000 t of ore at 2.5 % Cu, 96 % payable, LME copper at $9,200/t → 1,000 × 0.025 × 0.96 × 9,200 = $220,800 gross. Smelter TC/RC, transport and FX still get deducted before the final payment.
What the full calculator adds
- Treatment & refining charges (TC/RC) on a per-tonne basis
- Transport / haulage from mine to smelter
- Penalties for arsenic, antimony, bismuth and other impurities
- FX conversion to ZAR, ZMW, NGN, USD and others
- Save lots, compare scenarios and export a branded PDF report
Frequently asked questions
How is copper ore value calculated?
Gross value = tonnes × grade % × (payable %) × LME copper price (USD/t). The full MetalPulse calculator then subtracts treatment & refining charges (TC/RC), transport, smelter penalties and applies FX before showing a net payable figure.
What payable % should I use for copper concentrate?
Smelters typically pay 96–98 % of contained copper for clean concentrate (≥ 25 % Cu). Lower-grade or impure concentrate gets a lower payable plus deductions. MetalPulse defaults to 96 % which is the standard published in most smelter term sheets.
Is this calculator free?
The quick preview on this page is free and requires no login, but it is a simplified estimator only. The full MetalPulse calculator — saving lots, exporting a branded PDF report and using the multi-metal workflow — is a paid feature and requires an active MetalPulse subscription.
Which copper price does the calculator use?
LME Copper cash settlement in USD per tonne, sourced from our live feed. Every result shows the exact price, source, market type and timestamp used in the calculation — never a bare number.