How do you calculate recovered metal value?

Multiply recovered mass by value per kg by the payable share, then add any fixed premium. With 4,200 kg at $18.50/kg, 82% payable, plus a $3,500 adder, payable metal value is $63,714 and estimated total value is $67,214.

What is the payable assay or recovery share?

It is the fraction of contained metal value the refiner actually pays, after deductions for assay tolerance and recovery losses. At 82%, a recycler realizes $63,714 of the $77,700 gross contained value before the premium.

Why is realized value below mass times market price?

Payable terms cap what the refiner pays. Here 18% of contained value ($14,000-ish on the variable portion) is held back by the 82% payable share — standard for black-mass settlements where assay and recovery carry risk.

What does the effective recovered value per kg work out to?

Dividing the $67,214 total by 4,200 kg gives $16.00 per kg — below the $18.50 headline price, because the payable share trims the variable value even though the fixed premium adds some back.

What is a typical payable share for recovered battery metal?

It varies by metal and refiner, commonly 80-90% for nickel and cobalt in black mass, sometimes higher for clean recovered metal lots. 82% is a realistic mid-range black-mass figure; negotiate it as hard as the base price.

Should I run this once for a mixed black-mass lot?

No. Nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper carry different prices and payable terms. Run the calculator per metal with its own mass, price, and share, then sum — a single blended figure hides where value is being lost.

Battery Recycling & Materials Recovery calculator

Recovered Metal Value Calculator

Recovered metal value estimates the settlement a recycler can expect for a lot of recovered nickel, cobalt, lithium, or copper — applying the payable share that assay and recovery losses leave on the table, plus any fixed lot premium negotiated with the refiner. Commercial managers and lot accountants use it to value black-mass and metal lots before shipment, sanity-check refiner settlements, and decide whether a lot clears its processing and logistics cost. It matters because no recycler is paid on contained metal at full market price: payable terms (often 80-90% on assay) and recovery losses mean the realized value can sit well below the headline mass times price, and misjudging that gap erodes margin on every lot.

What this calculator does

Estimate payable recovered metal value from recovered metal mass, price per kg, payable assay or recovery share, and fixed lot value adders.
a battery recycler needs to estimate revenue from black mass, refined salts, metal fractions, or recovered commodity streams
It computes estimated recovered metal value by applying a payable assay or recovery share to mass times price, then adding a fixed lot premium.

Formula used

Payable metal value = recovered metal mass × metal value per kg × payable assay or recovery share
Estimated recovered metal value = payable metal value + fixed premium or lot value adder

Inputs explained

Recovered metal mass:
Metal value per kg:
Payable assay or recovery share:
Fixed premium or lot value adder:

How to use the result

Use it when valuing a lot before shipment, checking a refiner settlement, or deciding if a lot covers its processing cost.
It uses one blended price and payable share; multi-metal black mass with different payable terms per element needs the calculation run per metal and summed.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).
The U.S. has 5,397 electrical equipment and appliances establishments employing about 369,437 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate recovered metal value? Multiply recovered mass by value per kg by the payable share, then add any fixed premium. With 4,200 kg at $18.50/kg, 82% payable, plus a $3,500 adder, payable metal value is $63,714 and estimated total value is $67,214.
What is the payable assay or recovery share? It is the fraction of contained metal value the refiner actually pays, after deductions for assay tolerance and recovery losses. At 82%, a recycler realizes $63,714 of the $77,700 gross contained value before the premium.
Why is realized value below mass times market price? Payable terms cap what the refiner pays. Here 18% of contained value ($14,000-ish on the variable portion) is held back by the 82% payable share — standard for black-mass settlements where assay and recovery carry risk.
What does the effective recovered value per kg work out to? Dividing the $67,214 total by 4,200 kg gives $16.00 per kg — below the $18.50 headline price, because the payable share trims the variable value even though the fixed premium adds some back.
What is a typical payable share for recovered battery metal? It varies by metal and refiner, commonly 80-90% for nickel and cobalt in black mass, sometimes higher for clean recovered metal lots. 82% is a realistic mid-range black-mass figure; negotiate it as hard as the base price.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.