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Exotic metals and alloys we buy
We buy exotic metals and alloys of every kind, from titanium turnings to tungsten counterweights, alongside the carbide that is our main line. Pick a metal below, or send photos for a quote.
What counts as an exotic metal
On this site, exotic metals means the high-performance metals and alloys that sit outside ordinary steel, copper and aluminum scrap: tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, titanium, the superalloys, and tungsten-bearing high-speed steel.
Superalloys make up the biggest group. USGS describes them by their ability to "retain most of their strength even after long exposure times" above 650 °C (1,200 °F), and names three major classes: nickel-based, iron-based and cobalt-based.
Several of these metals are also on the federal Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals, published November 7, 2025, including tungsten, titanium, nickel, cobalt, tantalum and niobium.
Sources: USGS Circular 1196-Z: nickel and superalloy recycling; Federal Register: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals.
The metals we buy, one by one
- Tungsten: pure tungsten rod and wire, and heavy alloy, which USGS describes as tungsten with copper, iron or nickel, made into counterweights, radiation shielding and heat sinks.
- Titanium: solids, sheet, castings, and the turnings and chips machinists call swarf.
- Inconel and nickel alloys: Inconel, Hastelloy, Waspaloy and Monel, the nickel-copper alloy USGS says goes largely into marine work.
- Cobalt and Stellite: cobalt-based superalloys and hardfacing; ITIA gives Stellite 31 as one example of a cobalt-based superalloy.
- Tantalum and niobium: sheet, machined parts and tantalum capacitors, which USGS calls the leading high-end use of tantalum.
- Molybdenum: sheet, rod and machined parts; USGS calls it a refractory metal used mainly to alloy cast iron, steel and superalloys.
- High-speed steel: HSS and cobalt drills, taps and cutters, carrying 1.5 to 20% tungsten by ITIA's figures.
Inconel, Hastelloy, Waspaloy, Monel and Stellite are trade names whose trademarks belong to their owners. We use them here only to describe the alloys.
Sources: USGS Circular 1196-R: tungsten recycling; USGS Circular 1196-Y: titanium recycling; USGS Circular 1196-Z: nickel and superalloy recycling; ITIA Newsletter, March 2017; USGS Professional Paper 1802-M: niobium and tantalum; USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: molybdenum; ITIA: Tungsten in steel.
Keep each alloy in its own bin
Much alloy scrap goes back into a furnace to make more of the same alloy, so a mixed bin leaves the melter a problem to solve. USGS says new titanium scrap is "usually segregated by material specification and returned to furnace operations", and it found that about 70 percent of superalloy scrap processed worldwide in 1996 was recycled into the same alloy.
Sorters go by shape, color and weight first, then by a magnet, the spark from a grinding wheel, or chemical analysis, USGS notes. You can save them most of that work at the machine:
- One bin per alloy, labeled with the grade from the print or job traveler, such as Inconel 718 or Ti-6Al-4V.
- Turnings apart from solids. USGS lists solids, turnings and grindings as the forms of new superalloy scrap, with turnings the largest by volume.
- A broken insert belongs in the carbide bucket, not in a drum of titanium chips.
Sources: USGS Circular 1196-Y: titanium recycling; USGS Circular 1196-A-M: metal recycling flow studies.
Carbide is still the main thing we buy
Carbide tooling is part of machining these alloys. NTP notes that the ISO "M" grades of carbide are for multiple purposes, including machining nickel-based superalloys, steel and ductile cast iron.
If your shop has dull carbide as well as alloy scrap, send both in one shipment. Bag the inserts and end mills apart from the alloy, mark each bag, and list both on the quote form. The carbide forms page shows every kind of carbide we buy.
Sources: NTP Report on Carcinogens: cobalt-tungsten carbide.
Selling exotic metal scrap
Tick Exotic metals on the quote form and a box opens for the alloy names. Add photos of each bin and a rough weight, or email help@carbidebuyerusa.com, or call (877) 838-9920.
Alloy scrap can ship to us from anywhere in the country and we pay the shipping; in California, Arizona or Nevada we can collect it from your door in any city. We pay cash where state law allows, and the rules guide explains the Arizona and Nevada limits.
Questions sellers ask
What should I tell exotic metal buyers about my scrap?
The alloy name or grade if you know it, the form it is in (turnings, solids, sheet or parts), about how much there is, and what it was cut from. Photos of each bin help us quote it.
Do you buy exotic metals that are not on this page?
Yes. We buy all exotic metals and alloys. If yours is zirconium, hafnium, vanadium or another metal or alloy, write its name in the quote form.
Can I sell exotic metal scrap without knowing the grade?
Yes. Tell us what the parts were and which job they came off, and keep the unknown pieces in their own bag so they do not mix with a bin you can name.
Get a quote for your carbide
Tell us what form it is in, about how much it weighs, and send a few photos. Ship it to us from anywhere in the US and we pay the shipping, or we pick up in California, Arizona and Nevada.