Can Copper and Stainless Steel be Separated?

[Albeaver89]

I heard a rumor from some people at a scrap yard that it's impossible to sepperate copper from stainless steel, and that the copper ruins the stainless steels structual integrety. Is there any truth to this?

 

[Astronuc]

I heard a rumor from some people at a scrap yard that it's impossible to sepperate copper from stainless steel, and that the copper ruins the stainless steels structual integrety. Is there any truth to this?

The comment ('rumor') may be related to the magnetic properties of certain stainless steel, or the lack thereof.

Austenitic stainless steels are non-magnetic, while ferritic and martensitic (and PH) are magnetic. Austenitics could not be magnetically separated from copper.
http://www.mceproducts.com/knowledge-base/article/article-dtl.asp?id=18

Copper in sufficient fractions degrades the structural properties of stainless steels.

 

[Albeaver89]

If you had melted copper into the stainless steel can you then remove the copper?