Well, there are a couple other reasons. The ability to do them without nitric easily is definitely a plus.snoman701 said:The only reason fingers are popular is because they can be done without nitric very easily.
Whether they're done with AP or nitric, they're a predictable type of scrap to process. That makes them good for beginners. The only base metals should be copper and nickel, so a beginner can get positive results if they follow the instructions here. Things don't get complicated by a myriad of other metals found in other ewaste.
A beginner can also "see" their gold throughout the recovery process. They can dissolve the base metals to release the foils, filter them, rinse them, and concentrate them all without ever losing sight of their gold. Processing pins in a stripping cell requires a leap of faith as the gold disappears before your eyes.
They also look good! Great eye candy whether you're buying or selling. :twisted:
Are they good feed material for a refiner? I guess that depends on what other options you have. If you can stay busy on karat scrap, fingers don't have much allure. If you're picking MLCCs off boards and incinerating ICs, fingers look pretty good.
Dave