# how to remove solder from gold pins; and purify plated gold?



## ___LUX___ (May 1, 2015)

to the left i have gold plated contacts from an IDE port on a computer.
to the right i have gold pins from some processors.
the processors have solder on the tops of the pins.

my questions are:
How do i separate the solder from the gold pins using an acetylene torch.

also
how do i separate the gold from the gold plated IDE contacts?

importantly i want to separate the gold from the solder.
secondly i would like to know how to refine the gold from the pins.

please help me get this gold purified into an ingot! please!

thank you.


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## nickvc (May 1, 2015)

Welcome to the forum.
In answer to question one you don't.
In answer to question two that's simple but it will take some reading and studying before you even try to attempt this and that answer covers your other questions.
Pins have 2 grams of gold per pound I believe so you need a decent amount to get a button let alone an ingot.
Recovery and refining needs study and reading to be successful and that's all here and for free but you need to research and know what the answers we can give you mean.
I suggest you take the guided tour here on the forum pay special attention to the safety section and start doing some serious reading starting with C.M.Hokes book free here as a download off many members signature lines.
You can do this but you need to do your part by reading, if you get stuck or don't understand ask and help will be here but no one has the time to walk you through all this unless your willing to play well, most of your questions have already been covered many times, the search function top right of your screen is your friend so use it before you ask.
Good luck and keep collecting scrap until your ready to process it safely!


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## Pantherlikher (May 1, 2015)

Double that amount and it's sitting somewhere around here...Waiting for much, much more until I even think about doing anything with it. Then I'll read and learn all about electrolysis so I can begin working on getting what little gold is there collected. Maybe someday I'll get to the hundred pounds of boards and depopulate everything into piles and find enough.

Right now, still reading and learning fingers as well as safety and what to do with all the waste.

Read fellow gold bug....read...

B.S.


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## goldsilverpro (May 1, 2015)

Lux,

It's like you said, "I got up this morning and decided I wanted to be a gold refiner. Tell me everything I need to know". What you don't understand is that refining is difficult and involved, often in tricky ways. You need to know what, how, and why you're doing anything before you attempt to do it.

I would bet that if you spent a few hours searching and studying the forum, you could easily answer all of your own questions, yourself. Some have probably been answered 100 times. If you want to participate, you have to do your share of the work.


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## ___LUX___ (May 1, 2015)

thanks for the replies guys.
i thought that the cpu pins were 100% gold, but it turns out i will need a pound of pins to earn 88$ from 2 grams... i thought i had 5 grams thinking it was worth $220. but if thats not the case this seems like alot more trouble than pay off. i dont have the chemicals needed and with this small quantity of pins i will lose money buying chemicals and the use of chemicals is intense and dangerous so that alone is tough. i guess gold mining from computers is tougher than i thought.


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## FrugalRefiner (May 1, 2015)

LUX, in one day you have come to understand what many struggle to grasp in week, months, or years. I once saw i video that claimed those header pins were 14K gold... Sadly, they're only gold plated.  

You have options. You can still recover the gold and gain a great education in the process. You could offer them for sale in the Sell or Trade section of the forum. Someone will offer you a fair price. You could list them (honestly) on eBay, where someone may pay more than the value of the gold they contain, but you have to package, ship, and deal with the potential of being eBay scammed. Recovery and refining of precious metals isn't for everyone, but it's an interesting pursuit.

Dave


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## necromancer (May 1, 2015)

___LUX___ said:


> thanks for the replies guys.
> i thought that the cpu pins were 100% gold, but it turns out i will need a pound of pins to earn 88$ from 2 grams... i thought i had 5 grams thinking it was worth $220. but if thats not the case this seems like alot more trouble than pay off. i dont have the chemicals needed and with this small quantity of pins i will lose money buying chemicals and the use of chemicals is intense and dangerous so that alone is tough. i guess gold mining from computers is tougher than i thought.



there is always "ebay"

you would be surprised of how much of a rewarding hobby this is, don't give up so easy.
spend some time reading the forum, you will learn many methods that may just suit your needs as a small time home refiner
you don't have to spend massive amounts to gain from this, saving up your gold plated items until you have a pound or so to start with, in this time you would have had some time to read & let it sink in.

you will learn that there is many cheaper methods for this hobby & .... any hobby that you can make a little profit from is a good hobby !!

i think the saying is: "Try It, You'll like It" or "You will Never Know Until You Try"

as always, have fun learning & always practice safe methods, this is the best & largest depository of recovery & refining knowledge on the planet.

and lets not forget all the great people here, some of which have 40 or more years of experience that they are sharing with us all, not only refining but many other aspects too.

enjoy


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## nickvc (May 2, 2015)

___LUX___ said:


> thanks for the replies guys.
> i thought that the cpu pins were 100% gold, but it turns out i will need a pound of pins to earn 88$ from 2 grams... i thought i had 5 grams thinking it was worth $220. but if thats not the case this seems like alot more trouble than pay off. i dont have the chemicals needed and with this small quantity of pins i will lose money buying chemicals and the use of chemicals is intense and dangerous so that alone is tough. i guess gold mining from computers is tougher than i thought.



As stated you have realised early on that this is not for the faint hearted or those who do not wish to study and be patient.
Many many of the members here make little to no money from their efforts but simply find pleasure from that feeling of achievement when they first hold that initial button in their hands. Learning to recover and refine can be done finding good regular sources of material to work with is usually the hard part.
You have a start, there are more values inside of computers if you know what your doing, look for more materials and read who knows where it might take you.


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## davisnic12 (Jan 7, 2016)

Hello all, and thank you for making this a great forum! This is a very detailed space. I see comments from what appear to be master chemists all the way down to rookies like myself. I have a pile of scrap gold i've been acquiring for a while and want to melt it down to get more money to pay some upcoming patent fees. I think this will be a great skill to learn and carry with me as well. I currently own a medical device startup and don't have a tremendous amount of time to sit and read a book in the short amount of time I have to cover patent costs, so while I fully anticipate be ripped to shreads here, I assure you, I have thicker skin than most. I have access to HNO3/HCL basically free from a connection to a closing university lab, I have all the glassware and items needed to recover, refine,and smelt (that I know of). I am going to start off with a rookie question which I am sure is answered in the forum, but my ask is only that you help guide me to the correct post/s so that I can read for myself, of course, helpful input is welcome too. I will eventually get around to reading the Hoke "bible" but I am more of a hands on learner. I do have some basic safety and chemistry knowledge but would still rank in the beginner stage. My question is, I have several ounces of gold jewelry ranging from plated pieces, filled pieces, up to 18k white gold. I know there are alloys, some, stainless, a lot of silver, and not sure the makeup of the base metals. What is the best method to removing the base metals to recover the gold? Do I use the AR method then drop, or should I first use the AP method to rid the base? I have read that a lot of base in the AR method just makes a mess and makes it hard to recover. I don't want to start mixing and recovering until I understand what i'm doing. Can you point me to some relevant threads, or offer some tips. SO far I have found the "DUMMIES GUIDE TO GOLD BULLION REFINING" however, it appears that his pre product was relatively "clean" going in compared to what I have. WIll the alloy's from my 18k white gold stay in solution or cause a mess? I realize there are other metals to recover outside of gold and silver but right now I just need the G&S. FIre away


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## solar_plasma (Jan 7, 2016)

davisnic12,

your best bet is to start with The Library

There you find some of the best and most informative threads, books and tutorials and the most direct way to reach your goal. You will find your questions answered by quickly reading a few chapters of Hoke's two books, but every answered question will raise three new questions and three more that you aren't aware the first time you read those chapters.


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## davisnic12 (Jan 7, 2016)

solar_plasma said:


> davisnic12,
> 
> your best bet is to start with The Library
> 
> There you find some of the best and most informative threads, books and tutorials and the most direct way to reach your goal.



Thank you, I had not come across this thread yet. Much appreciated!


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## g_axelsson (Jan 7, 2016)

davisnic12 said:


> I have a pile of scrap gold i've been acquiring for a while and want to melt it down to get more money to pay some upcoming patent fees. I think this will be a great skill to learn and carry with me as well. I currently own a medical device startup and don't have a tremendous amount of time to sit and read a book in the short amount of time I have to cover patent costs, so while I fully anticipate be ripped to shreads here, I assure you, I have thicker skin than most.


Ok, here is the reality... if you don't have time to learn the craft properly and you need money promptly, sell you scrap. It will cost you both in time and equipment to refine the gold and in the end you will only be paid for the gold anyhow.

You are correct that this is a good knowledge to have and you might make some money, but you don't need your gold scrap for gaining knowledge.

It's hard to say how long it takes before this would start to pay off, but I've never ever seen any one coming onto the forum in desperation to pay some bills make it in time. The ones that took the correct path, learning the pitfalls and avoiding making a mess all spent at least a couple of months before getting the first yellow button. Those that just ran on usually ended up with a toxic mess and their gold somewhere in it.

Göran


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## davisnic12 (Jan 7, 2016)

g_axelsson said:


> davisnic12 said:
> 
> 
> > I have a pile of scrap gold i've been acquiring for a while and want to melt it down to get more money to pay some upcoming patent fees. I think this will be a great skill to learn and carry with me as well. I currently own a medical device startup and don't have a tremendous amount of time to sit and read a book in the short amount of time I have to cover patent costs, so while I fully anticipate be ripped to shreads here, I assure you, I have thicker skin than most.
> ...



Thanks for the response, and I appreciate your feedback. I didn't say that I need it tomorrow, I just simply have no desire to lose half my money to a scrapper, and at the same time I will learn a new skill which is worth it's salt. I will proceed as my comfort level allows, however, in the meantime, I did happen upon Howard's post about melting, cleaning then repeating the acid wash. I do need to read the steps a few more times but it appears that may be the way to go. As for the investment, honestly, I am only about $50 in right now. As I said, to date I have received the chemicals and glass free. I could potentially use the university for the hood and fume scrubber, but i've seen a lot of video's where people just do it outdoors. This will most likely be where I start until my own lab is finished and I can move it indoors with proper equipment and a hired chemist on my payroll.


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## upcyclist (Jan 7, 2016)

Honestly, everything is more fun when it's a hobby, so take your time. I've harassed a couple of diabetic friends into saving their blood sugar test strips for me, and it'll take a LOT to even get to the point where I'll get a noticeable amount of silver. If I were looking to do this only for profit, I wouldn't even look at the darn things.

Eventually, I want it to be at least a self-funding hobby, but that'll take a bit--just like it did with my other sideline in gemcutting and jewelry. After I make a sale, it doesn't take long to spend it on more raw materials and new tools!


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## Geo (Jan 8, 2016)

I would say you first need to learn what metal alloy is what and then separate your scrap by alloy content. Plated in one pile, gold filled in one pile, silver in one pile and karat gold in one pile. All of these have different methods of recovery. Each method may have dozens or hundreds of variations. Different chemicals and equipment and processes for each variation. If someone tells you to throw everything in a pot and dissolve it all in aqua regia, you would have a mess that would take a seasoned refiner to straighten out. Silver chloride alone would be terrible. There's no easy or quick way to learn to refine. I wish I had all of the gold I've lost, tossed or blew up since I've been learning to refine. Some day, I will know how to refine though. Right now, I can make a nice shiny bar out of computer scrap and that's about all I can do.

Good luck.


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## butcher (Jan 9, 2016)

I need to get across the United States, my brother invited me out to his place for a vacation, I do not have enough money for the trip, and need to get there soon, I have a lot of scrap metal, mostly aluminum and steel, some tools, and some small engine parts, I have a few mechanical skills and want to build a helicopter to fly across the United States and back, I have never flew anything but how hard can that be to learn, I seen how they fly helicopters on you tube.

I am sure there is someone here who can write a few post with detailed instructions, with step by step processes, to help me know what I need to know in order to build my helicopter, and tell me how to fly it, I do not have the time or inclination to do a whole lot of study or research on the subject of mechanics, hydraulics, how an engine works or runs,and so on, make the instructions easily understandable, I may not understand many of the terms, or the jargon you use to describe what I need, so maybe you can draw a picture for me.

I have a couple of months before I fly off on my journey, but will want to take my first flight in about a month, can you tell me if I can weld my steel parts to the aluminum parts, I have a small gasoline torch which does not use oxygen, and a small soldering iron, which will work best to weld my parts together?

I already know about the safety, so I do not need any of you knot heads out there scolding me on that stupid subject, I made a parachute from a bed sheet, and some rope, and I have a motor cycle helmet.

I am ready to fly I just need you to answer my questions.


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 9, 2016)

butcher said:


> I need to get across the United States, my brother invited me out to his place for a vacation, I do not have enough money for the trip, and need to get there soon, I have a lot of scrap metal, mostly aluminum and steel, some tools, and some small engine parts, I have a few mechanical skills and want to build a helicopter to fly across the United States and back, I have never flew anything but how hard can that be to learn, I seen how they fly helicopters on you tube.
> 
> I am sure there is someone here who can write a few post with detailed instructions, with step by step processes, to help me know what I need to know in order to build my helicopter, and tell me how to fly it, I do not have the time or inclination to do a whole lot of study or research on the subject of mechanics, hydraulics, how an engine works or runs,and so on, make the instructions easily understandable, I may not understand many of the terms, or the jargon you use to describe what I need, so maybe you can draw a picture for me.
> 
> ...


Very clever, Richard! Great satire! I must admit that you had me going for a few minutes. You hit every nail on the head.

The more I think about it, the more I think this should be a must-read sticky for newbies, along with a good explanation, of course.


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## Platdigger (Jan 9, 2016)

Haha good one Butcher! Like GSP you had me going there too, for a few lines at least.
I think you should try a gyro instead... 8) 
And yes, folks should get your point.


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## kurtak (Jan 10, 2016)

butcher said:


> I need to get across the United States, my brother invited me out to his place for a vacation, I do not have enough money for the trip, and need to get there soon, I have a lot of scrap metal, mostly aluminum and steel, some tools, and some small engine parts, I have a few mechanical skills and want to build a helicopter to fly across the United States and back, I have never flew anything but how hard can that be to learn, I seen how they fly helicopters on you tube.
> 
> I am sure there is someone here who can write a few post with detailed instructions, with step by step processes, to help me know what I need to know in order to build my helicopter, and tell me how to fly it, I do not have the time or inclination to do a whole lot of study or research on the subject of mechanics, hydraulics, how an engine works or runs,and so on, make the instructions easily understandable, I may not understand many of the terms, or the jargon you use to describe what I need, so maybe you can draw a picture for me.
> 
> ...



:lol: :lol: :lol: PLEASE someone call 911 --- I think I am going to die from laughing :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Kurt


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## Eamonn (Jan 10, 2016)

Brilliant!
Nice one Butcher


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