# Good Sources of scrap gold



## Anonymous

Hello guys, this is the first thread I've started on the forum.

A little about myself I'm an engineering graduate that specialized in electricals and electronics.

Yesterday I made a list of every Skip hire company and Scrap Metal merchant in the City I live in. To find someone that has a pile of broken/unwanted computers. Called them all and found that around half of the skip hire companies seemed to already be aware of the gold content (I'm merely judging that by tone of voice as I told them all I just want to recycle the chips inside) The rest either claimed they received no computers or that they don't sort them into a separate pile and don't ever collect bulk quantities. one was kind enough to tell me I could find a few lying around his yard before entering land fill.

No replies on alibaba.com although I'm not so sure if that would have been economical for me to pay for the scrap or to pay for it to be sent across large distances anyway on the scale I want to do it.

I've also spoken to a friend in Nigeria about this that's on the look out in his local area for me, Would that also be un-economical to send from Africa>>>UK?

Ive searched around and have found that there is a big range of how much gold people are quoting these chips contain and guess I wont know for sure until I refine some myself

Where would be another good place to look for scrap gold? Any tips or advice would be much appreciated.


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## joem

post a free "I'll pick up your scrap computers and leftover parts for free. Help me keep those unwanted e waste from filling our landfills" online classified ad sites. I get about ten computers and parts a week. I do not take monitors since I can not scrap these thing properly. It keeps me busy enough. hope this helps.


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## Anonymous

joem said:


> post a free "I'll pick up your scrap computers and leftover parts for free. Help me keep those unwanted e waste from filling our landfills" online classified ad sites. I get about ten computers and parts a week. I do not take monitors since I can not scrap these thing properly. It keeps me busy enough. hope this helps.



Thanks for the advice I thought this was probably the way to go, However I don't have a driving license or a car, So I was looking to just smash out the processors with a hammer, fill some bags and walk home.


Ill keep looking for other options but perhaps I wont be able to do this until I do have a car.


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## martyn111

Put an ad on your local freegle site (formerly freecycle) and read through their listings for computers offered, you will not get a regular 10 a week or whatever but you can and I do get the odd computer tinkerers clear out as well as the odd computer here and there.
Where in the UK are you Alexander?


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## joem

I would think going to someones home smashing out the cpu, putting it in a bag and walking home just might be frowned on by the computer owner. (just a little bit, I imagine a guy dressed in all black carrying a club ringing my door bell saying " where is da computer" hey you can wear a black mask too lol kidding). You can try an ad saying to drop off at your place, you might get a few. My "get her done attitude" thinks a large enough wagon on a bike and you map out say a two Km radius around your house, some flyers posted, and you could be in business as well.
just my thoughts


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## MICHIGANPROSPECTOR

I offer free recycling and free pick up, and I do anywhere form 15-20 computers a week. Most people will not deliver, however I do have people that have turned into regular customers just because they consider my helping the environment a commendable thing to do (they will also pick up computers for me from friends and relatives). DO NOT say you just want the chips. First of all the computer as a whole is worth a lot more than just the CPU. there a several other good sources for gold and other PMs inside. Not to mention the steel, alum, and copper. your best bet to recycle effectivly for maximum profit is to recycle everything.
You may want to find a partner that can pick up computers for you in exchange for the profits from some of the other metals.


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## joem

Well this morning your question prompted me to repost my online ad and someone sent me a message saying they have a basement full of stuff. I'm telling you it's that easy, this computer stuff is all over the place. just keep at it.


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## escrap

Well we pay for towers and we are hooked up with local scrap yards here. We pay .20/lb for scrap computers and generate at least 3 ton a week from one large scrap yard. At .20/lb we are paying them 400/ton which is a better price they will get anywhere else. Then we demanufacturer them, take everything out and make our profit. Every week we generate close to 6 ton from just doing this. As far as getting them for free, find a computer store, then after hours go to their trashcan and start digging. You would be surprised what people throw away. If you have a lady that doesn't like you digging in the trash, Refine this gold and give her some, makes her love it real quick.


Zack Morris
E-scrapPlus, Inc.


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## joem

In our area dumpsters are considered private properly and the police can charge you with theft if caught - beware


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## Anonymous

I'm in Liverpool, UK

Thanks for the good advice guys.

do you think it would be worth it to lease a piece of land and pay couriers to dump the cpu's? I live in a flat.


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## solar seeker

What I find funny is you suggested smashing out the main processor. The main processor is nearly always held in by a clamp ,all you need to do is open the clamp 
which is usually a plastic or metal rod sitting parallel to the chip when you lift it to vertical the chip with all it's shiny gold plated pins easily slides out of it's socket.
I would collect whole computers because the video cards, sound cards, Ethernet cards,hard drives,ram chips,CD/DVD floppy drives,and mother board all have gold plated pins. The other valuable non gold parts are hard drive disks which are aluminum plated in a platinum alloy the hard drive casing is very thick aluminum,there are steel casings on the computer itself, the disk drives, and on the power box. There is copper in the power box , on the printed boards,and in most all the wires as well. The monitor will also have copper and some steel but if it's not a plasma screen it also has a lot of aluminum heat sinks as well. The read write disk drives also include a laser that can be used to burn things as well this laser is also plated in gold. The individual parts that are worth far more whole than their scrap value is worth are video cards,ram chips,CD/DVD drives (if they work),hard drives (if they work and have the data erased),maybe ethernet cards, and whole computers that work well enough to use for internet (the current speed is anything above 2 giga hertz )


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## gorfman6154

Alexander said:


> do you think it would be worth it to lease a piece of land and pay couriers to dump the cpu's? I live in a flat.



Alexander, just a reminder that the largest reason for small business failures, is from expanding to fast, and using valuable finances. Start small and only expand when you have to. Do your own due diligence, to find out what works for you. 

There are many different business models to chose from, recycling, recovery, refining, resale. There are also many types of golden opportunities out there, from e-scrap, karat jewelry, gold filled, and plated jewelry, catalytic converters, and industrial scraps and wastes.

Read the Forum. You'll find most of the answers your looking for.

Gary


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## Anonymous

I'm speaking to my local government at the moment to find a piece of unwanted land to do this on and in talks with a company about ordering a shipping container full of scrap processors.

I intend to fit the shipping container itself with a fume cupboard and process the gold inside. Also don't intend to spend much at all since e-scrap can sometimes be regarded as toxic waste or rubbish.

Thanks for the comments, all greatly appreciated.


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## qst42know

Alexander said:


> I'm speaking to my local government at the moment to find a piece of unwanted land to do this on and in talks with a company about ordering a shipping container full of scrap processors.
> 
> I intend to fit the shipping container itself with a fume cupboard and process the gold inside. Also don't intend to spend much at all since e-scrap can sometimes be regarded as toxic waste or rubbish.
> 
> Thanks for the comments, all greatly appreciated.



Have you seen this container in person? Have you had the contents sampled and assayed?

There have been individuals who bought container loads that never get delivered. This sounds shady that they would hold this for you.

If someone truly had a container full of gold bearing scrap and could deliver it, there is no reason they would need to wait for you to make arrangements. There are plenty of refineries that would take this material immediately.


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## joem

I hope that shipping container is not from nova scotia canada?


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## skippy

joem said:


> In our area dumpsters are considered private properly and the police can charge you with theft if caught - beware



Ive never had any trouble except at night. Do it boldly in the day time and no cops will give you any real grief.


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## joem

Hey Skippy, where in Ontario are you
Glad to meet you


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## chico369t

I just wanted to share a little of what I have collected over the last 3 months with a freecycle ad. I placed the ad on the 1st of June, July and August, and really only had 5 hits but they were really good. Nnow I have to figure out how to actually do the process.

Tim


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## glorycloud

Maybe this lot should head off to ebay or one of the seasoned veterans here
as these CPU's are not on the easier to process escrap item list.

Good work though. I bet you enjoyed your urban mining for gold. 8)


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## chico369t

glorycloud,

thanks for the advice, you are probably right as I have no experience. some of these contain iron from what i've read here, although I am not sure what problem this presents in the processing. I do have about 500 grams of fingers and am guessing that this is where I should start my learning curve. I am open to a deal with someone here, it stands to reason that I am gettting a wealth of knowledge from this site and this would be one way to contribute. I welcome any and all advice

thanks all

tim


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## Mingo

Hello all; since I joined the forum and finally got my first nugget from scrap PC boards (6.3 grams) I have posted ads similar to joem's and I constantly look for new sources.......there is nothing more satisfying than taking an old machine and rendering it down to a nice yellow nugget of GOLD. Who knew? Anyway thanks guys for all the help and guidance.
 -Mingo-


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## joem

Mingo said:


> Hello all; since I joined the forum and finally got my first nugget from scrap PC boards (6.3 grams) I have posted ads similar to joem's and I constantly look for new sources.......there is nothing more satisfying than taking an old machine and rendering it down to a nice yellow nugget of GOLD. Who knew? Anyway thanks guys for all the help and guidance.
> -Mingo-


Congrats Mingo
You got way more that I did, I messed up my first try, but what the hay free gold is still free gold no matter how much you get.


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## Claudie

Free Gold? I want some....


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## joem

Claudie said:


> Free Gold? I want some....



Hehe
Here are some easy steps you can take and sell on ebay.
1. Ask for enough free computers to cover chemical costs. 2. recover the gold parts. thus free gold.
It's so simple.
oh yeah I forgot to mention to take a few weeks to read this forum and learn for free.
I know, I know. before I get set straight by the most experienced on this forum it's just the mind set that stops the many but also mind set that the few succeed with.


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## butcher

I have never seen free gold, it all takes alot of work, maybe that is why it is worth so much, and has always been valued.


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## jimdoc

Metal detecting on a good beach may bring you some close to free gold,less your time and batteries.But gold from electronics,I don't think that should be called free gold. I got blisters on my fingers!

Jim


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## Claudie

Maybe "free gold" is like "free energy", it's there if you can find it.


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## joem

jimdoc said:


> Metal detecting on a good beach may bring you some close to free gold,less your time and batteries.But gold from electronics,I don't think that should be called free gold. I got blisters on my fingers!
> 
> Jim



I see it simalar to my friend...

he got two lawn mower motors given to him
He brought then to the scrap yard and complained when he only received 8 dollars for them. He drives by the scrap yard almost every day, it's close to our houses, not more than two bucks in gas there and back. He does not need to work and makes extra money scraping. So in my mind he got $6 free money. But he is still upset. In his mind his hours are worth more. 
I understand if you give up higher paying hours for lower paying e-scrap recovery hours, well then it's a loss in hourly rate. But I don't see doing what you like to as any loss of hours. Learning is very important and in my mind should not be assigned an hourly rate, or it will soon become a an unwanted chore. When someone freely gives you e-scrap and you can get gold from it without thinking I will be rich, then in my mind it's free gold ( along with all the other free parts, which can be sold to cover the cost of chemistry and supplies)
I also metal detect, not to get rich from finds, but just to spend some quiet time that allows me to think and give me that thrill when the sound goes off.


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## Mingo

jimdoc said:


> Metal detecting on a good beach may bring you some close to free gold,less your time and batteries.But gold from electronics,I don't think that should be called free gold. I got blisters on my fingers!
> 
> Jim


lol....yeah, looking at it in that light, you're right.....it was alot of work and took me 2 weeks, a lot of stains on my fingers (I don't forget about gloves now) and many retries before I got it right......but it was worth it.......I learned a lot during this process.
Mingo


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## joem

I'm am now 100% sure there is FREE gold in computers. Last night I picked up a minivan load of free pick up computers and things. well inside one of the boxes was a 10k ring, and 3 earrings. Emailed the person giving up the stuff and he said it was left over from a previous home owner and I can keep it for my help taking away the "garbage" he called it.


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