# Gold in russian microchips.



## kaits31 (Mar 20, 2012)

Has anyone recovered gold from these and similar chips.

Removed links possible was reported virus (Butcher)

I removed one´s top lid and tried nitric, heating the solution, but it didn´t have any effect. Also tried AP but it seems to take ages.
Has anyone experience with these? Maybe crushing the ceramics helps or is it better to go straigt to AR for these and then refine?


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## glorycloud (Mar 20, 2012)

Wow - you would really dissolve in acid things as cool as these
when surely they have much higher value to a collector than the
minute amount of gold you could extract from them? :roll: 

Search on ebay or on the internet and check what their value
as chips might be perhaps?


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## Sucho (Mar 20, 2012)

straight AR is best for them

gold content is cca 2 % per weight...depending on type


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## Anonymous (Mar 20, 2012)

kaits31 said:


> I removed one´s top lid and tried nitric,


$3 worth of gold-versus- $15-$50 to a collector,and the chip gets saved.


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## kaits31 (Mar 21, 2012)

To be honest, I didn´t know they sell that high price to collector. I have over 1000 of these ic-s. Most of them are soldered, those which are clean, I am willing to sell to collectors of course. 8)


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## patnor1011 (Mar 21, 2012)

They are valuable to collectors in west as they do not come across them very often. It is well worth to try google collectors websites and forums and send some pictures there, you may be surprised with reactions. 
That is similar situations like earlier pentium or pentium pro might be sought after in ex-soviet countries as there is not much of them around there.


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## Marcel (Mar 22, 2012)

Collectors live in a world of their own.
Many of these chips are copies of western Texas Instruments etc. types. Soviets used to buy them in Europe and smuggle them to their labatories , where they opened them and visually(!) made copies from them - at that time the transitorcount was very low, couldn´t be done today.
Remember those cold-war espionage thrillers where dozens get killed just because of one mysterious "microchip" ?
They send the first man to space and are the last to have a working space rocket, but these chips are nothing but handdrawn, handmade copies of US originals.
The stuff that I have from them yields low, compared to the prices at which it is sold and the fancy goldplated way it looks, and it contains nasty nickel alloy in the leadframes which creates a colorful and probably unhealthy AP process.
As for me - I never touch this trash anymore.


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## teclu (Mar 23, 2012)

gold content is 4%(minimum) -6% from total mass of piece...40g-60g Au/1 kg of pieces.
teclu


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## kaits31 (Mar 23, 2012)

teclu said:


> gold content is 4%(minimum) -6% from total mass of piece...40g-60g Au/1 kg of pieces.
> teclu



Thanks for the information, these are the same chips I have. What method do you use for gold recovery?


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## teclu (Mar 24, 2012)

kaits31 said:


> teclu said:
> 
> 
> > gold content is 4%(minimum) -6% from total mass of piece...40g-60g Au/1 kg of pieces.
> ...



Hello kaits
There you have cca. 300 g of pieces. So that, AR is the way, but do not ignore the legs...there is a „big” secret. 50%-70% of Au is in/on the legs.
teclu


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## butcher (Mar 24, 2012)

I would check the other components on those boards, I see some silver in capacitors, might even check for pgm in some of those reistors.


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## patnor1011 (Mar 25, 2012)

butcher said:


> I would check the other components on those boards, I see some silver in capacitors, might even check for pgm in some of those reistors.



Spot on Butcher, Russian capacitors and SMD are loaded with Pd and Ag.


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