# Harvesting Gold Fingers with Soldering Iron



## Dooogsx123 (May 3, 2018)

G'day Diggers,
I hope alls well - just thought I'd introduce myself and share a couple of things of interest to me of late.. thought this would be a good way to start off & join the conversation. 

basically I'm from western australia and have been actively learning about ewaste & refining for about 6 months now, but have been tearing down and working with technology for many years as a support techo., 'old techo's never retire they just work from home' .old jungle saying lol

The first link is from YouTube - after 6months of looking and watching videos this one appeared a couple of days ago to me - which has been around for 2 years apparently - so some may already have seen it, but I've been reviewing many of the threads here on the forum and not seen any mention of it, regarding harvesting of gold fingers with a soldering iron - it's really quite quick after getting the hang of it - after about the 10th ram stick you realise how to adjust or cut the tip and go from there. The guy in the video has done 200 sticks and powers through them.

https://youtu.be/GkTbsS0r4zU

It appears or seems to be a very 'clean' way to harvest the fingers - it still needs processing to remove copper, but there is no pcb to be concern with after, so I figure it to be a step ahead as I see it saving some time. 

Has anyone tried it? I wonder if there is a compromise that effects the final yield.

I've not done any refining yet but am keen and getting close - need to process some of what I've collected and see some gold for my own eyes. I look forward to any comments

Thanks & cheers for now,
dougie.n


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Another link that I've found really informative to the learning process is :

https://web.archive.org/web/20111005151615/http://siliconfareast.com/ic-package-types.htm

It comes from the way back machine (the Internet archive as the company or site no longer exists - basically viewing an old backup) 

It's fully stocked with information regarding ic types, methods of manufacture, elements used, wire bonding etc. 

the link takes you to a ic types page which shows about 45 different ic's with further links about each and everyone one of their makeup. 

One you've finished there click on the home button at the bottom of the page to go to the main site reference index - anything or basically everything you ever wanted to know about semiconductor technology - both theory and in application is there - very easy to get lost in information and time here.


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## kernels (May 3, 2018)

Hi Doogsx123, welcome to the forum.

This thread -> http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=26601&hilit=soldering deals with removing foils with a soldering iron. Basically I think the result was that the hours you have to put into it does not necessarily justify the gain of not having to deal with the fibreglass. 

However . . . . I would be very interested if you were to time yourself doing say 20 or 30 Ram modules in terms of how long it takes to complete the procedure.


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