# are those chip worth something?



## ericrm (Jun 30, 2011)

while im waiting for some of my product to arrive by mail (by the way an old lady at some plant selling store call me a bomb maker... pretty funny )

i have read on many post that pm is not that rare in fact . and as i was looking around in my place to see what i have and i found these chip on cheap board. do somebody knows if they are worth saving because if yes, i have access to plenty of them for free (my time is my cost) 

i doubt if they have pm in that somme post have already been created ,if somebody can tell me the name of these chip or the post,it would be apreciated

thank you
eric


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## vovikk (Jun 30, 2011)

Have a pretty huge bucket of these "bugs"...
Will never throw them away. but i am pretty sure they have NO or 0.000001% PMs...

The best they can have is Cu and Fe...


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## Claudie (Jun 30, 2011)

PM = Precious Metal


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## vovikk (Jun 30, 2011)

Oh, yeah, i should choose my words...
Thanx, Claudie!!!


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## Claudie (Jun 30, 2011)

Chips like these are EPROMs or DIP Packages. They have extremely fine bonding wire inside of them, that I believe is gold but I personally have never processed any of them, so I cannot say for sure if they are gold or what the yield might be. The bonding wires are so small you will probably need a microscope to see them.

DIP = Dual In-Line Package
EPROM = Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory


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## ericrm (Jun 30, 2011)

thank you claudie it is very helpfull ,now that i know the name,IT WILL BE much easyer to do some search
thank a lot 
eric


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## element47 (Jun 30, 2011)

To clarify further:

"DIP" dual in-line package simply means that "style" rectangular form-factor in which there are two lines of pins, spaced .100 apart. It is certainly possible for "DIP" packaged chips to be the very nice looking white (or charcoal-grey) ceramic ones with (or without) nice gold metal sheeting on the top/bottom just as it is possible to have the all-plastic type of case you have pictured. DIP refers strictly to the package and the physical pin spacing/configuration: Two rows of pins. 

There are ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, and RAM, microprocessors, ALUs, and several other chip-functions, all of which, during certain eras, came in that type of DIP packaging. Some did, some did not have metal sheeting on the top or bottom. Some part numbers came in both metal-clad and all-plastic casings. Some mil-spec or super-high-reliability types ordinarily available in all-plastic came in more desirable metal-clad casings. 

It would be safe to say that those style of all-plastic chips have the *LEAST* PM potential. If there are gold wires inside, and you can gather them, good for you. You're talking microscopic, BUT, if you are already crushing and grinding up the chip(s), by all means, go for it. If you are grinding up ONLY those type of all-plastic ones, hoo-boy, you better have a serious load if you expect to get any kind of yield out of them.


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## goldsilverpro (Jun 30, 2011)

The bonding wires are usually very pure gold or aluminum, although, as I understand it, copper is starting to be used. The gold bonding wires are commonly 1 mil (.001") or .7 mil (.0007") in diameter. One ounce of 1 mil gold wire is about 2 miles long and 1 oz of .7 mil gold wire is about 4 miles long. One foot of 1 mil gold wire is worth about $0.14 and 1 foot of .7 mil about $0.07. A 28 lead package might contain a foot of gold wire, more or less, assuming gold bonding wires have been used and not Al or Cu.


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## ericrm (Jun 30, 2011)

wow thanks
that is some real good explanation, i cant ask for better
what will i do... i will keep them until im good enuf to crush that gold free from those baby
but seriously thanks a lot since im on this forum i just keep learning usefull stuff


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## Claudie (Jun 30, 2011)

element47 & goldsilverpro, I don't think I have ever seen those chips explained as well as the combination of your posts. 
If I am understanding right, a 28 lead chip would have about $.07 worth of gold in it, providing that it was a gold containing chip and all of the gold was recovered from it. If I may ask, where did you come up with those figures and do you know about other types of chips also?


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## goldsilverpro (Jun 30, 2011)

Claudie said:


> element47 & goldsilverpro, I don't think I have ever seen those chips explained as well as the combination of your posts.
> If I am understanding right, a 28 lead chip would have about $.07 worth of gold in it, providing that it was a gold containing chip and all of the gold was recovered from it. If I may ask, where did you come up with those figures and do you know about other types of chips also?



You are not understanding right. I said nothing about the chip. I have no knowledge about those exact parts and really could care less since I mainly rely on fire assays. I do know how they are most generally made. The chip is the IC - the flat small silicon circuit encased in the package. The package is what surrounds it, protects it, and provides connectability. For most parts of this type, the value is usually in the package and the bonding wires that bond the chip to the leads, not the chip, unless the chip is gold backed and attached to the pad on the lead frame with gold braze (probably not the case on these parts, though possible). When I mentioned value, I was talking only about the bonding wires, but only if they are gold. I assumed about 0.4" per wire. There may, or may not, be other sources of gold inside the package. Sometimes, the center of the lead frame will be spot plated with gold, e.g. Break one open and look inside - put it on edge on an anvil and gently tap it with a hammer until it splits or put it in a vise, edgewise. Yellow is the color you're looking for. It's possible that there is no Au at all in some of these packages. There are many configurations possible.


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## Claudie (Jun 30, 2011)

I understand now. I was referring to the whole package as the chip, I see my error.


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## Oz (Jul 1, 2011)

ericrm said:


> while im waiting for some of my product to arrive by mail (by the way an old lady at some plant selling store call me a bomb maker... pretty funny )


Perhaps it was funny to you at the time, but if that lady thinks that is what you are up to it will not be funny to you anymore after she calls authorities to report a bomb-maker or terrorist (MEANING YOU!). 

When people jump to these conclusions it is in your best interest to explain in detail what you are doing with the chemicals you are purchasing. After all, if you are refining, the chemicals you will have on hand could easily be put to nefarious use. That means that when law enforcement knocks on your door the burden of proof will be on you to prove that there is no ill intent on your part, even though you have the chemicals on hand that they are trained to associate with illegal activities. 

If you show anything less than proper lab records for your chemical consumption and your reason of use, you may find yourself behind bars until you can prove your intent and innocence of the charges against you. Innocent until proven guilty does not mean you are not held behind bars until your court date. Mind you it is highly unlikely law enforcement and/or judges know precious metals chemistry so they will assume the worse of you after a concerned citizen has reported you as a threat.


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