What to refine in a computer ?

Noxx · Mar 5, 2007

Hello,
I would like to know what you can refine/recover in a computer.
For the moment, I know there is precious metals in:
-CPU's
-Memory sticks
-Hard Drives

And what else ?

Thank You

lazersteve · Mar 5, 2007

Noxx,

A pc has a lot of gold hiding in places that you may not think of.

Here's a list (it's a tiny amount per pc):

Cpu socket
Card slots
Memory slots (some)
Plug in cards (on the cards= fingers)
Built in ports (network, serial, parallel, video)
Headers ( where you plug the drive cables in )
Components on the mobo itself (capacitors*, chipset ics, etc.)
Button contacts (some older machines)
Ribbon cable contacts ( older = better)
Drive pin headers ( on the floppy, cdrom, hdd, etc.)

* Monolithic capacitors can have more palladium and platinum than gold in them in some cases.

If you read this post and come up with something I missed let us know.

Steve

Noxx · Mar 5, 2007

Thanks !
I just sent an e-mail to many computer repair shops here. I hope they will keep me some parts.
I called someone too and he told me thats he sometimes gets 386,486 and P1. I will call him in one month to see how many he gets.

PRECIOUS METALS · Mar 5, 2007

hey where in cd roms do you find gold

Noxx · Mar 5, 2007

Drive pins headers. I think it is in cd-rom readers not in the cd-rom itself...

lazersteve · Mar 5, 2007

It's the part you plug the ribbon cable into. Just basic pin scrap nothing to write home about.

ThePierCer · Mar 10, 2007

I just received a load of 30 computers last night, 286, 386, 486 and some Pentiums I and II. I pulled all the figures, ram and CPU’s off for processing.

So far, I left all the connectors on, and am still undecided on weather to process them. I notice a lot of the boards have what looks like gold plating on the boards themselves and on some of the wiring.
Is it worth it to process them too? Or would it just be easier to put them on eBay and get what I can for them? I have atleast 50 lbs of boards. I pulled off the battery’s and heat sinks, so that weight is just the boards and the SM components.

Also, I’ve been using the AR method for my CPU’s and figures. Is this the best method? And, I’ve heard many times not to mix CPU’s and figures. Why is that?

Thanks for ur help.

ThePierCer · Mar 10, 2007

Another question. A lot of the older RAM doesn’t have gold on the figures. Is the silver or just plain metal? I have about 50 lbs I’ve been holding on too because I don’t know what it is and am not sure how to process them.
Thanks again

lazersteve · Mar 10, 2007

Welcome to the forum.

The type of 'raw' pc scrap you are talking about needs a lot of processing before you put it in any solution to get the gold out. I generally accumulate large quantities (100+ pounds) before I begin work on any one type of scrap (mobos, pc cards, headers, etc). Then I systematically strip the boards of all the valuable components in one pass, keeping the different types of scrap separate as they need different types of processsing later. After the first pass I set the remainder to the side until even larger amounts are on hand to do more refined work on them. The main reason that I use this multi-step process is to get the bulk of the highest grade scrap together for processing quickly. When I have enough to process, I them put the 'concentrated' scrap thru the appropriate recovery method that best fits it. This is all very labor intensive.

In a nutshell don't waste your valuable time on low yield items, work on the highest yielding parts first and get back to the others when you have some down time.

Steve

Noxx · Mar 10, 2007

Older RAM that is not gold color is not silver, it's just metal

lazersteve · Mar 10, 2007

The edges are solder covered (tin/lead 60/40). The memory stick itself has some value if you crush it and process.

Steve

ThePierCer · Mar 13, 2007

seriously..... is it worth it? I have about 20lbs of them..... i get so disappointed every time i find one. I really wished they were silver

ThePierCer · Mar 13, 2007

also, i strip all the IC's and caps off all the boards. Is there any gold/plat value in these? On every motherboard, there are 2 "chips" with a gold "tag". Are they worth processing? I have avout 100 lbs of various IC and caps i'm holding on to, just in case they have some value i was unaware of

lazersteve · Mar 13, 2007

Yes both of these items have some value in very large quantities. The chipset ics ("flatpaks") are the ones with the gold 'tag' in the corner. As an example, take one that has been freed from the pcb and flex it in between your thumbs, moving around the edges of the thin part as you flex. The ic will separate from the plastic portion and expose the gold plated copper traces inside the ic. Both the fiber portion and the plastic portion will contain these hair fine traces, enough of them will warrant processing.

The main type of capacitor you are after are the very tiny brown ones mounted directly to the board (monolithics) , these will contain gold, silver, palladium, and possibly some platinum. You will need many thousands of them before processing is warranted. The cylinder caps (electrolytics) have limited precious metals value if any.

There are many other types of caps with varing amounts precious metals in each, you will need to research each types construction if you want to pursue recovery on these items.

Steve

toadiesop · Mar 28, 2007

Thanks for the info on the monolithics Steve. Getting thousands will be no problem!

How would you suggest refining them. Just crushing them up and using HCL/ AR?

MacMasterMike · Mar 29, 2007

Though mostly frowned apon when I've read about it how well does burning the boards in a kiln do? You end up with ash and the metals for the most part I would figure.

Fever · Mar 31, 2007

Here's a pic of some monolithics, mixed in with some other surface mounts I've been accumulating. They are very time consuming, but as Steve has already mentioned, if you have enough of them, it becomes worth the effort.

I'm also curious as to what refining method would be best for these. I would assume a bath in Nitric first to extract the Silver and Palladium. Then wash and soak the remainder in AR for any Gold or Platinum that may be present.

Fever

lazersteve · Mar 31, 2007

Fever,

First welcome to the forum and thank you for the post.

You have a mix there of monolithics and other SMD's (surface mounted devices). The other items are not going to be of much value in the mix and should be removed.

Monolithics are specifically monolithic capacitors not any of the the other SMDs you have mixed in with them. I have pictured some of the components you have in your dish:

Inductors:

These are labeled Lx on the board with x as some location number.

Electrolytics::

These are labeled Cx on the board with x as some location number.

Ferrite Beads:

These are labeled FBx on the board with x as some location number and the most easily confused SMD with monolithics.

Diodes:

These are labeled Dx or ZDx or Zx on the board with x as some location number.

Crystals:

These are labeled Yx or Xx on the board with x as some location number.

Resistors:

These are labeled Rx on the board with x as some location number.

Resistor Arrays:

These are labeled RAx or Rx on the board with x as some location number.

Fuses:

These are labeled Fx on the board with x as some location number.

Fusible Resistors:

These are labeled Rx on the board with x as some location number.

None of the above items are monolithic.

Here are some of the items in your dish that are monolithics:

These are labeled Cx on the board with x as some location number.

These are labeled Cx on the board with x as some location number.

I hope this info helps. If you have any questions please ask.

Steve

Fever · Mar 31, 2007

Thank you Steve!

This is exactly the kind of info I've been looking for left and right, with little results. Until now! Is there a comprehensive list (other than the beautiful one you just posted) where you acquired this info? There has to be a breakdown of these items somewhere on the web. I have scoured everything for specific info like this, but had little luck.

Thanks again for the info... Fever

lazersteve · Mar 31, 2007

Fever,
I've got years of electronics experience is how I know. I learned from schematics, the internet, datasheets, and lots of hands on experience. When you work with electronic circuits for 20 years you learn what it is you are looking at and how it works.

If you ever have any questions start a new topic and I'll help you along.

Steve

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