Hey Guys:
Paige, this question couldn’t have come at a better time. I am working with Cris (Silverpro) to come up with a good fast way to determine the amount of gold in certain materials.
This is an excellent case study:
If I understand your question, Is this a good buy?
I did a fast business case on this eBay item.
Basic assumptions:
Gold price = $655.00 per ounce
One (1) oz = 31.1 grams
One cubic centimeter = 19.3 grams of gold.
Gold plate thickness is .000010 to .000070 inches on consumer electronics equip.
Vintage (pre1995) material had about .000025 to .000035 in. plating
Later equip. has less than .000025 to .000010 in. plating
These memory cards are older cards (50) pins and have about .000030 in. average plating.
Synopsis:
There are 50 memory cards of moderately vintage type. (50 pin)
The pins measure 1.5mm x 3.0mm = 4.5 sq mm surface area.
Each memory stick has 50 pins on each side for a total of 100 pins x 4.5 sq mm = 450 sq mm x 50 sticks for a total of 22,500 sq mm.
Convert 22,500 sq mm to sq inches = 34.88 sq inches.
Now there is two ways to figure this problem:
Catfish’s method:
Determine the square area of the gold on the items and convert to inches.
1.5 X 3.0 = 4.50 sq mm X 100 (both sides pins) =450 sq mm x 50 (50 sticks) =22500 sq mm.
Convert 22500 sq mm to 34.88 sq inches
34.88 in. x .000030 (gold plate thickness) = .0010464 cubic inches
Convert .0010464 cu in. to .0171 cc or cubic centimeters.
(Remember 1 cubic centimeter of gold is 19.3 grams)
19.3 grams X .0171 cubic centimeters = .33 grams of gold in pins
Current gold price at $655.00 per oz / 31.1 grams = $21.06 per gram
.33 X $21.06 = $6.94 worth of gold in pins.
Silver Pros method:
.655 X 34.88 (sq Area in inches) X .30 (thickness) = $6.85 worth of gold in pins.
Silverpro’s method is the price of gold is $655.00 per oz.
Move the decimal place to the left 3 places. .655 x 34.88 sq in. X the thickness of the gold plating. (.30) = the estimated value.
I like Silverpro’s method best, for the sake of simplicity. My method is a check and balance. Please notice how close we both came to the same estimated value of the gold content in the memory sticks.
Paige, as to your question, this is not a good buy. The bid price is still at open at 19.95 plus 4.00 shipping. This totals out to $23.95. An actual gold content of $6.85 to $6.94. You would loose about $17.00 plus your chemicals and not to mention your time.
I hope to have a tutorial for the folks in the near future. It just takes time.
Lots of luck.
Catfish