Acid_Bath76
Well-known member
Hello everyone. I've been working on a large batch of RAM over the last week. As the process moves along, I have been contemplating on whether I'm getting the most value from the material. Costs have been covered, and there's a small profit that makes the time and effort worth it. This is a part time job, and I really like what I'm doing, so part of the profit is the enjoyment. Processing RAM in AP has gotten me to thinking. I consider it a fairly novice process when compared to some of the others. Don't misunderstand me, that thick nasty yellow chlorine gas will kill you. I think you get my point. Anyhow, I digress. Back to the topic at hand. There is more Au on the RAM than just that found on the fingers. Some of the flatpacks, and other small components have PM values that have been covered on this forum many times as well. I'm just going to throw out a number. With 300lbs of gold foil RAM cards varying in age, is it cost effective to crush everything into shredded bits(reducing batch size, and increasing surface area), incinerating, and then recovering the PM's and copper? Or do you think it would be better to simply cut the fingers, process them, and sell the trimmed cards to a middle man? At $7.50/lb for trimmed RAM it seems somewhere someone is able to extract significant values from these trimmed cards. If the middle man is paying that amount, then the end user must be making a little more gravy on top of that. I'm trying to figure out at what weight this could become profitable? I say "could" instead of "will", because there is another long list of required equipment and knowledge necessary to bring this to fruition. So, I'm curious, at what weight would you start flirting with this idea of doing it all yourself? As batch sizes continue to grow, I want to learn how to make the most of it. Until that day comes, I'll keep reading and looking for solutions.
Thanks again in advance!
Thanks again in advance!