Magnet recovery

[gold4mike]

I'll see if I can take some pictures this weekend of what I'm talking about and where I'm finding it. I'm pretty sure we're talking about two different items. I've also found a similar looking part in fiber optic transceivers. It looks like a three legged transistor with a little glass window. It's cylindrical, gold plated, with three gold legs coming from the opposite end of the cylinder.

I bought a USB microscope some time ago. I'll try to make time to get some close-up pics this weekend.

 

[Barren Realms 007]

I'll see if I can take some pictures this weekend of what I'm talking about and where I'm finding it. I'm pretty sure we're talking about two different items. I've also found a similar looking part in fiber optic transceivers. It looks like a three legged transistor with a little glass window. It's cylindrical, gold plated, with three gold legs coming from the opposite end of the cylinder.

I bought a USB microscope some time ago. I'll try to make time to get some close-up pics this weekend.

The item you are discussing has a very very thin layer of gold. You can put one in a cell and poof it is deplated before you can spit.

 

[gold4mike]

I'm sure you're correct about the thin plating. I plan to make a rotating basket cell this summer and use it for the low value scrap I've been accumulating. I have about 30 pounds of pins pulled from ribbon cable ends that I expect will yield 1/4 to 1/2 gram per pound and I sure don't want to waste the acid to remove base metals from those!

As the price of gold continues to rise I'm finding it harder and harder to part with ANYTHING that contains gold. I'll still sell the newer motherboards and fiber processors to keep some cash coming in, but all the rest is part of my retirement investment diversification plan.

Once I retire from my full time job I'll start processing all the low value stuff and transformers I've been saving. I suspect I'm like most people on the forum that won't take retirement sitting on my butt!

 

[Drewbie]

Speaking of magnets, I was wandering through an electronics market on Apliu Street in Hong Kong a couple of weeks back - check this guy out...

 

[Militoy]

I guess I'm not following the direction of this thread too clearly. Magnets are most valuable as magnets for their utility - not based on their weight or chemical constituants. They are typically sold by size, shape, and magnetic material type. Sure - a strong rare-earth magnet pulled from a hard drive is going to sell quicker than an old alnico pot magnet pulled out of a speaker - but both will have a market. A rare-earth ball magnet is more sexy than an arc-shaped flat magnet of the same material pulled from a stepper motor - but the market on either will depend on what other items of a similar nature are available at the time of sale. The point of focus is to try to maximise the value of recovery of all materials recovered during the recycling process. Magnets are typically just a tertiary issue - an extra way to recover some value - when recycling electronics for more targeted values.

 

[stihl88]

I say start collecting and hoarding these magnets, their will be a market for them one day. They are just as essential in the manufacture of electrical components as what lead, gold, silver and copper are. If China have nearly total control over the Rare Earth Metals market then these once cheap Neodymium magnets that used to cost $0.20 a piece but could easily go for $1.00 a piece show that then all of a sudden they have full control of the market and they can begin to name their price.

 

[DarkspARCS]

I say start collecting and hoarding these magnets, their will be a market for them one day. They are just as essential in the manufacture of electrical components as what lead, gold, silver and copper are. If China have nearly total control over the Rare Earth Metals market then these once cheap Neodymium magnets that used to cost $0.20 a piece but could easily go for $1.00 a piece show that then all of a sudden they have full control of the market and they can begin to name their price.

As with everything else in the world that threatens the national security of the United States, I'm quite certain that China's brief capture of the REE market won't affect prices overly much as the U.S. has a real need for REE to use in alot of thier military hardware, and thus Molycorp is pressured (probably with glee) to reopen it's REE mine in Cali, with prospects in Montana, Colorado, and Nevada looking to open soon.