MotherBoards data and experiences

[perman666]

I didn't find appropriate theme so I open this one.

We all know that MB ( PC motherboards ) has several category's.

Has anybody any experience with bigger lots of motherboards?

I need as much data I can get how much for example Umicore
will pay for 10 tons of motherboards.

I am living in EU and know UMICORE from Belgium / SAFINA from Czech Republic.
My goal is 10tons per month but I need some numbers before my next step.

Anybody from this forum, can you send some data ?

Thanks.

 

[kurtak]

That's like asking how much gold is in a mountain that has ten different gold bearing vanes in it :roll:

The amount of gold in a ten ton load of boards is going to be "different" with each load because it depends on how much of what type boards went into each load &/or for that matter how many boards made by what manufacturing company

Kurt

 

[perman666]

That's like asking how much gold is in a mountain that has ten different gold bearing vanes in it :roll:

The amount of gold in a ten ton load of boards is going to be "different" with each load because it depends on how much of what type boards went into each load &/or for that matter how many boards made by what manufacturing company

Kurt

I am aware of that information. Just want to collect other experiences with big lots of motherboards.
Also, not only gold, I want to know for copper, silver and other metals.

 

[g_axelsson]

I have collected a few posts from the forum and put it into this list. Each entry links back to the post on the forum.

http://goldrefiningwiki.com/mediawiki/index.php/Yield_numbers

Göran

 

[patnor1011]

You can find a lot of info online. I just recently found interview with some lady from some US refinery giving out some numbers but I was on a quest of searching numbers for laptops so the only number I remember is that she stated that 200 pieces of laptops will yield 5 oz of gold. I am currently going through 100 laptops with another 100 being delivered shortly. It is a pain in the a*se to go through for just one person but at least it keep me busy.

 

[4metals]

Any large refiner that takes in boards by the ton has a very good idea of the lowest payout per ton and the highest, all based on actual figures and assays. If they offer to buy the boards by the ton, rest assured they are giving you the low end. If you have the ability to witness the sampling and have it analyzed yourself that is how you know what your per ton rates are. The big guys know these figures but they are well guarded corporate secrets.

Most refiners will charge you by the pound and pay on assay, that is the safest way as a refiner. Don't be naive enough to think that not going to witness sampling will yield the same results.

 

[Anonymous]

You can find a lot of info online. I just recently found interview with some lady from some US refinery giving out some numbers but I was on a quest of searching numbers for laptops so the only number I remember is that she stated that 200 pieces of laptops will yield 5 oz of gold. I am currently going through 100 laptops with another 100 being delivered shortly. It is a pain in the a*se to go through for just one person but at least it keep me busy.

200 laptop motherboards giving 5oz of gold? Wow that looks high Pat?

Permann if you can trade in 10 tonnes of boards per month then you're doing well mate. Sanity check though. You need to tie up the capital for your ten tonnes per month for at least 2 months before you get a return.

Assuming you've got the cash then you then have to rely upon the hope that gold doesn't drop whilst they are being refined. You also need to know your product very very well before you venture down this path. Many people blend product to get the best assay and yield utilising various types of product however I will be very surprised if anyone who does this professionally will willingly share that information for nothing because it's usually found out through a long process of learning and hence it's the tools of someone's trade.

Jon

 

[perman666]

Yes, goal is 10 tons per month.
Now I have >2 tons, mostly class1 boards for making lot of tests.

I am making my own process in this moment. My friend is making big shredder for
me and kind of big ballmill. We already have magnetic metal separator.

Our goal is to turn 100kg of motherboards into one big metal ingot and
to send samples to lot of laboratories for analysis.

Until now with only copper we are on positive zero. With PM we will
have good income. We know our costs now and if potentional deal
with refinery will ve close enough to our targeted money income then I would rather work with rafiners.

Problem is that I don't want to give 10t of boards to Umicore without
any known yields. Too risky for me.

 

[acpeacemaker]

You can find a lot of info online. I just recently found interview with some lady from some US refinery giving out some numbers but I was on a quest of searching numbers for laptops so the only number I remember is that she stated that 200 pieces of laptops will yield 5 oz of gold. I am currently going through 100 laptops with another 100 being delivered shortly. It is a pain in the a*se to go through for just one person but at least it keep me busy.

That number looks high to me as well, but according to the vice president at Sims Recycling that's about their numbers. Also stated that roughly 10, 000 phones should yield approximately 10 oz of gold? If I remember correctly from numbers posted on the forum in the past it should be closer to the 5 oz range?
http://tinyurl.com/m2qk9dz
Andrew

 

[patnor1011]

Yes, this is the link I believe it is the same you found.
https://techpageone.dell.com/tech-culture/how-much-gold-is-in-smartphones-and-computers/

That link is loading very slow for some reason, here is quote from that article:
**********************************************************************************************************************************
To learn more about gold and how it is removed from discarded devices, I spoke to Sean Magann, vice president of sales and marketing for Sims Recycling Solutions—North America, a division of the global re-use and recycling firm Sims Metal Management.

How much gold is in a smartphone?

Magann: In very rough numbers, there are 10 troy ounces of gold (or about three-fifths of a pound) per ton of smartphones. Ten thousand phones weigh one ton. [With gold selling for about $1,580 per ounce, that would yield $15,800.]

How about a laptop?

Magann: Two hundred laptops would yield five troy ounces of gold.

How much is in an average desktop?

Magann: A PC circuit board, where the gold is, weighs about a pound. If you had a ton of those boards, you should have 5 troy ounces of gold.

Are there manufacturers that use more gold than others?

Magann: Computer makers don’t make their circuit boards because they are commodity items. They buy them from third parties. The trend in using gold among all of those companies is definitely down. It’s a costly material, so they are looking for more efficient ways to make the boards, trying to use as little gold as possible.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, goal is 10 tons per month.
Now I have >2 tons, mostly class1 boards for making lot of tests.

I am making my own process in this moment. My friend is making big shredder for
me and kind of big ballmill. We already have magnetic metal separator.

Our goal is to turn 100kg of motherboards into one big metal ingot and
to send samples to lot of laboratories for analysis.

Until now with only copper we are on positive zero. With PM we will
have good income. We know our costs now and if potentional deal
with refinery will ve close enough to our targeted money income then I would rather work with rafiners.

Problem is that I don't want to give 10t of boards to Umicore without
any known yields. Too risky for me.

I would recommend caution here. Don't fall into the trap that another member seems to regularly fall into. You can often make as much real profit just by trading the boards without all the time and effort required to process them.

It involves less time, less effort, less cash flow, and allows you to expand your operation quicker from the profits.

 

[kjavanb123]

All,

I have been depopulating 800 kg (1600lbs) of types of following boards, and here is some data I found;

Boards that are being manually depopulated;


Close shots of some of the boards,


And here are some data related to those boards, the net weight and percentage of each components;

Total net weight of boards so far depopulated: 146.34 kg (292.68 lbs)
Percentage of IC chips to the net weight: 6.21%
Percentage of SMD capacitors and resistors to the net weight: 1.72%
Percentage of Tantalum capacitors to the net weight: 0.23%

By searching the yield info on each of those components you can estimate the return on large lots of boards. I am planning to incinerate all ICs and SMDs then smelt them.

Regards,
Kj

 

[Anonymous]

All,

I have been depopulating 800 kg (1600lbs) of types of following boards, and here is some data I found;

Boards that are being manually depopulated;
View attachment 1

Close shots of some of the boards,


And here are some data related to those boards, the net weight and percentage of each components;

Total net weight of boards so far depopulated: 146.34 kg (292.68 lbs)
Percentage of IC chips to the net weight: 6.21%
Percentage of SMD capacitors and resistors to the net weight: 1.72%
Percentage of Tantalum capacitors to the net weight: 0.23%

By searching the yield info on each of those components you can estimate the return on large lots of boards. I am planning to incinerate all ICs and SMDs then smelt them.

Regards,
Kj

Kevin

You've got countless threads where you to purport to demonstrate yields based upon depopulating much larger quantities of boards and sending the sorted, incinerated, shaker tabled, and smelted components to various refiners.

Now you say it's actually 164Kg of boards and you're planning to incinerate stuff.

Which is it because frankly I'm confused? I'm all ears.

 

[Aristo]

As you have rightly stated, there are wide variances in the motherboards recovery. However, I caution you that it does not matter what your research shows, it will be ultimately up to the "Refiner" to decide the value. "Refiners" will not likely to buy your boards unless its cheap or they advance and "settle" ( :roll: ) after, on the contrary, they will not commit until the material is sampled at their facility. ( Don't get me started on sampling techniques). At this point, you will be at their mercy.
If you are getting boards free, its fine. If you are buying and paying freight, consider other options and arrangements. "Refiners" overhead costs, management, administrative and labour costs + profits will be paid by you. Electronic scrap "Refiners" cannot exist on 8% to 10%.


Good luck.

 

[kjavanb123]

Spaceship,

Those boards which were pulverized, sent to the US and ran on shaker table, and result were analyzed were only 10lbs randomly selected boards from the total of 800kg boards.

This post is related to the same 800kg boards which only 146kg of it so far has been depopulated manually and since I saw this threat about motherboard yield, I decided to post my data here for 146kg, my goal is to depopulate 800kg boards, and incinerate process them.

Regards
Kj

 

[patnor1011]

It would be better to keep all of this in one thread instead of having all this info thrown over several threads with partial info everywhere you move.
One job, several problems, countless threads.

 

[kjavanb123]

I saw this threat as relevent and figured not start a new threat about this data yield.

 

[pattt]

Hi all,

Perman, you all said it in your 2nd sentence, :

We all know that MB ( PC motherboards ) has several category's.

Kjavanb : how could your "relevant data ?" be the same as for perman? , your 6,21% of ic chips or whatever from your 800 kg wont be the same as in Perman's, even if it was the same % :different years of fabrication, other manufacturers,... all would contribute to a different % of precious metals and so would have a different payout.

Aristo, : get me started on sampling techniques :lol: Its my daily work,.... no don't , because i am not allowed to talk about my job.

I am sure I can say this ,: you are allowed to send a representative, that can oversee the sampling, and that there will be 3 samples ,: 1 for the customer, 1 for the refiner , and 1 for an independent lab in case the customer and the refiner don't agree on the outcome .

And like Aristo said, the refiner won't do it for free :lol:
They have to pay me and all the people that are working 24/24 to get your gold and the rest out of all the scrap.

Just my thoughts about this , and I have just seen there are a lot of responses after I started making this reply, so i'll stop here and do some more reading :lol:

4metals,with all respect, but I can assure you that my sample would be the same if there was a representative or there was not, I can only speak for myself, but we as sample takers have no interest in making things up , its the same machines and the same work for every load , we Would get fired if we didn't follow the procedures that are learnt to us.

Have a nice day and stay save.

Pattt
Edit for a reply to 4metals.

 

[dannlee]

A small puzzle seeing the word threat used repeatedly, here is two word definitions to study...

threat Definition: 1. a statement of an intention for hostile action on someone/something. 2. a person or thing likely to cause damage or danger.

thread Definition: 1. a long, thin strand of fibers used in sewing or weaving 2. a group of linked messages posted on an Internet forum that share a common subject or theme.

:shock: :?: :idea: :roll:

 

[patnor1011]

I saw this threat as relevent and figured not start a new threat about this data yield.

And that is exactly it.
No need to start new thread, if you just keep everything in your thread, that would be relevant. Your info is scattered all over and it is hard to follow your adventures.