Solder trouble

[aumoon]

Me again...that pesky newbie.
As I have stated in my introduction, I am a seasoned prospector and miner but this scrap gold recovery is a completely new animal to me. I thank all of you for the most helpful insight !! My question:
On the end of the pins that I remove from ribbon connections (motherboard side), there is a fair amount of solder. Now I understand that when dealing with partially plated pins an AP solution is an appropriate way to knock the gold off, I have made a bubbler for this procedure. (By-the-way, a correct ratio of hcl 31.45% to H2O2 3% would be greatly appreciated). So, when dealing with fully plated pins am I to understand that Nitric Acid is the best way to knock the gold off ? And if so, what do I do with the solder? Do I need to clean it off before introducing the pins into the Nitric? And if so...how? I just want to be safe and obtain the highest yield possible. If there is a different way than the above mentioned please advise.
Thanks to all in advance !
"Greenhorn"

 

[kernels]

Plated pins in either AP or Nitric is chemically possible, but creates a lot of waste for a small amount of gold. Of the two, AP will dissolve the solder, so not much problem having a bit of solder on your pins in AP. Nitric and Tin cause problems, so avoid solder in Nitric acid.

The better ways to deal with plated pins is either a Cyanide based leach or Sulfuric cell.

There is no ratio of HCl to H2O2 for AP, cover your material in HCl, turn on your bubbler and give it a 'splash' of H2O2 to just kickstart the reaction. With 3% H2O2, you can give it a decent 'splash'. It also works without the H2O2, just takes a bit longer for the reaction to get started.

 

[kernels]

And even having said all that, I would still encourage you to experiment with both chemical solutions with a small number of pins because you will learn so much faster actually seeing the reactions.