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Recovering gold from electronics, page 3

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Everyone is wanting the same thing and that's just to do this as cheap as possible and as safe as possible. I can tell you a way that is very cost effective and very safe. One chemical to buy and it gets the gold off the PCB and then you can reuse the chemical to do more. It doesn't work on the CPUs but it is very good on any of the memory or circuit boards. Very simple folks go to RADIO SHACK and get a bottle or 2 of etching solution for around $4.00 a bottle and then soak the gold PCB parts in it, the gold floats to the top. What this is doing is melting away the copper under the gold and there ya have it. Now strain the gold and move on to the next set. I have tried many ways and this is the easiest and safest for the boards. The rest isn't enough to mess with I sell them and take what I can get for them.

John Wilson
- Charlotte, North Carolina
2007

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2007

Hi all,

I have studied the e waste recycle path from collection to refinery, I am just starting an e waste biz.. well, I have seen a lot of people doing refinery in non environmental friendly way... from what I am thinking if you want to make it a biz, we need to plan it in the environmental and economic balance way... what I have seen so far, it is not legal and not safe either to perform the refinery yourself. I am currently planning the biz more to every process before the refinery, that will actually make profits to you ; even if you dun continue yourself to the final refinery path, so you just sell it... but if you do like to continue for further profit, you could find a professional refiner, calculate the transportation and handling fees... including the law and regulation in your country... the numbers will tell you whether is it worth?

Of course you will need to know what material are you having? I used to send my material for element analysis, so I have confidence on the % material that I am going to recover. Sending it to the pro refiner which you can check what metals they able to recover, as in e waste... there are (PM)Au, Ag, Pd, Pt and Cu, Ni, Sn, Fe, Al (BM)... a most ideal refiner is with low cost then with capability of recovery most of the expected elements.

So that makes up the biz plan. of coz it needs to be in quantity.... if you are just having a little of the e scrap, I will not think this will come into a profit... coz only the huge quantity makes bucks in the scrap market refinery...
I am in my last part planning which to look for the refiners and calculating the expenses vs expected revenue... so in short I still do not have any data to prove this plan is earning...
p/s: some of the big boys refiner, r2japan, Heraeus, Umicore... which I think is trustable and reliable one.

Well, that's only my 2 cent of idea... there is no concrete data that it will work yet.. so I will be glad to receive comment...thanks.

Dav [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Malaysia

I have been attempting to get information on how to separate scrap gold from jewelry using chemical mixes however, I need assistance in knowing the percentage of acids, volts for the usage of electric, distance, voltage, etc. recovery of gold from solution. If anyone can assisted me I would appreciate this as I do have a chemist assistance but he is requesting additional information before the usage of anymore chemicals so we will not lose any more gold.

Ramona DuBois
- San Rafael, New Mexico
2007

Okay - I am a retired(?) male with average intelligence and a huge factor of curiosity. I have been for years taking old computers and tearing them down for the precious metals and such. Recently I have read so much on chemical extractions and such that I thought maybe I would try that. I did purchase some nitric acid, hydrochloric and several other types. THEN I sit myself down and had one heck of a talk with myself. Result - the acids stay in the bottles and I continue doing what I have been doing. I don't figure the risk of using the different acids are worth the returns. Instead I do take the boards and clip off the connectors, then I use either a small sharp chisel or such to take all the parts off the boards. Then I reverse the boards and chisel the protruding ends level with board. Now I have a board that is easy to work with. By taking a single edge razor blade, I can strip the board of the gold and silver or such. These strippings I put into a clear plastic bag and at my leisure, I further check the strippings and cut off any solder or such. Then I melt the whole deal after weighing the strippings to about l oz or a little better. True, I don't get 99.9% pure but it does give me a good feeling to see the gold buttons. I have taken the buttons to a jeweler and he sort of off-handed gave me an appraisal of the button which he said would probably be about 75% of value. Of course, the button has other materials mixed in such as a few drops of mercury, a little tin, a bit of silver, etc. But the end result is, I have some gold and silver buttons and they are worth what I want them to be--that is, since I have SS and retirement, it is great to see the buttons and have given me a tremendous amount of self-satisfaction with the obvious dangers of killing/maiming/disabling myself trying to get a few bucks off the board. Best part is, I don't have a lot of money wrapped up, I am not hurting the land/air/water and I have a lot of enjoyment. So, having said that, let me recommend that, unless you are willing to take a little over a long period of time, leave the acids, the burning, the dropping, etc. with the professionals and be happy with the realization that you can get what you want without hurting yourself.

Charles Ottaway
- Perkins, Oklahoma
2007

Charles; I too am in to the safer side of this spectrum and am interested in some more of your input. I've read every word of this letter and I am exited that someone out there feels the way I do, peeling the gold plating off the boards is personally a novel idea I've done it and its not that hard once you get the hang of it! what I would like to know is where would be the best place to sell my stuff?

Jerry seifried
recycler - Tulsa, Oklahoma
February 11, 2008

After reading these letters about people possibly hurting or poisoning themselves by trying to recover gold and other precious metals from PCB's and other scrap electronics, I would also like to point out that even crushing or smashing integrated circuits to gain access to precious metal can be hazardous. The packages of some high power transistors and integrated circuits are made from poisonous materials such as arsenic and breathing the dust or even getting it in your eyes or mouth can cause health problems over time and repeated exposure. Taking these parts to proper facilities is very good advice.

Vern Evens
electronics technologist - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
February 19, 2008

I have dissolved some computer chips in aqua regia. then I added urea to neutralize the nitric acid. after that I added the sodium metabisulphate to extract the gold but nothing happened, just some white sediment on the bottom. I can not figure out what I did wrong, maybe there was solder in the mix. I do not know. please if anyone can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

Syzmon Wysocki
hobbyist - Sarasota, Florida
February 19, 2008

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DO NOT-EVER! SEND YOUR SCRAP TO A REFINER- YOU WILL ONLY BE PAID FOR ABOUT 40%-60% OF WHAT THEY RECOVER! CHECK THE FBI INVESTIGATIONS OF THE LAST 16 MO.- THESE COMPANIES ARE CROOKS!

DISSOLVE IN NITRIC ACID, POUR LIQUID INTO ANOTHER CONTAINER, ADD ZINC POWDER, FILTER, DRY, SMELT, REMOVE SLUDGE- THERE IS YOUR GOLD! DO NOT THROW AWAY THE LIQUID- YOU CAN REPROCESS. DO NOT THROW AWAY THE REMAINS OF THE FIRST CONTAINER- SILVER OR OTHER METALS.

OR....

ELECTROLYSIS- THIN GOLD CATHODE, FLAT MATERIAL ANODE- 20-30 AMP @ 3 VDC. USE THE LIXIVIANT OF YOUR CHOICE.

OR THERE IS A UNIT YOU CAN GET FOR UNDER $5K THAT WILL SEPARATE 3 DIFFERENT PRECIOUS METALS AT THE SAME TIME. WORTH IT IF YOU PLAN ON DOING IT FOR REAL.

Russ Craver
R&D - Boca Raton, Florida
March 1, 2008

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There are honest and dishonest people in every field, Russ; but giant corporations entrust their millions of dollars of precious metals to refiners.

But it's also true that it's hard to appraise the value of metals you are sending to a refinery, so the operators probably do have a stronger temptation to cheat than most businesses.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
March 1, 2008

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March 5, 2008

Ted, I agree. But, the honest ones- ARE honest when dealing with BIG corporate $$$. If you're not BIG corporate- you are screwed- for now. At least until- several refiners go to jail.

I do APPLAUD all those who give the advice to avoid this as a hobby. The ecological apathy and negligence toward the toxic by-products is inherent to the "shade tree" refiner. We need to be responsible toward our planet- even in the face of losing money!

For the hobbyist, remember this- it is a FEDERAL FELONY to dispose of toxic waste. For those that just think toxic waste comes from nuclear power plants- look it up in a dictionary. Anything that can CONTAMINATE the environment- is a toxic waste.

Now that being said- I will impart some info. I you do decide to proceed as a hobbyist- do not use cyanide...do not use lead...use goggles ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ...use RESPIRATOR filter...use chemist apron ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and rubber gloves ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ...have at least two CHEMICAL fire extinguishers...go small- do small batches at a time...always neutralize chlorides, nitrates, acids, and sulfides immediately!...DO NOT STORE- take to your local chemical disposer!

Remember- it will just take one person to smell the fumes and call the fire department- then- you will be ticketed and prosecuted by 4 different government agencies!

This is the cost of refining- if you can't afford it- don't do it. If you're going to do it- do it right.

This is just some general info for safety- sorry, but I can't explain the process in detail- I do not need anymore competition!

I am happy to share any general info with anybody- knowledge is and should be free. If anyone has non-specific questions, I'll be happy to answer. You can post here.

Save yourself, by saving your planet!

Russ Craver
R&D - Boca Raton, Florida

I want to know where can I find a computer salvage lot. I wanted to get scrap computer parts. Thanks.

Andrew Tiong
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 7, 2008

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So the best way to make any money off old e-waste as I read these many posts is to find a cheap or free source of computer parts and sell them on eBay for the people who do want to take all the risks? What is the realistic or average take (how much would I probably make as gross) by selling on eBay , if the buyer gave me a fair price for the parts? (Plus they pay for the shipping)

Craig Whitehead
- Mars Hill, North Carolina
March 22, 2008

I am a University student who has acquired several hundred pounds of WWII electronic parts made of silver or with a high silver content. I want to get the silver from these parts in the most efficient and economical manner possible. I have thought of using the parts as the anode in a plating process and "plate OUT" the silver...is this possible?

Bill Farrell
University student - Missoula, Montana
March 23, 2008

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April 2, 2008

HI
I M A STUDENT OF B.SC WANT TO REFINE GOLD FROM SUBZERO AQUA REGIA. I HAVE BEEN SPEND ENOUGH MONEY TO GET GOLD FROM COMPUTER CIRCUIT BOARD . I ALSO PURCHASED SUBZERO , STORM PRECIPITANT FROM SHOR INTERNATIONAL COMPANY. please TELL THAT IN 6 liters OF HCl HOW MUCH SUBZERO IS DISSOLVED. TELL ME THE GOLD RICHEST PART OF COMPUTER CIRCUIT BOARD. please ITS URGENT.
REPLY TO ME SOON

HINAI RAEES
STUDENT - LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Regards to all those thinking of refining gold from computer scrap and do not want to use chemicals the amalgamation process is one that I use and have very good results from its very simple and chemical free. The basics are this after reducing the computer boards from any excess metal parts like aluminum or tin connectors and excess chips ( ceramic that contain gold wiring ) I then immerse the boards fingers pins and crushed chips into an amalgamate mixture which a metal mixture ( lead free ) that has been heated in a cast iron pot to melting temp the amalgamate absorbs all precious metals the scrap base metals board material and such collects on the top as slag once the amalgamate has absorbed its weight in pm it will become very thick temperatures have to be watched carefully as the amount of heat to keep the mixture melted will raise as the percentage of pm is absorbed. Once fully saturated the dore (amalgamate and pm) is crushed and then cupled to remove the amalgamate from the pm which will bead in the center of the cupel. Once the pm is recovered I suggest having it refined by pros. By my calculations the percentage of gold on older computer boards is roughly 1% less as the age decreases. if you have a large supply of electronic scrap you can actually make a good amount of money without doing anything visit eBay and look at the prices people are getting for their scrap by those of us that are more experienced at recovering the pm for example one auction for a 20 lb box of parts went for roughly 500.00 the main point is be safe there are fumes that are very harmful to you and others even with the no chemical method of amalgamy the resigns and boards will smoke when the pm are being separated into the amalgamate mixture which by the way is way cheaper than chemicals.

Floyd Greene
- Redmond, Oregon
April 27, 2008

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April 5, 2008

HI
I want to extract gold from computer circuit boards through subzero aqua regia method.
now I want to ask some question.
Which is the richest part of gold in PCB?
HOW I clean the PCB from excessive or needless things?
And in 6 litre of muriatic acid how much subzero is dissolved?
please tell me if any one of one you knows. Reply me as soon as possible, because I have spend enough money and time on it.

Hina Raees
student - Lahore, Pakistan

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May 19, 2008

Well just call me a dumb redneck, I took everything on the circuit boards, cracked open processors, smashed circuits, all the gold plated pins, plug inns, memory cards, sound cards, video cards,name it if I thought there was gold in it, on it, around it, near it, I even melted green coating from the mother board with a low temp with a torch, then peeled off the circuit mess off the board,well no gold on that I found out, I put everything in a metal bowl 9 inches around and 4 1/4 deep, and put a cutting torch under it adjusted the torch so it wouldn't melt the bowl, all the pins never melted, all that mesh never melted, anything silver and gold and any lead melted first, I poured it out into another bowl and started melting again, Yea I got gold, yep sure did, from all the parts I used I ended up with 1.75 grams, it was fun,but cost me more in fuel for my cutting touch, and wasting a day melting, wasted all my time saving all that junk for a 1.75 gram, took a day,approx $70.00 worth, I make a $150 to $200 a day painting houses, hey I lost money, So I got smart started buying gold in 1/2 grams coins and in 1 grams bars, and save it let it make me money instead of costing me money, take the advice from a Redneck, just go buy some gold and wait tell it increases in value and sale it, or just get a loan on it. after all who won't loan on gold it's gold, take $40.00 or $80.00 from your pay check and buy 1 or 2 grams each payday or once a month it goes up in value, buy it before it gets any higher as of May 19, 2008 $905 an oz and $40 a gram.
Oh my question is: does anyone agree to leave it to the pro's or people with experience,Just go buy your gold friend, don't waist your time or your money, It takes a lots of processors and old ram cards, sound cards, video cards, modems etc etc, can you say pick up bed full and flat 16 foot trailer full of computer parts to really pay off, but then the right process take a lot of your pay off, Your recovery is like playing the Lotto you spend a lot to win but do you do anything more then brake even, after your time and expense,but we all have had gold fever and a dream. But if you must then be careful.
Redneck point of view.

N.L. Olin
- Texas

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May 19, 2008

First to explain my situation, my dad owned an electronic store that processed a lot of old electronics. Over the years he amassed a huge amount of electronics he intended to scrap. The infamous scrap pile has been sitting outside for years and is most likely not of much value to anyone wanting to have vintage electronics.

Back when I was working for him, I would scrap tons of electronics, mainly for the components which he sold in the store but also for aluminum, copper etc. All the circuit boards would be cleaned of aluminum, excess waste material etc and at one point we took a trailer load to Salt Lake City to be refined. My question is if any one knows of a reputable refiner that can process a lot of circuit boards? Most of the electronics are from the 70s and 80s so the plating is a lot thicker then it is today or even in the 90s.

Also, he had stored a couple tons of prepped boards in a warehouse on the property that burned down. Most of the waste from the fire was thrown away although there is a large pile of burnt material still there that should have some gold present. Is it worth doing anything with this material or should we just get rid of it?

John Fuller
hobbyist - Fort Collins, Colorado

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To all that have got the GOLD recovery from computers BUG, I came across this site from a friend of mine in California, I have read a lot of questions & comments concerning this subject. I read response from a gentleman in Freeport Maine, I have to agree with him. My wife and I are the former owners of two large tech recovery here in New England, one in southern Maine and one in New Hampshire. The facility in Maine was called Cyberjunk, it was only for the recovery of electronic waste, we were generating approximately five hundred to six hundred thousand pounds of scrap circuit boards a year. We processed our own metals, gold, silver, platinum,palladium and others. We extracted and processed the plated components at Cyberjunk, the rest of the circuit board was shipped to our refiner in Philadelphia named Abington Metals, the process to extract/leaching or recovering the metals can be VERY DANGEROUS AND VERY TOXIC, my wife and I have a very extensive background in chemistry and the danger involved if these chemicals should mishandled.

If you don't know how to handle the chemicals you can get very badly burned or killed, if you can sell your scrape board and gold components, sell them. God bless all of you for wanting make money, we wish all of you people the success you all deserve! please be careful and leave the gold processing to an EPA permitted facility.

David Forviere
- Houlton, Maine
May 27, 2008

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Hello all,
Like everyone else here I have a few tons of archaic technology that I am interested in refining. A good bit of the stuff is specialized (custom built) pre 1980s, some telephone equipment and it has lots of good looking contacts, ICs, etc. After looking into the DIY and reading Mr. Mooney's and other advice, I'm interested in leaving the refining to the professionals. I don't mind separating the boards and worthwhile chips. Just for kicks I stripped a few pins and etched the copper out of them to see how feasible it was. On a microscale its effective, but hardly worth the effort, even if my time cost next to nothing as the etching solutions (cu or Fe based w/ H202 I think) aren't cheap. (not to mention they are lethal to aquatic life). Even then I'd miss some metals. I have been researching refineries around me and I'm wondering who to turn to. I understand heat can be tricky because if its run too hot the gold sublimes and is lost, not to mention what's trapped in slag, highway robbery etc. I'm wondering if cyanide extraction is more efficient than heat? Is there a drawback to CN such as other pgms lost?
I am in Baltimore Md. CD&E is the only CN facility I can find nearby. Anyone done any business with them? Other suggestions I had are Gemark, Abington Metals (from one of the postings on here). I'm not trying to truck this stuff to Canada or much further than NY unless it makes that much difference. I'm also wondering if these businesses will want to deal with me, a small timer without even a business license, over basically a ton or so of processed material minus housings, etc. I understand with assay and processing fees it can hurt a small load like this. Anyone have any positive experiences or good contacts (pun intended) at these facilities,? Drop me a line.
Someone mentioned a broker, but I feel like there are already too many middlemen involved, though if you've gotten a square deal from one let me know. Again, I'm looking for someone near Baltimore Md who can process these contacts, boards etc and won't lose the pgms OR HURT THE ENVIRONMENT, and I definitely don't want this stuff to end up polluting some village in India or China. Thanks for you time, and best of luck to all of you. This has been a real adventure between learning chemistry and business. Most of all be safe and conscious of your impact on the world around you. I look forward to your thoughts,

Tommy Prusciutta
- Baltimore, Maryland
June 3, 2008

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Hello people,
There are great questions and good answers on this site.

From my personal experience-take your scrap to a refiner. The first time we did this I hooked up with a local man (a real & dangerous crook) one who will hurt you for the gold. Spent a ton of money on supplies and chemicals to have "him " run off with the end product and leave me with a real mess and almost bankrupt.

My next experience was a lot better. I hauled in 3000 lbs of computer/electronic scrap to Sipi metals (a refiner) in Chicago Ill. 45 days latter I received my check for my precious metals along with my cat converter scrap check. This is still the better way to do business unless you want to take a chance possibly with your life.
Hope this helps.

Charlie Empires
- Hillsdale, Michigan
June 10, 2008

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Mr. Akron

I came looking on how to and decided that recovering myself is out of the questions. We recycle old electronics and such on a small scale about 3 tons + a month. Currently we strip copper wire, aluminum heatsinks and light steel off our scrap boards. My question is what other items would be worth pulling off these CBs prior to us turning them in to our local metal yard and possibly where could these items be sent from our location.

We attempt to sell worthwhile items in various venues HD, FDD, CD/DVD if they do not sell, it takes me about 3 minutes to tears these apart into base components and recycle them for PCB, aluminum and light steel.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I do the recycling to supplement my income. Any increase would be a plus. Thanks in advance for your time.

On a side note the thought of these non professional people playing with highly toxic and dangerous chemicals frightens me. Where are they dumping the Waste?

John Anderson
- Thornton, Colorado
June 10, 2008

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June 25, 2008

I've bought the Shor SubZero/Aqua Regia Gold Refining Starter Kit ($55) which included all the consumable supplies needed to refine circuit boards and other gold bearing material. It included Precipitant, Precious Metal detection liquid, ammonia ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] detection liquid, urea and the SubZero powder (safer then liquid Nitric/HCL solution).
The acid used in this process is muriatic acid (also known as hydrochloric) acid. This acid is corrosive (see warning label on your bottle). For this reason, this kind of refining is best done outdoors, away from anything that may be damaged by exposure to these fumes.

It must be pointed out that, like most industrial processes, refining gold in acid is quite safe when performed under controlled conditions. In addition, the return of gold, when you refine the material yourself, is 10 times the return when sent in to a commercial refining company.

To refine gold with the SubZero Aqua Regia, you will need the following additional items:

=protective clothing--minimum requirement: goggles and rubber gloves.
=muriatic or hydrochloric acid.
= baking soda [in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (sodium bicarbonate) to neutralize the acid when finished.
=tap water and distilled water.
=containers for the boards. Before refining:
Cut off those portions of the board that have gold. Discard the rest. Chips, which have gold inside as well as outside, must be broken open. On a small scale, one tap with a hammer should suffice.
In a glass or plastic container (a 5 gallon, clean white bucket will work well), add 1 lb SubZero to 1 gallon of muriatic or hydrochloric acid. Do not use a metal container. Not all the SubZero will dissolve. This is normal. Do not discard the undissolved SubZero. The undissolved SubZero is required to be in the solution for the gold to complete its dissolution.

Dissolving the gold:
The acid should be at room temperature. Place your boards in a plastic mesh, or plastic wire basket or a plastic mesh bag. The acid has to pass through the basket or bag, so make sure it is either plastic mesh or plastic wire.
Add the basket or bag, with your boards, to the acid solution. The metal will begin to fizz and give off an invisible or slightly brown fume. You can cover the container, but do not seal it tightly because you don't want a built up of gas pressure. You can speed up the process by heating your solution, but this creates added hazard- hot acid fumes more rapidly and is more corrosive. At room temperature, dissolving time is usually between 1 hour and 2 hours. Check the boards to make sure all the gold has been removed and dissolved into the aqua regia acid.
Remove the basket from the acid, taking care not to drip acid anywhere. The aqua regia is not used up yet, so you can use the same acid to dissolve the gold off more boards. You can continue to use this acid, several times, to dissolve the metal off additional boards until it is no longer effective. The acidy boards should be rinsed (with water) in another bucket. Any brown particles are likely to be gold and should be recovered and put into a future refining bath. If you believe that some solid bits have fallen into the solution during dissolving, then (after the acid is no longer effective in dissolving any more metal), you should pour the solution into a different bucket, leaving the solids behind. Any solids left in the solution will contaminate the pure gold you are about to precipitate.

Adjusting the pH & Precipitating the pure gold:
When the aqua regia is no longer effective (no longer dissolves the gold on the boards), it is time to recover the pure gold from the solution.
The acid will be a dark, emerald green color and should be clear, like Coca Cola, not murky or muddy looking (nothing floating inside the dark waters). If the acid is murky, it may contain particles and should be decanted into another bucket or it should be filtered.
Now add a pinch of urea to the dark acid solution. If it fizzes, add additional urea until it no longer fizzes. When there is no longer any fizzing, add 11 tablespoons of Storm Precipitant for every ounce of dissolved metal (dissolved metal content, not just dissolved gold content). Measure out and add the precipitant all at the same time. Immediately, the acid will change to a muddy brown appearance as brown particles of gold form in the acid. This brown "mud" is, despite its appearance, pure gold. If you want to speed the precipitation process, you can add the precipitant to very hot water before adding to the acid. This technique will precipitate the gold in only about 5 minutes (30-120 minutes is normal when not using this technique), but be aware that hot precipitant has a very strong, pungent odor.
Once precipitation is complete, test the acid for the presence of dissolved gold with Precious Metal Detection Liquid.

Testing to make sure no dissolved gold is discarded:
Precious metal detection liquid will detect the presence of dissolved gold, down to 4 parts of gold per million parts of acid, detecting the presence of about 1/1,000th of 1 gram of dissolved gold. Testing for the presence of dissolved gold is absolutely necessary to insure that no dissolved gold is thrown away with the waste acid.
To test, first immerse the end of the stirring rod in the acid. Remove it and touch that end to a paper towel to make a wet spot. Put a drop of gold detection liquid on the wet spot on the paper towel. If any gold is still dissolved in the acid, the wet spot will turn a purple-black or a purple-brown. If you see this color change then give the precipitant more time to work and/or add more precipitant.

Rinsing the pure gold:
The acid should now be a clear, amber or a green color with a brown mud at the bottom. Pour off the acid into another container. If you have a filter, you can use it. Do not pour off any of the mud. The mud is pure gold.
When all the acid is poured off, add tap water to the mud. Stir and let the mud settle. Pour off the water into the container with the acid. If you have a filter, you can use it. Do not pour off any particles of brown. Repeat this rinsing 3-4 times or more.

Testing to insure purity:
Test with aqua ammonia to insure high purity of your gold. Place a drop of aqua ammonia test liquid on the wet gold mud. If you see any change in color to blue, even a very pale blue, rinse and test again.
Give the mud a last rinse, this time with distilled water.

Drying and melting:
Rinse the mud into a beaker [beakers on eBay or Amazon [affil links] that is made to be heated or into glass coffee pot. Put the beaker or pot on a hot plate to dry the mud. Do not preheat the hot plate or thermal shock may cause the beaker to break.

Melt the dried mud (now a powder). If using a torch, first wrap the powder in tissue paper and then soak that in alcohol. Also, use a Burno crucible. This will keep your gold from being blown away by the gas pressure from the torch. The gold will again take on the appearance of metal. If you've followed the instructions carefully, the gold will be 99.95% pure with virtually no losses.

Mark Prinzing
- Bend, Oregon

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June , 2008

Hi, Mark. I appreciate your highly detailed response and I'm sure many of the readers do as well. But nobody should get a pass :-)

The statement that you'll get ten times as much by refining the gold yourself as from a refinery sounds exaggerated. Yes, you could latch up with a questionable refinery, but many times a careful assay is done that says exactly how much gold is in the product and you can clearly see what they are offering to pay per ounce, and it's a lot more than ten percent.

You tell readers to cut the tabs off circuit boards, break open the chips with a hammer in search of gold, and 'discard' the rest. This affirms the claim of so many environmental organizations that amateur recycling is a wrecking ball that scatters toxic waste everywhere.

Finally, these instructions sound applicable only to your own electronics that you may happen to have on hand; because if you buy e-waste, refine it, and sell the metal you are engaging in a regulated business which requires a host of permits and close monitoring by the regulatory authorities.

Thanks again for the great detail!

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Can somebody tell me if the older computer monitors more gold and other metals than the CPU? I have been ripping apart computer monitors, (understand the lead aspect...doing it safe), and been noticing these circuit boards are huge with little black platinum chips..........I guess anything on the difference of monitors and CPU would be great.

Elroy Kauffman
- Fort Carson, Colorado
July 12, 2008

Well after reading all of that mmmm! I've got about a Kg of fingers that I wanted to get the gold out of, but to get hold of all the chemicals is a mission. So can I sell it anyway and what about the actual boards with all the resistors do people buy that to? or is there any money to be made out of this stuff? And to all those out there DANGER. FROM READING THIS PAGE IT SHOULD BE CLEAR...

Jason davis
- durban south Africa
August 21, 2008

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Dear ted mooney,
If everyone listened to people like you we would never have successful entrepreneurs. Sounds like you don't want to let the secrets out. Give these people more credit than what you are. Everyone came on this site to get information not to be scolded about "chemicals", proper training, and a bunch of other crap.
sincerely

Scott c. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Jennings, Louisiana
September 20, 2008

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Hi, Scott. No, not everyone came to this site already knowing that recovery of metals from e-waste can be dangerous and an environmental problem. Some came here open-minded, having perhaps a loosely formed idea that it might be an interesting hobby or good business, and wanting to hear all sides before deciding whether to go further. They've heard my side and they've heard a lot of other sides. You can tell them your side in detail as long as you cease the slurs, flaming, and ad hominem attacks. BTW, I've been a self-employed entrepreneur for 40 years now.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
September 21, 2008

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I will say this that I worked for years for a company that dealt in used computer and data equip, I would make a weekly trip to Con ED in NYC to pick up their old equip then haul it to Long Island to be dumped in a container for China to be reclaimed. Due to the hazardous nature of this stuff the only place was china to ship to. I have hauled tons of circuit boards to FL for gold extraction then hauled the remains to a shipper for transport to China. This gold salvage is dangerous why not do copper, aluminum etc.

James Ganley
- Cushing, Wisconsin
September 21, 2008

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hey gold miners guess what if you just burn all the parts you have down to ash then wala
you have ash and steel and copper and GOLD but the steel and other metals are lighter than gold so if you heated your melting pot to the temp it takes to melt gold then take everything out and pan out the gold you can make a simple furnace out of a coffee can some charcoal and 1-2 lbs of air pressure put a hole in the can at the bottom of the can so you can add steady air into the charcoal and add the charcoal around your crucible then put a lid on the crucible set two red bricks on top of the can to cover it, add dirt to cover the whole burning can and bricks let it burn and get hot with 1 lb of air blowing into the can
Let 'er burn for about and hour then shut her down everything is by the way very very hot be careful don't get burnt wear gloves now uncover her and look you have all the metal melted
you have ash,pins,silver,platinum,gold,now what you need to do is smash it all down real fine
then pan out the heavy metals in a gold pan this will separate the steel from the heavies
then you can put the whole thing under water to clean it then you need to fire her back up and melt the gold all together I got 3.3 grams the first time and I SOLD IT TO A JEWELRY STORE AND LOOK DUDES NO CHEMICALS WERE USED AND I GOT A CLEAN BURN.....

JERRY Buckotz
hobbyist - OIL CITY, Pennsylvania
October 14, 2008

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I have dissolved some scrap/ raw material in aqua regia; now please guide me on how to get back gold and silver from aqua regia. please give me formula.
thanks to u.

Ghulam MURTAZA
scrap - Lahore, Pakistan
October 26, 2008

I recently learned of a fella in Colorado who has discovered a safe way of gold recovery and they have been working on refining the process since April 2008. Search "Amalgamite". Very interesting. I have yet to try it. Came by here in search of what electronic parts might be worthy of salvage. Thank you.

Charlie Little
- Mansfield, Arkansas
November 10, 2008

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November 18, 2008

Dear Mr Panjala Mukesh,
I would like to know more about gold plating system. What kind of chemical is used to remove gold from electronic part and how to mix this chemical For a liter of chemical to mix how many gram of NaOH,SMNBS and potassium cyanide powder is needed. Thank you in advance for your information.

Regards,
Kash

Prakash Sankaranarayanan
- GEORGE TOWN, PENANG

I have been dissolving gold plate in mercury from computer contacts and pins for 6 months in a soft sealed glass container...I now have a fair bit of amalgam that I have thought to gravity strain thru coffee filters in the same glass apparatus...any thoughts and any ideas who might save me the time of processing 40-50 lbs of sister boards, memory stix and processor chips?

Alan patruse
- Edison, New Jersey
December 26, 2008

Amalgamite process is just bismuth; it will work to get PM's but they all will be together and require further processing. Remember if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. For plated items a sulfuric cell is probably best, for stuff on printed circuit boards side cutters and a band saw to get rid of most of the unwanted material,then an AP bath, a mix of HCl and 3% hydrogen peroxide ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and a fish tank bubbler,but please do not try this stuff without the proper equipment. and if you use the amalgamate thing please don't do it on the kitchen stove like they say you can. PCB's contain resins and other things that when burned could kill you. unless you have tons of material to work with(computer stuff) karat gold is another matter. your best to dump it on eBay you will usually get more than it's worth anyway and save yourself a headache.

Fan Kemmit
- Minot, North Dakota
January 5, 2009

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Well people, you have been taken. There is a lot of information on this site, some is good but incomplete, some is just plain BS, and the rest is questionable. You are being blinded with too much information so that you can not sort out what is pertinent from what is not. What this amounts to is that no one wants you to try this, they want to buy your scrap for half of what it's worth and process it themselves. There are many different methods outlined here, some are simple, some are not. If you are going to try this read everything you can find, pick the simplest least toxic method and do only small batches. I have a degree in Chemistry, and can tell you that some of this will work, I was here because I have a small amount of E-trash that I wanted to mine for gold to use in a home smelting operation (your not supposed to do that either). From what I have read here I'll be sending my E-trash to the dump, it's just not worth it. If you decide to go ahead, be very very careful, in my opinion, of all the outlined methods the copper removal method is probably best for home refiners. copper sulphate ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] is available in drug stores and in farm supply stores, it is used as a fungicide in vineyards, and to limit algae growth in ponds. Sulfuric acid is available as battery acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] in automotive parts stores and as acid drain cleaner ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] in home improvement stores, be careful and remember never pore water into acid, always pore the acid into the water. The person posting this method left out some details, use a low voltage power supply to remove the copper. A battery charger might work but the power supply from one of the computers your trashing could work. Use a voltage meter to determine which leads are which. You will want the 6 volt leads. Again I haven't tried this, I am expounding on a method listed previously on this site, and adding missing details. This method is described as a copper refining method in the book, "Modern Welding, copyright 2000," and should produce little toxic waste since all components are reusable.

Vern McNew
- Cleveland, Arkansas
February 3, 2009

I want to thank Mr. Alcorn for his response. It was exactly what I needed. I have no desire to get myself killed playing with chemicals and electricity, but was trying to figure out how much I could make per board. I have a good mix of low-grade and very high-grade (audio boards with gold-plated connectors) boards, but did not know what to expect money-wise. The only other thing I need to figure out is if there are buyers out there for less than a ton of scrap. I currently have about 2 large boxes to dispose of. Thanks again!

Ralph A.
- Dayton, Ohio
February 8, 2009

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Hello, Panjala Mukesh.

Are you aware of any companies in India, that will extract gold and other metals from scrapped computer chips, wafers and PCB boards?

Mukesh Bhai
Buyer - Navsari, Gujrat India (also US)
March 3, 2009

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April 7, 2009

I came to this site for information. A curiosity.

There are people in other countries wanting information on how to reclaim gold. Some on here say it's not worth the risk and effort to make a .40 cent profit, but in some of these countries a .40 cent profit is a good days wage which means you may be able to feed your family one more day.

Others come here thinking they're going to get rich quick. That's highly unlikely. Myself, I'm Disabled and if I can make a few bucks that's great. Especially if it keeps all this stuff out of the dump and get's it recycled.

Some say take it to a recycling point and sell it. It's not worth the risk. The response is they are all crooks and only pay them half what it's worth. How about I bring you scrap electronics that I think has a $1,000 dollars of gold in it and I demand you pay me what it's worth. Then you have to salvage and process this mess with all the risk and now you have a $1,000 dollars worth of gold to sell. All the expense, risk, plus all the other costs including getting rid of the waste product witch you will have to pay for out of pocket. What, You don't want to be the buyer anymore. Also, if I'm the buyer and you come in with a small quantity of stuff, at $20.00 bucks an hour for wage and benefits I've already lost money on the deal, So sure someone with a semi trailer load is going to get the better deal. There's money in the volume. After reading these comments here and learning more about the process I would be glad to get 10% of it's value for what I have laying around knowing it's not being dumped. Unfortunately, in my area you're not allowed to send it to the dump and the alternative is to pay a fee to dispose of it. Like $5 to $10 dollars just for the computer monitor.

Having been to this site I'll be glad just to find a place that would take it off my hands. I also know Quite a few people who have 2 to 4 computers piled in corners that are perfectly good and functional who hate to get rid of them because they do work. Problem is the their way out of date and way to slow and no one wants them. Most can't even be used on the web because they can't be upgrade to function with most web sites. To Slow For The New Software & To Little Memory That Can't Be Upgraded.

What would be a better alternative would be to have a small surcharge to cover reclaim and processing of all the materials involved so none of this stuff has to go to the dump. Also maybe a small $5 deposit so when it's taken to a recycling center you get your deposit back and for those who don't want to bother taking it to the recycler then I'm sure someone else would for the $5 bucks. Unless your the person who thinks he's getting ripped off and wants the $5 dollars back from the person who took it there for you. I'm sure he'll be willing to help you out next time. LOL...

Dave

Dave Burton
Hobby - Bushnell, Illinois

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The amount of info here is awesome. I wanted to give some of you who just want to get rid of this stuff, but actually have to pay to recycle it an alternative. I work for a major electronics retailer, two word name, and we did not go bankrupt... We offer free electronics recycling, or if a fee is required, we give it back as a gift card. We also have kiosks in every store to recycle batteries, ink cartridges and cell phones. You can also trade in those phones for gift cards on our web site as well.

I have the gold bug... It is infectious. I also am the only child of a chemist. If you think you are doing this safely, you are fooling yourself. Heavy metal poisoning is a TERRIBLE way to die. And those brown fumes one posting describes... they dissipate, but don't disappear. None of this backyard reclamation stuff does. The laws aren't there to keep the small guy down. They are there to keep my kids from getting poisoned by a neighbor. No one wants a meth lab next door to them, and most of what's described here is only less hazardous because the chemist isn't armed. Sell the e-scrap if you have large amounts of boards, etc. to a reputable refiner. Everyone has the cost/benefit screwed up here. Take the money you get and buy Gold Eagles, or maple leafs, or Krugerrands or what ever. That's a safe way to turn this into real gold you can trade on.

clifford vorrier
- Valparaiso, Indiana USA
April 16, 2009

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May 29, 2009

Mr. Mooney, I agree with Scott from Jennings, Louisiana. And, I now see that you and your company are sponsoring this forum, which explains a lot. We have now all read your warnings about chemistry possibly being dangerous. It, like many other things in life, such as electricity, both deserve and demand "respect". Moreover, knowledgeable recyclers were not born as such. They somewhere along the way learned to ply a trade, which your readers are trying to do. Can you blame them ? So, one, can you now cease with the preaching about the dangers of chemistry since you have now more than over-stated your point(s) ? Two, people have come to this site hoping to find information to help them achieve their goals. However, I agree with Scott, you are either obviously withholding the answers; otherwise, it would appear you don't know them in the first place.
So, what are you fishing for by sponsoring this site ?

Now for my story. I have been trying for somewhat over a year to develop both a working chemical process AND the mechanical processing of both handling and filtering these leaching solutions. When I say "develop" in terms of the chemistry, that basically means trial-and-error experimentation with both the leaching and precipitation techniques that permeate the Internet as well as many books on the subject that do exist out there. One of the things I have learned is that apparently any given technique may or may not work depending on a slew of variables. For example, I have mechanically gleaned the computer PCB's from over 300 computers, disk drives, connectors, etc., etc, and have stripped many components from them such as aluminum heat sinks, fans, batteries, etc. (So, there is NO question that quite a bit of gold is involved.) Like many folks, I use a pre-bath of dilute nitric acid to get many of the base metals out of the picture (including silver and palladium, both of which are totally soluble in nitric acid). I do two other baths which will get rid of the tin paste (metastannic acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ) and as much iron
as possible. (I regard the first of these two baths, one of which I discovered in my own experiments, as my trade secret.) I then use a dilute formula of aqua regia. I then tried using urea to kill the nitric acid oxidation potential (ORP). Then, I used sodium bisulfite to attempt the precipitation. Two (one-gallon) attempts failed. What I now suspect is that either (1) urea does NOT do what many people claim it does, or (2) the involvement of at least 12 metals and other compounds in e-scrap has altered and complicated that issue. Plus, another interesting thing can be found in the book, "Recovery and Refining of Precious Metals" by C.W. Ammen. I have both editions of his book, one of which is quite recent. Actually, what IS interesting IS that NO reference to UREA even exists in either of his books ANYWHERE. Could it be that he knows of what he DOES NOT speak ? Now, I estimate that I have somewhere between 50 to 100 ounces of gold sitting in my 50 gallons of aqua regia. One thought that I have had is that maybe the a/r is still not loaded enough. (Something akin to "critical mass" when one discusses nuclear technology?). Also, full-strength aqua regia is reputed (by Walter Lashley of A.S.A.T. a well-respected organization in Silver City, NM) to hold about 12.5 ounces of gold per gallon. The next thing that I am going to try is Sulfur Dioxide (a very toxic gas) as the precipitator. Mr. Mooney, I will join you (in part) about cautioning your contributors to this forum and it's other readers about chemicals. Folks, please have the proper "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" for the chemicals you use and how you use them. Use the proper rubber gloves ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , respirators, eye protection goggles ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , and even chemical protective suits. But, I will also say that life is a gamble. But, with caution and good judgment, you can reduce it to a mere calculated risk. And, if you want to go for the gold, GO FOR IT !

Mr. Mooney, please note that I am NOT asking you for guidance, advice, recommendations, or anything else. I, too, started reading this forum looking for some answers.
However, I now know I will not find them here. If it takes more experimentation, then so be it. One of my aunts used to say, "Face Facts Fairly". Mr. Mooney, you are not telling anyone anything. And, many of the responders are even loaded with hot air, BS, baloney, and misinformation. And, UNLIKE Mr. Ammen, they DO speak of what they DO NOT know. However, let me add that Scott from La. neither slurred nor attacked you. He spoke the truth. If your fat and fragile ego can't either take a little honest criticism or face facts fairly, then may I suggest that you grow up.

Bruce Howard
- Raleigh, North Carolina

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As for me not knowing certain answers, well, Duhhh! -- I curate a 60,000-thread public forum and don't claim to know the answers to every possible topic. But we've printed every submittal we've received on this thread, so if you don't see certain info, it's because no reader has yet provided it, not because we're withholding it.

You didn't see Scott's actual posting, you see it with words left out -- not because of a fragile ego, but because this is a "G" rated site, visited by thousands of elementary school children every day, who don't need to see vulgarities. Ad hominem slurs lead only to an endless waste of time like your posting and this response. Ad hominems interrupt the discussion and spoil a site, and I don't know how you can possibly be reading this thread and not realize the time that everybody is forced to waste because of them. Please take your arguing to Facebook or anywhere else.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
May 29, 2009

Bruce, you wonder what I am "fishing for". You can't judge the forest from a single tree. This thread is but one of 60,000 on this site, and I've already said that this thread is only peripherally related to the theme of my site, i.e., metal finishing. This website is my only business, so the continuing allusions to the vested interests of my company are truly getting silly.

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June 2, 2009

is the gold on the boards/discs that I have real gold? The round discs that I have seam to what appears to be gold. I have bean able to peel the strips off fairly easily. There also is a band or ring of pins in the center of the disc. Is there any way to tell by research perhaps on this particular board by the name brand or manufacturer(that also appears to be gold as well)"TRILLIUM, Made in USA 1988". assembly numbers and or serial"(S/N)"numbers,etc. I believe they were some kind of laser control boards.

Yaminah Underwood
hobbyist - Watsonville, California

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bonami, as it will form a glass layer around gold button and will help remove some impurities,if you wish to brighten it add gold to HCl for approx. 15 min, neutralise with baking soda [in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , wash and collect gold, you can then melt by using a crucible and Borax, add approx. 1" of Borax to bottom of crucible, make a depression, add gold foil, add another 1" layer of Borax to top and melt, Borax will help remove impurities, Note not all gold foil is the same quality, this method will only recover gold in it current state; e.g., - 8K, 12K etc.., if you want 24K gold you will need to process further using Aqua regia, hope this helps.

Rhangy D Smith
- Brisbane, QLD, Australia
July 5, 2009

Hi, to remove gold from copper backed fingers simply remove the copper backed gold and dissolve the copper in ferric chloride ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , let solution work for approx. and 1 hr, discard and repeat for an extra 1/2 hr, there will be some fiberglass left as well as gold, do not worry it will help when melting with

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July 17, 2009

SAFER THAN NITRIC ACID. I was digging around for a SAFER way to dissolve Gold with an acid mixed with hydrochloric acid instead of using nitric acid, well I found something that works. It is called SUBZERO, its a substitute for nitric acid and is much safer.
SUBZERO: This material is pH neutral and is only a substitute for nitric when added to hydrochloric or muriatic acid.
This is cool to know and I hope it helps others, but you have to dig around on the internet for SUBZERO and see who sells it. I think I got 10 lbs for 100 bucks and the shipping was extra, but hey, this is awesome stuff and it works for me. Hope any of this helps you too.
Be safe and good luck, there is gold out there.

Joe Smithers
- Chico, California

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July 22, 2009

Like many others before myself, I have found this thread seeking answers to extracting precious metals (particularly gold, of course) from electronics scrap. I have a 4.5 pound cigar box filled with what appears to be mil-spec, gold filled and plated nickel wire clippings from transistors and other devices after being soldered in. Some of it consists of the complete transistors. It is separated into various plastic boxes and tubes and one has a date of 1966. A conservative guess is that half of the weight (about 2.3 pounds) is nothing but gold filled and plated nickel. All of the boxes and tubes have markings such as: .030 Ni Au/F, T.S.=55 lbs; .028 Ni Au/P, P.T. 44.0 lbs; .032 Ni Au/F, T.S.>65 lbs; .020 Du Au/P, T.S.=25.7 lbs; and .017 Ko Au/P, P.T. 21.0 lbs. Obviously, the numbers such as .032 and .017 indicate the thickness of the gold plating. After reading this entire thread, I have come to the conclusions that

1. there are people out there who have successfully been able to extract and/or refine much lower gold densities out of much higher volumes of base materials;
2. I don't trust professional refiners, and anyway, the quantity of stuff I have isn't worth their time or effort;
3. there are providers of kits, supplies and information; and
4. I am responsible and able to respect and recognize the dangers involved should I undertake this process myself.

Michael Dietz
- Peralta, New Mexico

a few drops of common bleach ⇦ bleach/sodium hypochlorite in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and hydrochloric acid will create chlorine gas, which dissolves gold. You would need to do this in a vial. You would also need to dissolve and remove the iron, copper that the gold plate over. I have already done this on a few CPU's. I had to pull with pliers every pin off the CPU's, and much was still left on them! I don't think this type of thing is a big of a hype as you'd think, unless you have loads of CPU's and free time.

Steven Acocella
- Alabama
August 5, 2009

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September 4, 2009

hi guys, one good way of helping to know what is going to the smelter. If it is at least 10k, buy the little gold test bottles ranging from 10k-24k.. you can make your own, but stick with the store bought stuff if you are new.. make sure you button you have is homogeneous and usually take a couple tests on different sides.. Last help I wanna give ya with E-scrap, you are working with materials that are a fraction of 1 percent gold.. Acid seems to be the easy way to do it, but there are chemicals designed for fractions of a percent.. Most, you can recycle your water and reduce your waste stream.. I agree cyanide is very toxic, but check the carcinogens in the chemicals you are currently working with..
If you really want to get gold out of scraps, find someone who is willing to teach you how to do it.. There is something to say about actually seeing it done over taking a book's or someone's "how to". Second, start with good equipment.. third, gold brings out the evil in men.. I lost more money in trusting people doing this.. "Learn from people, don't trust them"..
Acid works, but leeching is the way to go. To do this takes equipment and training.. I'm not saying to not do it, but see a process working before you try it..

Also saw a guy wanted to use subzero with HCl.. also try, Sodium or Potassium Nitrate with HCl.. you can also use bleach or peroxide with HCl... In the long run just go out and buy a barrel of Nitric Acid.. It's a lot cheaper in the end.. good luck..

James dinsdale
- Alamo, New Mexico

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September 28, 2009

To Whom it may concern

I have been gathering old jewelry that has mainly tin and gold in it. I am not a chemist and I would like to separate the tin from the gold? Can someone please help me in doing this as I believe there is enough gold present to make it worth while.

Thank you

Jerome Jaster
hobbyist - Bangkok, Thailand

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December 1, 2009

re: "One computer contains approx. $1.20 in precious metals and it cost approx. .80 cents to retrieve it"

I don't think so.

Many of us have, over the years, had electronics pieces in our hands that have reached 'worthless' value, except for the bright shiny bits of gold any fool can see here and there.

Considering original cost, one would assume CPUs have the greatest potential for precious metal content - they cost more than anything else found in most devices. I have 486 CPUs I paid $1,200 and $1,345 for - JUST THE CHIPs.

Given the small number of manufacturers of CPUs, one would think that by now, SOMEBODY would have posted a list of parts giving their approximate gold content. That's all I want - to find out what these parts are really worth - assuming all the gold could be recovered.

For each generation of chips, millions were made. So knowing how much gold is in each isn't rocket science, or even trial and error or 'assay'. For a given type, they're all gonna be the same. It's far easier to just 'look them up' than to refine over and over to find the same result. And refiners don't just do one chip - they like to do hundreds of pounds at a time - and that will be assorted scrap. Whatever it takes to get a pot full.

So back to the beginning - the CPU is the most valuable piece in there. How much gold is in them? They obviously aren't all the same, so there is no 'average' that means anything. The amount of gold seems to vary by anywhere from ten to fifty times.

And, Mr Mooney, might an external link to such a list be allowed?

Bill in Kansas

Bill Hemmings
- Hutchinson, Kansas

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Hello my name is Don I have some gold from computer board but to make a long story short I ended up with some white sludge in with my gold what can take this away?

Don Dunlap
gold issue - Evansville, Indiana
December 31, 2009

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I was in the refining business for years and the only way to reclaim almost all of the gold from scrap electronics is not safe or for amateurs. I bought the clipped ends of boards where the electroplating was and used sodium cyanide (yea, the gas chamber stuff). The ends were placed in a vat of cyanide and the cyanide was heated. The cyanide causes the gold to go into ion form (in suspension). The formerly plated clips are removed. The cycle is completed by pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pot which produces copious fuming of deadly cyanide gas. but it also causes the gold to fall out in a solid form to the bottom of the pot, which is recovered by using a vacuum filter and then melting the gold. The gold should be .9994 at this time. I recommend that you do not try this at home. It is dangerous and deadly.

I have written about the cyanide extraction method which I don't recommend. Another more time consuming but safer method is to extract the gold by using aqua-regia acid. place the material in the solution and let it dissolve. Neutralize the nitric with a suitable agent (read up on this). The gold is now in suspension (ion form) with the copper and other metals dissolved by the solution. Bubble SO2 gas through the solution and the gold should fall out as a brown mud-like dust. Run it through a vacuum filter to catch it. Melt it and pour and it should be about .9994 fine. Melt this again( I would pour the hot gold into a tall metal tube of water being stirred by an electric drill paint mixer. The result is pellets that are easier to dissolve.) in aqua-regia and repeat the neutralization and SO2 treatment. Melt the resulting gold mud again and the gold should be .9999 fine.

ken retherford
- Alabaster, Alabama
January 3, 2010

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January 7, 2010

For my own educational research, I'd like to know any non cyanide based methods on ways to recover copper, gold, and silver from PCBs and other electronics. I'm not personally making an attempt, no backyard recycling is being done here-just curious about the chemical process and requirements.
How is it done?! :) any information is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Kristen Branch
- Dallas, Texas

Ed. note: It's a long thread, and confusing to those who don't understand it, Kristen, but your question has been answered repeatedly already, including in the entry from Ken R immediately above yours. Good luck.

I myself own a recycling company and we deal directly in scrap computers. I think the thing that most people need to do when thinking about refining them selves is to actually go and look at what a large refiner has. there are certain components in a computer that will be easier to refine, processors, fingers pins, etc. The truth is though, I make my living off buying and selling scrap computers and boards. There is money but you just gotta know what to do with it. Oh also, the more boards you have the more money you are going to get.

Zack Morris
- St. Louis Missouri
January 28, 2010

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Do not try to recover gold until you have learned cover to cover the book written by Hoke, 1940s or so [Refining Precious Metal Wastes ⇦ on eBay or AbeBooks or Amazon [affil links] ]. This is a complete guide to PM recovery also try a website called www.goldrefiningforum.com/ best place on the web to find out how gold is refined along with other PMs, most of the people have tried and tested Hoke's instructions and actually do refine gold for a living or hobby. As for gold amount, I removed gold connectors from a video card and only got around .1 grams of gold/copper fingers, so a Troy ounce will take a few video cards to make.

Other examples 600 grams of RAM fingers turned into 3 grams of pure gold, yields are getting smaller with newer cards and RAM.

Mark Klaus
- Melbourne, Australia
February 10, 2010

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April 7, 2010

Okay people I've been through this all before. If you want to do anything you need to have chemistry know how.
It cost about 2,000 for start up and here is why

Chemical Safety:
Spill Control Station
Chemical Detection (Gases)
Splash guard gloves
Goggles
Splash guard shield
Gas mask
And full hazmat suit

Chemicals and equipment:
Hydrochloric acid
Subzero
Storm pre
All types of glassware
Stands and clamps
Burners and tubes
Counter top protectors
Tongs
And stands
urea

Metal melting:
A good furnace
High temperature Gloves

All this will run you around 2,000 for start up.

Gold is going for 1.1k an oz...

Please note... this is not to be taken lightly at all. If you're looking for a quick and easy money, no. This is a business not a thing to make money on the side. And treat it as which. Store all your chemicals at eye level and make sure you have fans running, gasses outside, and if you really don't want to pump outside, you can, if chlorine gas is being put off, bubble it through water and it will be absorbed into it.

Michael Meyer
- United States, Indiana

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SIR, I NEED PROCESS TO REMOVE GOLD PLATED ON SINGLE AND DOUBLE EDGED CONNECTORS WHICH IS USED IN RELAYS AND PCB BOARDS AND ALSO PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH IS THE EXPECTED QUANTITY OF GOLD WHICH WOULD EXTRACT FROM IT.

ASHISH DHARIWAL
scrap merchant - CHENNAI, TAMILNADU, INDIA
April 15, 2010

Reading this thread for several months now, I have come to realize that many people think this is an easy job, and all you have to do is mix a few chemicals together and "bam" you're rich... I own a retail computer store in the front, and process about 4 ton of e-waste a month in the back...

I sell the scrap metal at .05c a pound, the aluminum at .55c a pound, the copper at 2.20 a pound, the mixed copper and aluminum at 1.10 a pound, the plastic at .20c a pound, the high grade PCB's at 2.00 a pound, the low grade at .50c a pound, the memory modules at 4.00 a pound and I keep the cpu's for myself and refine using the acid method in my garage.

I spent 10,000 on equipment, and pay 500 a week in labor just to retrieve the waste... then another grand at home to process the cpu's... I get about an ounce a month on the cpu's...

all in all, my initial investment was recouped in 2 months, and see a net return of 6 grand a month from processing e-waste, and only refine the cpu's...

forgot to mention, it cost another grand for a chemist to teach you for a week to do it correctly..

my advise? be a middle man and just move the waste to brokers... you'll make more and cost you less, and you don't have to worry about death or explosions...

Jason Gregg
- Wichita, Kansas
July 28, 2010

I am using the sub zero method to dissolve gold from electronic scrap. I separate all the different metal types and dissolve the gold plated parts. after I rise and have no evidence of impurities, no blue color on rinsed mud; I dry and melt the brown mud with a torch. My problem is every batch I melt, the mud turns into a heavy black glass with tiny bubbles of gold in it. what am I doing wrong and how can I fix it.

Mark Robertson
hobbyist - bronson, Michigan
September 3, 2010

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October 11, 2010

You list out those nasty chemicals in the fumes that MUST be vented to protect YOUR health. Have you figured out where those nasty fumes go once they are outside your building? It's called pollution! And that affects MY health.

For anyone else trying to process electronics down to the gold, I would repeat a phrase I have heard about investing in the stock market. "Bulls make money, Bears make money but Pigs get slaughtered!" That is if you are trying to squeeze every last cent from an investment chances are you will end up lossing money.

Collect your electronics. Break them apart to get the PC boards. Then SELL the boards to someone who knows what they are doing and is fully regulated. Take a little profit and save your life.

Dean Sheldon
- St. Paul, Minnesota USA

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