Anyone tried getting gold from electronic components?

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tehgerbil

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#252773 11-Jul-2019 08:13

As IT workers, many of us have access to electronic components containing AU, has anyone actually tried to recycle the gold/other components?

Seen a few Youtube videos and whilst it would be not be worth it in terms of return vs input it still looks like a lot of fun.

SATTV

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#2274429 11-Jul-2019 08:45

I have not done this but there was a rise in ewaste companies a few years ago when gold was US$1800-2000 per oz
I was actually thinking of this last night funnaly enough.
John

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wellygary

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#2274448 11-Jul-2019 09:37

last time I looked , pretty much all the methods used fairly nasty chemicals/acids..... make sure you have a safe place to dispose of these and the other resulting byproducts, ( and burying in the garden or sticking it in your regular rubbish does not count)

timmmay

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#2274450 11-Jul-2019 09:41

Oddly enough a guy I know a little did this about 20 years ago. He did say there was a lot of chemicals, and gold coatings were probably much thicker back then. My understanding is he stopped quite a while ago because it wasn't worthwhile any more.

darylblake

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#2274537 11-Jul-2019 11:19

Yes chemicals to do this are toxic. Unless the components are easy to extract, then you would be potentially putting yourself at risk. + what timmay said.... Not enough gold to make it worth while... :(

tehgerbil

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#2274604 11-Jul-2019 13:25

Hm... Ok, sounds like I need to collect parts for a long while then do it at once, and then eventually it'll either be future me's problem, or the missus will throw them away haha. Whatever comes first.\

Thanks guys for your fantastic input as always. :)

Bung

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#2274610 11-Jul-2019 13:48

In prehistoric times I worked with a guy who scavenged any u/s platinum or palladium contacts he could. I last saw 2 fairly full jars but never heard that he retired early or got rich. I did see somewhere that it was possible in the US to make money clipping the platinum off old spark plugs.

elpenguino

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#2274885 11-Jul-2019 22:47

Th coatings on connectors are thin and have got thinner over the years. To make it work, you need to work in bulk and concentrate on the high yielding parts.

Someone I know made some money from this type of thing but only by:

- getting the parts in bulk for cheap

- stripping the contacts out of their housings (using volunteer labour and making tooling to do so more quickly)

- getting the raw materials assayed to guarantee a price

Could be a fun science experiment type project though.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21