Reclaiming Gold from boards, chip and cables

**medal** · 08-19-2021, 06:05 AM

I've seen a number of different ways to remove gold from boards etc, but I'm going to try vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide, as it's all cheap and relatively safe. My question is, does it matter what the material is- plastic connectors with gold pins inside, chips, ribbon cable ends, gold fingers on boards? I've got about 6 different kinds, there's even gold in some kind of part attached to some carburetors, encased in plastic. I'd like to just chuck it all in together, but I've seen so many different methods including grinding everything up and heating it in furnace, boards, chips and all. Any advice?

**mikeinreco** · 08-19-2021, 06:08 AM

your best bet is to send boards in whole to reputable buyer........We have several here who pay pretty nice

**hills** · 08-20-2021, 04:43 AM

The reality is that the precious metals are there on the boards but only in very small quantities. The circuit boards need to be processed by the ton in order to make refining them worthwhile.

Experience is the best teacher so why don't you accumulate a ton of boards first ?

We can talk about refining after that's done. You'll need certain government permits and an investment of about a quarter million dollars to get yourself started in the refining game.

~ One step at a time.~

**jimicrk** · 08-20-2021, 04:49 AM

Someones been watching Moose on youtube.

**medal** · 08-20-2021, 05:44 AM

IDK, there are literally dozens, probably hundreds on YT doing it. One of the better ones (shows how to separate screens and remove ITO, among many other interesting projects): Robert Murray-Smith

**medal** · 08-20-2021, 05:55 AM

Thanks, but I think I'll go ahead with smaller quantities of boards, no government intervention, and the advice of those actually doing it. Not to be contentious, but I like to learn things, and know from experience that one can't count on industry or the government to do things for everyone. What happens when- not if, when- government and industry fail?

**IamTheGreatest** · 08-20-2021, 07:02 AM

Oh boy.. the sky is falling

When the gov't fails, we all fail.
Why don't people understand you can't eat gold? YOu might get one or 2 rounds of trading out of it... but it will sky rocket fast on proportions.

**medal** · 08-20-2021, 08:49 AM

Thousands of governments have failed, and yet there are still humans. We're the ones who who scrap, build, farm, hunt, gather, create art, everything. We, you and me. Real people, not abstract parties or institutions or ideals. When TX lost power, it wasn't the gov't that stepped up, it was neighbors.

**Smf-retired-user-0043** · 08-21-2021, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by medal

Thanks, but I think I'll go ahead with smaller quantities of boards, no government intervention, and the advice of those actually doing it. Not to be contentious, but I like to learn things, and know from experience that one can't count on industry or the government to do things for everyone. What happens when- not if, when- government and industry fail?

The gold refining forum is free and it's mostly about e-waste. Read the book first book below so your on the same page as the other forum members.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/

Refining Precious Metal Wastes C.M. Hoke, hubiC - OVH Testing Precious Metals C.M Hoke, hubiC - OVH

**aurum** · 09-11-2021, 12:41 PM

If you want to learn refining as a hobby, that is fine, but do not expect to make any money from it. You might get a few grams of gold with a ton of work and time invested.

If you want to make money with ewaste, then collect, dismantle and ship to a reputable buyer. That is what I have been doing now for 10 years, and it can be very profitable. In my opinion home refining is a waste of time, unless you only want it as a hobby.

I actually have a chemistry background and industry experience in this field, and I decided to refine absolutely nothing myself, financially it just does not make any sense.

The Gold Refining Forum is the place to go, if you want to learn about refining.

**SaraGranms** · 02-27-2024, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by medal

I've seen a number of different ways to remove gold from boards etc, but I'm going to try vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide, as it's all cheap and relatively safe. My question is, does it matter what the material is- plastic connectors with gold pins inside, chips, ribbon cable ends, gold fingers on boards? I've got about 6 different kinds, there's even gold in some kind of part attached to some carburetors, encased in plastic guide at awarefiners.co.uk. I'd like to just chuck it all in together, but I've seen so many different methods including grinding everything up and heating it in furnace, boards, chips and all. Any advice?

I am wondering why no one has tried to start a larger scale business to recycle used electronics, with a focus on metal separation and purification. On one hand you have small scale recyclers like yourselves (no disrespect at all, you guys are doing amazing things) and the informal recyclers in Guiyu, China and New Delhi, India and on the other hand you have the giant metal refineries like Umicore and Boliden. I am wondering why no one is trying to attack the middle. Some posters seem to have stated refining of e-scrap only works well at a large scale. Aren't the many small-scale recyclers globally a testament to this not being true? I'd appreciate it if people could explain to me their thoughts on this matter and why refining is seen as only being economical on a Billion Dollar Refinery level. Any thoughts on how we can deal with the global exponentially increasing supply of e-waste when only a small percentage of it is actually recycled and often the giant refineries can't get their hands on everything or are just breaking even?

**hills** · 02-27-2024, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by SaraGranms

I am wondering why no one has tried to start a larger scale business to recycle used electronics, with a focus on metal separation and purification. On one hand you have small scale recyclers like yourselves (no disrespect at all, you guys are doing amazing things) and the informal recyclers in Guiyu, China and New Delhi, India and on the other hand you have the giant metal refineries like Umicore and Boliden. I am wondering why no one is trying to attack the middle. Some posters seem to have stated refining of e-scrap only works well at a large scale. Aren't the many small-scale recyclers globally a testament to this not being true? I'd appreciate it if people could explain to me their thoughts on this matter and why refining is seen as only being economical on a Billion Dollar Refinery level. Any thoughts on how we can deal with the global exponentially increasing supply of e-waste when only a small percentage of it is actually recycled and often the giant refineries can't get their hands on everything or are just breaking even?

This is a hard post to respond to Sara. The e-waste thing is a steep learning curve. Certain understandings only come along after you've done it for awhile.

The standing policy here has traditionally been that we don't talk about refining in this place. It's because the scrapper's job is to collect and dismantle. The refiner's job is to refine. They are completely different things from one another.

There are quite a few lethal hazards involved in refining. Some will kill you outright. Others will provide you the opportunity for a long slow lingering death that will take years to complete itself. The job risks are manageable for someone with an advanced college degree in chemistry and the right equipment. The vast majority of scrappers i know in real life are barely literate. So ... job safety is one very important aspect of this.

Another pivotal aspect comes down to the skill of the refiner. Not all refiners are the same. It's only a very relative few that can achieve recovery in excess of 80%. Many hobbyist refiners recover less than 15%. It's no mean feat to complete a step by step set of chemical process that take you from raw circuit board to a chemically pure metal. Many attempt to refine but only get two or three steps along before they stall out and fail to complete the process.

These poor uneducated people in third world nations doing refining work ? It doesn't take a genius to figure out what that's all about. Poor wretched souls working for less than a dollar a day that will die of heavy metals poisoning in ten or fifteen years.

**Bear** · 02-28-2024, 05:57 PM

[QUOTE=SaraGranms;322998]I am wondering why no one has tried to start a larger scale business to recycle used electronics, with a focus on metal separation and purification.

You could do much better, here included, by stopping your first sentence two words shorter, and stand a chance to gain a great deal of ground. Fact is refining is not something a small time(anything under 50 million) start-up is very well tuned to

**SaraGranms** · 05-03-2024, 06:21 AM

Originally Posted by medal

I've seen a number of different ways to remove gold from boards etc, but I'm going to try vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide, as it's all cheap and relatively safe. My question is, does it matter what the material is- plastic connectors with gold pins inside, chips, ribbon cable ends, gold fingers on boards? I've got about 6 different kinds, there's even gold in some kind of part attached to some carburetors Learn more, encased in plastic. I'd like to just chuck it all in together, but I've seen so many different methods including grinding everything up and heating it in furnace, boards, chips and all. Any advice?

Yes, you can use vinegar, salt, and hydrogen peroxide to remove gold from various materials like plastic connectors, chips, ribbon cable ends, and gold fingers on boards. However, it's important to be cautious and consider the composition of the materials. It's advisable to separate different components before treating them to avoid unintended reactions and damage. Researching and understanding the properties of each material beforehand can help ensure a successful gold recovery process.

**PhilosoScrapper** · 09-24-2025, 10:33 PM

Clearly not a lot of activity in this section of the forum, so I'm responding to old threads. Mount Baker Mining and Metals llc, Jason has a lot of videos promoting the development of mid-sized ewaste recycling businesses, mostly so he can sell equipment, I'm sure. But I have taken up the challenge.

I have been working on securing sources of ewaste, scrapping it out, and stock-piling the PM bearing material. As I have been doing that I have been learning/practicing refining techniques, and developing a workable business plan for a small to medium scale ewaste recycling/refining operation.

It is hard work, and it has taken me years to get to where I am, with almost no precious metals to show for it. But I am zeroing in on workable/safe processes and learning/practicing the various hydro/pyro/electro refining processes. I realize this isn't the forum for refining, just bringing it up in context, but I'm happy to discuss it generally with anyone who wants to.

I would say a one man operation of this type is going to be out of reach for most people, probably myself included. But I'm giving it a go anyway. Having experience with scrap of all sorts, and formal education and experience in business and chemistry, the ability to research, read and understand the scientific literature for related studies, taken all together, I think will give me as good a chance as anyone.

I've gotten to where I have made online friends in the petrochemical field (from my research into pyrolysis with hopes of eventually integrating it into my processes), and have been able to carry on intelligent conversations regarding new research with them. So I may not be an expert, but I'm no slouch either.

Looking forward to chatting with other, like-minded folks out there.