Hard Drive Platters

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05-09-2015, 09:45 AM
jimc123

Hard Drive Platters

First I would like to say hello. This is my first attempt on this website and I am really just poking around to get the feel of the site. I have been recycling as a living for a long time. I'm mainly interested in purchasing e scrap containing platinum, gold, palladium, tantalum or other precious metal. I'm generally open to processing anything of value. My experience is in the processing of electronic scrap but I've become interested in processing catalytic converters and jewelry and have been studying the yields of both. I don't take chances and know pretty accurately how much of a particular metal I'll recover. I even factor evaporation in to the equation. Well, good luck with your recycling and may you get the best prices!

Has anyone processed hard drive platters? That's one electronic scrap I have never processed and would like to find out a little bit about it.

Thanks.
05-09-2015, 10:05 AM
BRASSCATCHER

Welcome aboard. If you are looking for yield info or ways to process ewaste to recover precious metals you should check out the Gold Refining Forum.

As far as I know hard drive platters are not worth trying to recover platinum or any other metals from. You will spend more in acids than what you will recover.
05-09-2015, 02:01 PM
ScrapperTrecycling

Welcome to the forum.
I find they make good targets at the rifle range if you don't mind the clean up. Good exercise, plus you get to find brass.
And who doesn't love BRASS!!! ;)
05-09-2015, 02:52 PM
Mechanic688

Save your time and chemicals and sell them to one of the buyers listed, you'd be way ahead. I had my yard shoot a couple of them with their gun and it came up alum.
05-09-2015, 03:44 PM
RevenantDusk

The platinum plating is so thin it's barely there. It's like thinner then foil not cost effective at all. I just sell them to the scrap yard as clean aluminum.
05-09-2015, 04:12 PM
Mechanic688

Quote:

Originally Posted by RevenantDusk

The platinum plating is so thin it's barely there. It's like thinner then foil not cost effective at all. I just sell them to the scrap yard as clean aluminum.

You could more than double your money selling to a buyer, even considering shipping. When I was buying the guys were sending medium and large flat rate boxes full and it was coming out to (roughly) 33lb -med. and 45lb -large for about 10.50 shipping and 15.75 shipping. Price was $1.00 a lb but I think it has dropped a little. Figure about .70 after shipping.
05-09-2015, 05:19 PM
RevenantDusk

Really? Wow thanks for the tip. I didn't know anyone on here purchased hard drive platters for those prices, I send most of my e scrap to Ewasted on here but I never saw those on his purchase list. I'll look around thanks.