[geeks] gold recovery from certain motherboards?

[hike]

heatlamp!

there is reclaimer/recycler in memphis that uses heatlamps.
heatlamps, set at the proper temperature, move the metal but leaves the
chips intact.


On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 2:59 PM, Phil Stracchino <alaric at metrocast.net>wrote:

> Patrick Giagnocavo wrote:
> > I have a few motherboards from old workstations that seem to have more
> > than the usual amount of gold on them; traces are gold, not just the
> > contacts.
> >
> > Does anyone have suggestions as to how to easily:
> >
> > 1) determine if the gold is worth recovering
> >
> > 2) remove the gold for purposes of selling it
> >
> > I am told that some recyclers have a big smelter, and the circuit boards
> > are dumped in by the 50-gallon barrel load, then the gold is paid for
> > after the smelting operation is done. However I do not have that
> > quantity of boards.
>
> Well, the way it's done in third-world recycling operations is smash
> everything with a hammer, burn it all in an old oil drum, collect the
> molten metal from the bottom, and poison everyone in the vicinity with
> toxic fumes and heavy metals.  Can't say I recommend it.
>
> I'm really not sure it's the kind of thing you can practically and
> safely do at home without investing a lot more money than you'll make
> from doing it.
>
>
> --
>  Phil Stracchino, CDK#2     DoD#299792458     ICBM: 43.5607, -71.355
>  alaric at caerllewys.net   alaric at metrocast.net   phil at co.ordinate.org
>         Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
>                 It's not the years, it's the mileage.
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