Gold on circuit boards

[SS MAYFLOAT]

I've been seperating parts from some old equipment. Several large boards have gold on them vs copper. I'm wondering how a person could go about getting it seperated from all the other crap that is on the board? Any ideas? I have several dozen of these and can't comprehend tossing them out. There might be a half ounce worth if it was do-able and not so time consuming. Thanks,,,,,,,SS

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

That gold coating is very, very thin layer over the base copper. And it's typically applied only to the edge connector pads to reduce oxidation issues. The rest is copper. You'd need boat loads of PCBs to get a half oz. There are companies that reclaim precious (and hazardous) metals from recycled circuit boards but it only makes sense on a grand scale. We used to throw out tons of circuit boards before lead issues made that illegal. If there was money in reclaiming gold at that volume, the company would have taken advantage of it.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

All the printed circuits on these boards are gold, not just where the pin connectors are. I was a bit surprised to see these using gold as the circuit runners. These boards are about 12" by 16". There are other pcb's in the units that are typical.

There is a company in town that accepts pcb's, that is probably where these will end up.

 

[rwise]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

OK I don't extract the gold or platinum from circuit boards, but I do save them tell I have enuf to recycle! Last load I got $0.85 per pound for computer components, mother boards, cards, ram, cpu's, boards from hard drives. I have been told that it involves mercury to get the gold out, but I don't know. The place I sell to extracts the gold and then sells the boards to someone else who extracts the platinum! (no mention of the coper or lead) If you have enuf I can give you his cell number, I am not sure which states he works in but it's more than just Oklahoma.

 

[tommays]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

I can comment on getting silver out of X-RAYS as i have repiared the choppers that grind the film which is step one


It is a dirty nasty mess that gets chased to the location with the lowest environmental standards as all of the process requires a A LOT of water that is costly to get clean enough to dump





Tommays

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

Gold is one of the most malleable metals there is. One ounce can be spread out in a continuous sheet the area of a football field. However, you might get enough to float it in some schnapps...

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

at $900 an ounce, it might be worth it. Just heat the board around the pads until the board starts to melt, then you can take tweezers while it's still hot, and physically remove the pad.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

Not sure where you are getting this info that the pads are gold. They are copper like every other trace on the board. It is possible that the connectors have a gold plating but that is about it.

 

[rwise]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

we'll have to agree to disagree! There is gold and platinum in the components and traces inside the boards, not just the pins that are plated!

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

I've been working around equipment with printed circuits since they came out. This is the first time I have encountered this kind of board. Yesterday, I had a bit of time to destroy one. They indeed are gold plated circuits on copper. It would be a real nightmare on trying to seperate the components. The recycler in this area doesn't pay anything for them though. I'm sure there is someplace around this area that will pay for them.

Richard, if you could PM me with that #, I would appreciate it.

 

[muskyone]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

did this for a friends dad when i was in high school it toke a big warehouse and a ton of labor to get a ounce of gold he was more in it for the silver in film and yes that was a messy job

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

we'll have to agree to disagree! There is gold and platinum in the components and traces inside the boards, not just the pins that are plated!

Very little gold is used in the components anymore and you would have to melt them down to extract what little is there.

 

[tommays]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

What you get is a BIG mess of mixed toxic waste (heavy metals like mercury)

Then you go through complex steps to extract the metals you want to keep and when you do it on a big scale it pays off BUT your only getting grams of material out of any one board


It is not LIKE hacking apart a BIG AC unit and getting 220 pounds of Alu coils that was up to 1.75 pound but is back down to 1.00 dollar this week


Tommays

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

, sorry SS I had no idea that you already had a thread started on this subject, I'll have them delete my thread .

I have been thinking of posting a thread on this for a while, great minds think alike I guess lol.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

You know, different circuit boards are made differently. Circuit boards are not a one size fits all thing. Depending upon the application, some circuit boards are made with all gold pads and traces.

super high-end speaker wire is also made of gold... just as an FYI.

 

[rwise]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

I've been working around equipment with printed circuits since they came out. This is the first time I have encountered this kind of board. Yesterday, I had a bit of time to destroy one. They indeed are gold plated circuits on copper. It would be a real nightmare on trying to seperate the components. The recycler in this area doesn't pay anything for them though. I'm sure there is someplace around this area that will pay for them.

Richard, if you could PM me with that #, I would appreciate it.

EDIT: Where did the PM button go????


He never told me NOT to give his CELL phone number to others, so:
Jim Burg 918-630-3656

The last time I talked with him he seen no drop in price anytime in the near future, a little fluctuation is normal though. I know that he runs the boards through a grinder as the first step.

Also I do not know how many or which states other than Oklahoma he buys in, nor do I know what state he extracts in, it's not here. I sent him a truck load, he likes large amounts!

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

I was looking at some of the old computer boards that I have and I've have been tempted to save these boards and separate the gold out of them. I know that some of these old computers 286 (maybe even older) and up supposedly has more gold in them then the computers that are out today.

The boards that I have are 486 through Pentium class motherboards. I have modems, sound cards, video card, but only a couple of boxes full. I know that not all old computers have gold in them or the same amount of gold. Here is a picture of the boards that were on Ebay, no I was not the one selling them and they did not sell.

What makes me sick is the fact that tons of these old computers are being stored never to be used again or thrown out to the dump instead of going to these electronic recyclers, or someone that is interested in retrieving the gold out of them. I've seen old computers sitting on the side of the road and never stopped to pick them up, even though I am into hauling scrap metal. I know where there is a whole single wide trailer full of computers, but the price that the man is asking is a little to rich for my blood and the asking price probably to high for what he has.

 

[rwise]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

all of us need to recycle more, I will take old computers to recycle, but I don't buy them. Whats pictured there doesn't have much, (shipping alone could cost more than you would get) the cash is in the chips and in the layers of the board its self. At TV Guide I used a card that has 10 internal layers! (ever see the TV Guide channel?) It could be worth while to go to computer shops and get them to save old cards (etc) instead of tossing them, again I would not buy them just haul them off!

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

Yep I know there wouldn't be enough in those pictured below (in my other post) to even bother with. I believe the goof that advertised them on Ebay was trying to rip somebody off, just my opinion.

I don't believe I have ever heard of the TV guide channel deal. It sound very interesting though. Are these the cards that are used for watching TV on computers? If so I have only dealt with them one time, I installed one on my own computer, just so I could have the option to watch TV on the PC. I may be way off track .

If only I could get into gold hunting, I have even researched maps of areas here in Alabama, tried to contact a man that has personally been gold hunting around here and I never heard a reply from him. It'll half to stay a dream for now, I have bigger fish to fry.

As mentioned in my other thread (that I had locked), my uncle used to go to South America, and was supposed to be making another trip to go gold hunting, but this time it fell through. He has all the equipment to hunt with.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gold on circuit boards

You know, different circuit boards are made differently. Circuit boards are not a one size fits all thing. Depending upon the application, some circuit boards are made with all gold pads and traces.

super high-end speaker wire is also made of gold... just as an FYI.

I have been an electrical engineer for 25 years and have never seen a circuit board with gold pads. Some hybrid assemblies I have worked with have gold pads but not circuit boards. There is not one reason to have a gold pad unless it used as a contact pad. Anything that needs to be soldered to a pad will never need to have a gold pad becuase typically, pads are copper and then tinned before part mounting. The only area to have gold is on connector surfaces because of oxidation issues with copper...that is it.

Why would anyone use gold for speaker wire? Gold has a higher resistivity than copper!