Gold extraction from old pc parts

[danielj]

Have any of you guys tried this?
I have got permission from work to take any parts I need from the boneyard
as long as I document process and any results for science
aspect of the process.
I pay for the chemicals and supplies
but get the scrap for free and can keep the gold if it works.
Sounded like a good deal to me.
This gives me parts from around 100 old computers and other gold plated electronics for free.
I will be trying it for the first time in a few weeks
and am curious if anybody else has done it and what where the results.
I will be trying the Aqua Regia process with sub zero.
Any info welcome.

[beercanman]

Daniel,

Never tried it, but with gold at $906/oz - go for it! Let me know how it goes. I've never used the Aqua Regia technique but have heard about it. If you document this step-by-step I'd love to see the whole thing!

Good luck.

Steve

[danielj]

Hey Steve, I will post results be they pos. or neg.
If neg. I will only be out about $65.
If pos. gold was at $913 an oz. on the Monex site today,
I dont have to reclaim much gold to make my money back.
I will be in the gathering phase for the next couple weeks,
I have heard it takes parts from 50 pcs for 1 oz. gold so I want to get all the parts
I can to make it worth while.
I allready have the protective gear from cleaning beercans with oxalic.
Hope it works!

p.s. have you heard about thieves cutting the catilytic converters off of
school buses for the platinum content in them?
Pretty messed up!

[beercanman]

Daniel,

Yeah, the cops just busted some guys here for swiping catalytic converters in broad daylight. They'd quickly roll under cars in parking lots - hit the cc with the sawzall - and back out with the goods very quickly. Someone saw them and called the po-leese.

I probably have a bunch of spare computer stuff at work that might be usable for your scrap method. If you let me know what you're looking for I'll send you some stuff.

PS - gold is at $913.70 currently (and silver at 17.74, platinum at 2,018) . I have the price on my computer at all times, courtesy of Kitco.com (kcast is the name of the actual service if you want to search for it).

Steve

[fiat128]

Can you post your documentation here? I have lots and lots of this type of scrap and some heavier items like "gold filled" eyeglass frames. Had this stuff for many years since the last time gold got to $1000 an ounce.

PS: Silver is $17 an ounce now? I bought a large cardboard box full of sterling for $8 an ounce last year. I wanna buy a $2500 Tig welder and this might be my way to get the cash.

[danielj]

If it works I will document it here, also if it dont work I will let you know.
I had a hard time getting any info. on this so heres a link to the best website
I found. http://shorinternational.com/goldrecovery.htm
As soon as the crucible I bought arrives I will give it a try,
I also lucked out and got a bunch of these round test boards that have
more gold in one of them as three computers.
They say that precious metal prices rise when the economy is bad so
it looks like the prices will stay high.
Good Luck with your silver.

[danielj]

Well it works, but I dont suggest trying it,
the fumes are REALLY STRONG!!! and you end up with about 3 gallons
of pretty toxic water waste.
I said I would post a well documented process but have changed my mind after
actually going through the steps, I just dont want to encourage people to try it
as I think it is to dangerous and not worth the risk for the results.
I will show a few pics. of it though.
I did however get a 3 gram lump of gold from 11.25 pounds of old computer
parts.
Since I spent about $73 on supplies and it took all day yesterday and 2 hours
this morning I dont think it is worth the time but it was a cool experiment
that I dont plan on repeating.
I think you would make more $$$ selling the computer scrap on Ebay than extracting
the gold yourself.

[texascans]

Hi Daniel - it sounds like you faired a little better than this guy.....

From the Durant Democrat
Man dies from mercury poisoning after trying to extract gold
By MATT SWEARENGIN
SENIOR Staff Writer
Published:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008 11:45 AM CDT
A man who was poisoned March 19 while trying to use mercury to extract gold from computer parts has died and the home is so contaminated that it cannot be lived in, an emergency official said.

Tony Winnett, 55, died Saturday at a Tulsa hospital. Durant/Bryan County Emergency Management Director James Dalton said the Environmental Protection Agency finished its investigation over the weekend and ruled the home is not liveable.

The home is located on Winnett Road southeast of Colbert. Winnett and Melissa Lake drove themselves to the hospital after inhaling mercury vapors, according to authorities.

Lake was treated at the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma and later released, but Winnett was flown to the Tulsa hospital. According to Dalton, Lake has suffered respiratory problems that are still lingering, but officials believe she will be okay.


Mercury has a chemical reaction with gold and causes it to separate, according to Dalton. Authorities believe the couple heated the mercury and accidentally inhaled it.

The home was immediately cordoned off after the incident. Dalton said he did not know how much mercury was inside the home, but the residence would have to be gutted before it could ever be used again.

“We’re going to be in touch with the health department and the district attorney’s office on what type of action we have to take to abate it,” Dalton said.

A funeral service for Winnett will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Church of Christ in Colbert.

[danielj]

Yep, Im still kickin.
I read about this guy in my research on this.
I didnt use any Mercury, I used the "safe" method.
But I tell you the fumes where something else,
I used a canister mask at all times but I got a wif about 10 feet away
without the mask and it was BAD.
makes Oxalic fumes seem like a cute girls fart.
I really dont recomend trying it.

[ANGRY GARY]

i love cute girl farts. usually as you are choking their last breath from their bodies.

AG

[Chris E.]

Gary,
You may want to cut the pain medicine back a little bit.

Chris E.

[Rustafarian]

I get $80 for catalytic converters, so I ended right side up with my second demo car. Steering column I traded for it was $55 and when I do scrap the car there's another $70ish.
That's a pretty cool extraction process you have going, but way out of my league to attempt.
Hard to believe that extraction gone wrong news story wasn't on rotten.com
Is it the pain med's or the snuff flix that AG has to cut back on?!? Personally I love cute girl farts 'cause it means I'm in the right neighborhood, so to speak

[menke]

How's the old joke go...How do you know God is (insert your favorite whipping boy religion here)? Because he put the snack bar right next to the dumpster!

Gold.... the guy cleaning out his dad's house across the street from my old place gave me a little bag of watches he couldn't bear to throw away. At the bottom of the bag I found a 14K whose replacement band hid the mark, an easy $75. I sent the rest of the gold-filled (same as gold plated) watches to a Philly refinery that sets up their business online and got a check back for about $2. But those watches are cheap and easy to come by in junk shops. Anyone game?

[beercanman]

Matt, check with me tomorrow on gold filled stuff. I think I've got some junk at the shop.