Experiment: Can You Mine Gold From Old Motherboards?
Principally used in jewelry, gold (chemical symbol Au) is also used generally in manufacturing (and by the electronics and computer industries in particular) due to its excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, resistance to oxidation, and inalterability. The computer industry uses several hundred tons (318 tons in 2003, for example) of the element every year.
The precious metal is found in almost all computer components--processors, motherboards, extension cards, memory DIMMs, and so on. Of course, the amounts used in each part are infinitesimal. But with the price of gold skyrocketing in recent years, it’s becoming more and more economically-viable to recover gold from old electronic and computer components than to mine it. That’s why specialized companies have sprung up to do just that.
Today, we're going to show you how we recovered the gold from old motherboards using do-it-yourself methods. Please note: The chemicals used in this demonstration are extremely dangerous, especially in the concentrations used. Therefore, we strongly discourage you from attempting to reproduce this experiment at home.
Amazing. Nothing can replace gold of course. Good for us, giving advice not to do in your home or i was ready to do it.
A very nice, off-the-track article!
I can give u 2 balls of gold if u repeat that process for me...hehe
excellent experiment. was very fun to read.
what will you do with the ball of gold? would make a cool giveaway
Why is there not a Don't Try this at home quote?
Why is there not a Don't Try this at home quote?
There is, right on the first page ;-)
Soo... That pile of motherboards would make a nice gold tooth for someone...
Homemade process? where does someone find 95% concentrated sulfuric acid for home use? I've read cockroaches can swim in sulfuric acid and have always wanted to test that
see toms this is an interesting article, now what we expect from toms is an article like "IPhone puches kid in face"
That's so cool!
Now lets all send Tom's all of our old Motherboards and add in cards and see what we can come up with. I've got about a Dozen.
Cool article! Can I buy the gold BB? I think I have 3 dollars stashed away somewhere...
You could imprint the small amount of gold with a design and make a charm for a bracelet or something...if you had a nerdy girlfriend she'd love the idea!
I wonder how many socket AM2 mobos would it take to get a kilo of gold like this.............hmmmmmmmmmm
It could be even more interesting (and reasonable) to recover copper from old computer parts. Everyone tried?
this remind anyone else of making hash?
I have worked in a lab with dangerous chemicals, and this reaction certainly uses dangerous chemicals. You would need the following equipment to work safely with these chemicals:
1. Fume hood (which the author obviously didn't use)
2. Chemical gloves (which he did have)
3. Chemical-resistant apron (which he didn't use)
4. Full face shield (we didn't see his face)
5. Closed-toe shoes or boots (we didn't see his feet)
6. Emergency eye wash and emergency shower (we didn't see these)
.
So basically, it's a "don't try this at anything less than a university lab" type of procedure.
That is some dangerous looking practical chemistry with a pretty lucrative result!
Anyone still remember the article about this Russian guy that has the largest stockpile of CPUs..........?
I have about 30 or 40 mobos and diff old circuit boards with gold on them what are the names of some of these companies that recycle these? Do they pay for them or is it donation only?