Among all home devices, computers and televisions typically contain the most gold. Gold is also found in the circuit boards of earlier generations of cameras, radios, and media players.
Despite these challenges, the extraction of gold from electronics can be worth it for individuals looking to recover valuable metals and reduce e-waste. Additionally, gold prices are constantly increasing, making it an attractive investment for those looking to extract gold from electronics.
You can find Au plating on the outside of devices, such as on electrical connectors. Most of the gold in electronics, however, is located inside the devices in the circuit boards. Electronics companies use gold plating to enhance the conductivity of the circuit board and protect it from corrosion.
This is because the gold content in rams is about 0.155%, which means that there is 15.5 milligrams of gold in every gram of rams. So, if you have 1 kilogram of rams, which is equal to 1000 grams, you will have 15.5 grams of gold.
The processors and connectors in computers, tablets, and smartphones use gold. You can also find gold in televisions, gaming consoles, printers, or essentially anything electronic.
The circuit boards used for microwave component assembly also exploit gold for similar reasons. The substrate material in this case is a highly polished alumina tile.
Circuits in modern CPUs and Laptops weigh around 100 gm so you can expect to extract 0.150 grams of Gold. Additionally, the wires and connector pins have gold which will amount to another 0.070 gram and another 0.090 grams for gold plated contacts.
the largest 72kg gold nugget ever found (called the Welcome Stranger), today this nugget would be worth approximately $4.5M USD, discovered by two miners John Deason and Richard Oates on February 5, 1869, near Moliagul, in the state of Victoria, Australia.
CPUs have a high content of gold – it could be as much as 0.2 g to 0.5 g! Melting and processing of parts from several devices yield up to 1–2 g of gold.
Most high-end audio equipment uses a microscopically thin layer of gold plating on their connectors. We certainly do. It's what's expected. And the general consensus in the audiophile community is that this layer of precious metal makes a sonic difference.
Remotes of All Kinds
Just about every household has a batch of old remote control devices for old TVs, VCRs, and more lying around, sometimes quite a few. And each of them contains a small printed circuit board that contains a small quantity of gold.
In another container, mix two parts hydrochloric acid and one part weak hydrogen peroxide (a concentration of three per cent). Pour this mixture over the circuit boards so they are completely submerged. Wait for a week, giving the vessel a stir every day with a glass or plastic rod.
Motherboards – the biggest circuit boards inside both laptops and desktops – often contain the “mother lode” of gold in used computers. Their edges have gold contacts and connectors where wires slide on. You will also find thin layers of gold applied to motherboards' surfaces.
How much gold is in a computer hard drive? It is possible to find gold plating in small traces, not only in hard drives, RAM memory sticks, but in many other components of desktop or laptop computers. The exact amount can vary around 0.3 gram of gold worth around $20.
Removing Gold Using Fire
Use steel tongs to turn over the burning circuit boards. Get a metal bin or tray, and put the circuit boards into it. Break the boards into smaller pieces so they burn faster. Light the boards on fire.
Taking all of the Gold plated onto the pins amounts to around 200 mg of Gold. That's not exactly going to turn you into a millionaire overnight. Unfortunately, CPU pins are not made from a substantial amount of Gold.
Our oceans contain around 20 million tons of dissolved gold. However, this means there is only about one gram of gold for every 110 million tons of ocean water. Many gold deposits exist deep within the sea floor, and some deposits can often be trapped underneath rock as far down as 35,000 feet.
The main component of a SIM card is the electronic chip made from Silicon with some added impurities such as phosphorous . It is plated with metals such as Gold to form outer layer which makes contact with your mobile phone. This chip is housed inside a shell made from plastic. 1,000 SIM Card Approx Contains 1 gm Gold.