To get gold from chips and radio components, you need to know exactly where to look for them. For the sake of a few milligrams of metal, chemists use the most common methods and techniques for mining at home. How profitable is this, is it worth resorting to dangerous methods of extracting precious metals and where to sell the products then?
Valuable radio components with gold content
The most valuable are Soviet-style radio components. They have always contained more precious metals than those that are made now. Gold miners discover the territory of artificial origin of precious metals with the help of special search machines. Excavations and assembly of parts are also carried out there. For every ton of scrap, there is about 1 g of gold. Therefore, up to 5% of precious metals are found in one Soviet-style microcircuit.
- Not only the findings of the details are covered with a noble component, but also jewelry, cutlery with coating.
- Parts enclosed in ceramic cases, transistors contain up to 1% gold.
- Substratesradio components under the conductor have the least amount of gold - up to 0.5%.
Gold from chips is mined more often due to the availability of simple methods. They can be carried out at home, so the methods justify themselves for the price - they are low-cost, accessible to many amateurs.
Which parts have more gold?
The absolute record belongs to capacitors, which are the smallest in size among radio components. The dimensions of the part reach the size of a 3-liter can, and the amount of gold extracted from it is about 8-10 g. There are also impurities and silver - it is almost 50 g. However, not everyone can get scrap. It can be found in military equipment, which you simply cannot buy. The lucky one who found the precious metal still needs to be able to purify it, purchase equipment for extracting gold.
- Radio tubes also contain gold. On the grid next to the cathode. When the grid is heated, under the condition of the operating state of the lamp, electrons are released under the influence of thermal energy. They fail the device, after which overheating occurs. Gold is applied to these parts of the circuits so that the main category of metals does not melt.
- There is also gold on the legs of the lighting fixtures for the same reasons. However, there is it on the devices of the old Soviet model.
In the new technique there is a substitute for gold - tungsten. Therefore, miners prefer to look for yellow metal in old elements. For example, the production of military units fell on the 70-80s of the last century. There you can find switching devices with a gold content of up to 25% per ton.
There is a separate list of devices where the precious metal is available:
- Semiconductors - these include optocouplers, zener diodes, diodes, thyristors. There is not much gold in them, but it is quite easy to get it.
- Gold plated connectors. The thickness of the coating is a few microns.
- Capacitors - only those used in Soviet-style military production.
- Transistors - gold in the substrate under the conductor and the crystal.
- Radio tubes - the least metal in them.
Gold from chips is considered to be the easiest to mine. There is a list of models indicating the content of the precious metal in milligrams (see table).
| Name | Gold | Silver | Palladium |
| KR1108PP2 | 0, 35 | 5, 45 | 30, 36 |
| K1002PR1 | 1, 84 | - | - |
| KM1603RU1 | 19, 49 | 61, 92 | 15, 48 |
| KM1603RU1 | 19, 57 | 19, 85 | 0, 12 |
| H530AP2 | 12, 10 | 19, 84 | 0, 11 |
| H530KP2 | 12, 23 | 19, 78 | 0, 10 |
| H530KP11 | 12, 16 | 18, 98 | 0, 02 |
| B1122P1 | 7, 86 | 2, 12 | 0,01 |
| KR537RU11A | 51, 23 | - | - |
If we compare the cost of 1 piece of the KR1108PP2 model, which is about 80 rubles (new), then more than 500 pieces of microcircuits are needed to obtain 1 g (1000 mg) of gold. They must first be cleaned of impurities, processed from gold chips and compressed by melting with other components. To get 3500-4000 rubles for 1 g, you need to buy metals in the amount of more than 80,000 rubles. Unprofitable, so many try to look for free scrap.
Easy ways to mine gold: where is the easiest way to extract it?
Easiest way to get gold from chips in a home environment. This category of scrap lends itself to melting in various ways, chemical attack and electrolysis. For example, for lamps, relays, resistors, you need to use expensive consumables. They are available only in the industry, where precious metals are bought up. You will also need equipment, high-power units, in order to extract a milligram of a precious component from a heavy piece.
The easiest way to get rich is with outdated technology. It was bought by you, you do not risk anything, do not spend money and do not lose valuable junk that you do not use due to a breakdown. In case of an unsuccessful attempt to get something, scrap can always be put up for sale. Unique products, from which it is impossible to extract gold on your own, are sold much more expensive to buyers and specialized firms that do not mind getting even a smalla piece of the future ingot. The rest of the precious metal is bought by weight by tonnage.
It will not be difficult to get gold at home:
- from watch;
- contacts;
- transistors;
- electric connectors;
- microcircuits.
The last one is the most popular, because there are many ways to do this, the end really justifies the means.
How to extract gold from chips: available ways
All collected parts must be sorted - gold-plated steel requires other mining processes. Therefore, we use a magnet for this. Next, the gold-bearing parts are cleaned of dirt and dust:
- In a separate vessel, prepare a solution of 2 parts hydrochloric acid and 1 part hydrogen peroxide.
- Details for a week are lowered into the container.
- Stir the parts daily so that the acid acts evenly on all sides.
- After 7 days, the solution will darken, gold dust will appear at the bottom.
- Metal flakes should be passed through the filter.
- Then rinse with methanol.
- To merge into one ingot, you need to connect the scales with a burner.
Gold melts at 1063 degrees, but this is impossible to do at home. Therefore, it is mixed in one container with sodium tetraborate (borax). Next, the weight is estimated to clarify the possible profit.
Most of all gold is contained in microcircuits under series 505, 130, 128, 108, 115, 162, 175, 178, 249 and not only. It also calculates in advance how many parts will becleared how many reagents are needed to produce a specific amount of gold. Next, the optimal extraction method is selected, which we will discuss later.
Aqua regia: chemical extraction method
You can get gold from microcircuits at home using a solution of aqua regia. The noble metal is extremely inert to oxygen and sulfur. It reacts with halogens only when heated. To dissolve gold to a state of solution, you need to use strong oxidizers.
Aqua regia is made at home:
- Mixture of concentrated nitric acid - 1 part.
- Mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid - 3 parts.
- Alcohol concentrates.
Formula: Au + HNO3 + 4 HCl=HAuCl4 + NO + 2 H2O.
If we consider a pure substance, then the ratio is taken as 1:2. Gold is oxidized and reduced separately from gilding. Pieces of iron after etching the metal are removed with a magnet, since they are completely dissolved by the oxidizing agent. The powder precipitate is transferred to foil, after which it is dried on a newspaper. Only after final drying can the weight be assessed. Next, the metal is alloyed for strength with borax (boric acid).
Electrolysis: obtaining gold from radio components
Since the gold content in microcircuits is less than in radio components, people have learned to extract the precious metal from any technical details. The most common method is electrolysis:
- From an alloy of brass or copper, you can extract gold due to the anodedissolution.
- Sulfuric acid is also added to concentrate hydrochloric acid, but it has a bad effect on radio components.
- Glassware and nitric acid will help you quickly find the precious metal - there will be pieces of gold in the sediment, which is then drained and neutralized with baking soda.
When neutralizing sediment, do not forget to drain the acid into a separate container. It should be filtered, as small metal crystals may remain in it. Do not pour leftovers into the water supply.
Etching metals with mercury: an easy way to get rich at home
To reveal the secret of obtaining gold from the philosopher's stone, one must take into account the degree of danger of working with materials. The method is called amalgamation. Mercury does not dissolve the metal, but wets it, allowing it to be separated from other impurities. A ball of liquid silver attracts golden grains like a magnet.
- Mercury and gold concentrate should be in a 1:1 ratio.
- Ingots must be clean.
- When capturing gold, all visible reactions stop.
The concentrate is washed with water until the amalgam is completely gone. Excess mercury is sucked out with a syringe without a needle.
Filtering parts for soldering gold bars
Gold is not only affected by acid, so for precipitation and filtration use:
- Ozone - produces oxide Au2O3 dark color.
- Fluorine, bromine, chlorine or iodine gaseous state. Formed fluoride AuF3, chlorideAuCl3, bromide AuBr3 or iodide AuI3.
- Selenic acid according to the formula 2Au + 6H2SeO4=Au2(SeO 4)3 + 3H2Se03 + 3H2 0.
- Sulfuric acid is mixed with a hot base - nitrate, permanganate, manganese dioxide.
- Alkali and earth metal cyanides - access to oxygen is required: 4Au + 8KCN + 2H2O + O2=4K [Au (CN)2] + 4CON.
At home, some reactions are dangerous to carry out. Make sure the safety precautions are in place beforehand. If you have microchips containing gold in your hands, choose the easiest filtering method. More complex ones can be applied to radio components that are difficult to precipitate without the use of magnets.
Pros and cons of processes at home
Knowing how to extract gold from chips in a low-cost way, you can calculate the pros and cons of the whole "enrichment" procedure:
- Theoretical foundations of chemistry are well absorbed.
- Get rid of unnecessary trash and junk.
- It's bad that each gold cleaning reduces its content by 10%.
- Get 1 g of gold only from a ton of metal.
- Distribution difficulties due to lack of labeling.
Besides this, in the Russian Federation there are a number of punishments for those who know how to get gold from chips.
How profitable is such a business: the method of enrichment and punishment in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
If we are not talking aboutindustry, but private business, that is, a number of difficulties: production or extraction, marketing and earnings. Finding clients isn't that hard, but is it going to be safe? There is a law and punishment for its non-compliance, since article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation reads:
Making a transaction related to precious metals, natural precious stones or pearls, in violation of the rules established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as illegal storage, transportation or shipment of precious metals, natural precious stones or pearls in any form, condition, with the exception of jewelry and household products and scrap of such products, committed on a large scale, are punishable by forced labor for a term of up to five years or imprisonment for the same term with a fine in the amount of up to 500 thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the person convicted for a period of up to three years or without.
If a company buys tons of scrap, then the sale of pieces of precious metal is already an article that prescribes a considerable period. If you yourself will melt gold into jewelry for a gift, that's another matter.
