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A Real Gold Mine?
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. ...
Tom's Hardware : Picture story gold motherboard chemistry
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Tom's Hardware > Articles > Components > Motherboards > Experiment: Can You Mine Gold From Old Motherboards?
Experiment: Can You Mine Gold From Old Motherboards?
Experiment: Can You Mine Gold From Old Motherboards? BY YANNICK GUERRINI. 2:00 AM - AUGUST 4, 2010
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Picture 14 of 18
Now, all we need to do is filter everything once again. The filter will retain all the impurities, leaving only a gold(III) chloride solution.
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Fetal 08/04/2010 8:14 AM Hide -20+
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.
Tamz_msc 08/04/2010 8:21 AM Hide -20+
A very nice, off-the-track article!
tony singh 08/04/2010 8:43 AM Show welshmousepk 08/04/2010 8:50 AM Hide -20+
excellent experiment. was very fun to read.
what will you do with the ball of gold? would make a cool giveaway 
greghome 08/04/2010 8:57 AM Show cangelini 08/04/2010 8:59 AM Hide -20+
| greghome : Why is there not a Don't Try this at home quote? |
There is, right on the first page ;-) dragonfang18 08/04/2010 9:14 AM Hide -13+
Soo... That pile of motherboards would make a nice gold tooth for someone...
victomofreality 08/04/2010 9:16 AM Hide -20+ Quote :But it’s still interesting and fun to know that it’s technically possible to recover gold from motherboards using a homemade process.
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 
lashton 08/04/2010 9:38 AM Show TheStealthyOne 08/04/2010 9:49 AM Hide -3+
That's so cool!
jimslaid2 08/04/2010 9:55 AM Hide -10+
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.
mortesv 08/04/2010 10:04 AM Hide -7+
Cool article! Can I buy the gold BB? I think I have 3 dollars stashed away somewhere... 
calmstateofmind 08/04/2010 10:42 AM Hide -6+
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!
greghome 08/04/2010 11:01 AM Hide -3+
I wonder how many socket AM2 mobos would it take to get a kilo of gold like this.............hmmmmmmmmmm
pioykowsky 08/04/2010 11:08 AM Hide -18+
It could be even more interesting (and reasonable) to recover copper from old computer parts. Everyone tried?
jsm6746 08/04/2010 11:09 AM Hide -1+
this remind anyone else of making hash?
MU_Engineer 08/04/2010 12:42 PM Hide -20+
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.
rohitbaran 08/04/2010 12:50 PM Hide -5+
That is some dangerous looking practical chemistry with a pretty lucrative result!
greghome 08/04/2010 12:52 PM Hide -20+
Anyone still remember the article about this Russian guy that has the largest stockpile of CPUs..........?
shortbus25 08/04/2010 12:55 PM Hide -4+
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?
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CDS Environmental
We can recover your precious metals or buy your printed circuit boards.
www.cyanidedestruct.com
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