Started job soldering in a board plant, are these trimmings worth anything to keep?

[clsc7777]

Hello all, new guy here, just started a job soldering all day here in colorado and have always been interested in getting gold out of this stuff. I always heard it is not profitable unless you get it for free and I can get a lot for free. I trim pins and break boards ends too that have little gold buttons on them and are underlain in copper. I am very new to this but here are some pics of what I got today if that helps and I would love some advice on if this stuff is worth it to process? Thanks! Pics were too big to upload but here is an imgur link imgur.com/a/ckufJ6V

[JJinLV]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Congrats on the new gig. So far as processing your trimmings to extract the gold yourself I can't be any help and it's not really discussed on this forum anyway (there's a whole other forum for exactly that!). Selling them as is is also possible. The small bits of board with relatively small amounts of gold trace can be sold as "mid-grade" to most e-waste buyers for somewhere between $1.10-2.15/lb. The higher the percentage of gold trace coverage, the higher $/lb buy price going upwards of $20/lb depending on the price of gold. Untrimmed boards with gold trace too, populated or unpopulated (exactly what the population is will determine the $/lb price) can also be sold as is.

[hills]

Lol ... okay guys ... let's slow down to a gallop here ... okay ? Maybe just a touch of gold fever goin' on ?

For clsc: First off, welcome to the forum ! It's good to have you here.

Just a bit of advise: You're new on the job. Don't rush into things. Take your time and get to know the lay of the land so to speak.Your safest bet with any new employer is to never take anything home but your paycheck.

Internal politics on the job can be a real bi*ch. People fight over the stupidest things and undercut the hell out of one another for advancement of status in the crew. You want to tread very carefully for awhile. If you get a good side gig going ... it's apt to make the others jealous. They will want a piece of the action too.

Yes ... they will fight over the trash so keep it on the DL.

Eventually your employer will catch on and push you all out if there's any money to be recovered from the waste product of manufacturing. It's kind of a no-win scenario.

Just an opinion, but i think i would take the high road here. Be a team player and put the best interest of the company first when you're on the job. Bide your time and wait for the right opportunity.Do a bit of investigating. If this really is a good idea then politely offer a suggestion on how they could improve their processes and make the company more efficient.

See ... what goes around comes around.

If you selfishly think only of yourself ... little or nothing of any real value comes your way.

If you selflessly work to the common good ... what you put out there has a way of coming back to you in ways that you could never have anticipated.

If nothing else, it can make you more valuable in the eyes of your employer. The vast majority of people in the American workforce are disengaged from their jobs these days. Production in the manufacturing sector is down. It's not like management doesn't notice. They're well aware. An engaged employee is a keeper because they're a lot harder to come by. They're also the first people you would want to reward with pay raises and advancement if the company is running right.

[msmoorad]

Lol ... okay guys ... let's slow down to a gallop here ... okay ? Maybe just a touch of gold fever goin' on ?

For clsc: First off, welcome to the forum ! It's good to have you here.

Just a bit of advise: You're new on the job. Don't rush into things. Take your time and get to know the lay of the land so to speak.Your safest bet with any new employer is to never take anything home but your paycheck.

Internal politics on the job can be a real bi*ch. People fight over the stupidest things and undercut the hell out of one another for advancement of status in the crew. You want to tread very carefully for awhile. If you get a good side gig going ... it's apt to make the others jealous. They will want a piece of the action too.

Yes ... they will fight over the trash so keep it on the DL.

Eventually your employer will catch on and push you all out if there's any money to be recovered from the waste product of manufacturing. It's kind of a no-win scenario.

Just an opinion, but i think i would take the high road here. Be a team player and put the best interest of the company first when you're on the job. Bide your time and wait for the right opportunity.Do a bit of investigating. If this really is a good idea then politely offer a suggestion on how they could improve their processes and make the company more efficient.

See ... what goes around comes around.

If you selfishly think only of yourself ... little or nothing of any real value comes your way.

If you selflessly work to the common good ... what you put out there has a way of coming back to you in ways that you could never have anticipated.

If nothing else, it can make you more valuable in the eyes of your employer. The vast majority of people in the American workforce are disengaged from their jobs these days. Production in the manufacturing sector is down. It's not like management doesn't notice. They're well aware. An engaged employee is a keeper because they're a lot harder to come by. They're also the first people you would want to reward with pay raises and advancement if the company is running right.

i agree with most of whats above- just want to add that it may NOT work out in your favour if u go to the boss & tell him that u know how he could earn even more by selling that stuff as ewaste.
he may do what u say but wont give u anything from it nor an increase etc- just a thank you

a LOT of the employers around me will react that way.
they will act as if it was their OWN idea all along.

maybe try to develop a better relationship with your boss and then see if he is the type that would agree to:
1-let u take it all for free
2-make you an equal partner in the ewaste venture- you handle everything (as long as it does not affect your work) and the boss gets 50% of the profits.

[hills]

It's true here in America as well. You do all the work and then that selfish jerk of a boss takes all the credit. Then he sits up in his office and wonders why his workers are disengaged and under performing.

~ What goes around comes around.~

It's not at all important, but the company i work for is employee owned. Lol ... it's like the crazy people have taken over the asylum sometimes. The power dynamic is turned upside down but in a civil & evenhanded way.

It's only people working at ground level that are allowed to serve on the board of directors.The head of the company reports directly to the board. If the head of the company, or any of his managers aren't doing their job ... they ARE held to account.

See ... we're all in this together. If the company does well we all do well. If the company goes under we're all gonna suffer.

Anyway, sorry for the derail. It's just a slightly different way of doing things that levels the playing field.

[eRecycled]

Welcome to the board. What part of Colorado are you in? We have a E-Waste facility in Colorado Springs.

I know a guy who sells those pins by the vial, I'll try and find out more info for you if you would like.