General break down of metallic content of common motherboards.

Can anyone provide me with rough breakdown of percentages for metal content in common pc motherboards?

X% copper
X% nickel
X% gold
ect...



Thanks in advance if anyone can help me with this!

I think you misunderstand. My interest is in potentially becoming the guy that you ship your ewaste to. Not a guy who collects ewaste and ships it out. But thats okay. Thanks for taking a look.

I don't think that buying motherboards is something you just walk into. There's quite a bit to it.

Originally Posted by NameThatWontGetMeBanned

I think you misunderstand. My interest is in potentially becoming the guy that you ship your ewaste to. Not a guy who collects ewaste and ships it out. But thats okay. Thanks for taking a look.

I completely understand your interest in becoming a board processor. I did the same thing when I first started looking to ewaste recycling. Some things to keep in mind:

There are two approaches to processing: The process of shredding/pulverizing whole electronics to recover circuit boards and circuit boards to bare metals. The first option is really really expensive (like $100k-$500k), not to mention having to figure out where to take your waste plastics (something that electronics have a lot of). The second method is more simple, but still quite a bit cost wise up front.

1. A super super basic processing line (hammer mill to shaker table) is going to run you about $30k, a large scale system (multiple hammer mills, magnet belt, conveyor systems, and shaker table) is $60k+ emphasis on the +. If you make your own equipment the prices are a lot less. However, if you do build a shaker table, it has to be very very good on metals separation. After all, you don't want your valuable metals ending up in your waste container.

2. Depending on the state you're located in will depend on licensing/permits. Some states require R2 certification which you'd have to shell out the big bucks for, not to mention insurances. If you're doing refining with chemicals, you may even need hazardous waste certifications. You'll also have to figure in proper disposal of your waste chemicals. Fines are very very large if you improperly dispose of your chemicals.

3. Each year, there's less and less precious metals in circuit boards. The days of heavy gold ceramic CPU's are over. There is still money to be made, but not as much as there used to be. I got into ewaste 10-20 years after the "good times" with ceramics and lots of gold so I don't really know how much gold was being recovered.

4. Acids for refining (especially nitric) is not a cheap thing to buy. You may also need a special license to purchase/store acids in bulk depending on the state you're in.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but you do need to be aware that the step from hobby to commercial setup in refining is not a very small or inexpensive step. As Mikeinrico stated, your best bet on profitability is to collect boards and send to another board buyer. That way your infrastructure costs can be very minimal leading to a more profitable operation.

I do want to point out that certain materials can be more profitable if refined vs. sent to a board buyer. If you're wanting to get gold, your best bet is to use a toll refiner (someone who refines your material). Most toll refiners will take a 25% cut of your value, but you just have to send in the material, they handle the rest. I sent in roughly 150 pounds of IC chips to toll refiner who recovered about $15/lb in value. This was better than the board buyers were offering at $7.50/lb at the time.

At the end of the day, the more equipment you add, the more expensive and complicated things get. The more expensive things get, the more volume you have to bring in to counter those expenses.