Doing a project on e-waste

Hello! I joined this forum to ask a question concerning my school project. I'm collecting old circuit boards to extract the gold from (I'm using proper equipment because I have access to the school's chemistry lab) and I have a picture of a board that has gold color plating that I'm not sure is actually gold plating like you would see on RAM fingers or something. I've tried uploading a picture but the Insert image feature says I'm not allowed to post links and the manage attachments feature is giving me an error message. Your help is appreciated!

Okay, thanks. I'll continue my search then

It's one of those situations where if you have to ask ..... you shouldn't be doing it.

If you were to set your sights a little lower:

Most of the boards have the copper plating. Once in awhile you'll see a board with a thin gold plating but they're not that common. Seems like you could take a few scratchings and test for the presence of gold or copper using established standard lab procedures under the direct supervision of someone with a degree in chemistry. ( A teacher or professor ?)

After it's all said and done you might come to the conclusion that the extraction needs to be done on an industrial scale in order for it to be profitable. We've had guys here that have sent loads out to be refined and the returns are generally pretty dismal.

You might check out Apple computer company's recycling program too.

Best of luck in your search !

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

There's a Soltek motherboard that looks like its Gold plated, very pretty.



https://uk.hardware.info/reviews/474...ongebob-yellow

Nice looking motherboards but I like mine better. My wife doesn't like it though. Could be because I have it hanging on the wall in our bedroom.

Originally Posted by Jello

(I'm using proper equipment because I have access to the school's chemistry lab)

Having access to something and using it properly are two different animals.

Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste

Having access to something and using it properly are two different animals.

I hope the lab is equipped with a fume hood if he insists on doing this.

Personally, I think people are watching to many youtube videos. I've probably seen every gold recovery/refining video there is and some of them are very scary.

In one video I watched recently the guy is in his garage. As he is pouring the chemicals into the coffee pot he says it's time to take it outside because he could smell the fumes.

Nice.

With scrap in the toilet price wise I actually thought about doing some E-waste. It's tempting when gold is involved to go in a very unfamiliar direction involving some really nasty stuff used to extract it. As a lifelong truck mechanic I was exposed to Asbestos. So far no ill affects but now knowing the risks I would have taken more precautions but live and learn.

Originally Posted by Jello

Hello! I joined this forum to ask a question concerning my school project. I'm collecting old circuit boards to extract the gold from (I'm using proper equipment because I have access to the school's chemistry lab) and I have a picture of a board that has gold color plating that I'm not sure is actually gold plating like you would see on RAM fingers or something. I've tried uploading a picture but the Insert image feature says I'm not allowed to post links and the manage attachments feature is giving me an error message. Your help is appreciated!

Originally Posted by jimicrk

I've probably seen every gold recovery/refining video there is and some of them are very scary.

In one video I watched recently the guy is in his garage. As he is pouring the chemicals into the coffee pot he says it's time to take it outside because he could smell the fumes.

Nice.

I wonder if he parked his car in there and closed the door afterwards.

And I wonder what it looks like now...…