Did you know your computer contains precious metals? - Mayer Alloys (2024)

FAQs

What precious metals are found in computers? ›

Valuable & Precious metals – where they are in Computers:

Platinum – Hard Drives, Circuit board components. Palladium – Hard Drives, Circuit board components (capacitors) Copper – CPU heat sinks, wiring and cables, Printed Circuit Boards, Computer Chips. Nickel – Circuit board components.

Computer monitors, particularly older CRT models, do not typically contain any gold.

Precious metal alloys are compositions of metallic elements rarely found in nature, which possess exceptional properties that distinguish them from other metals. These elements include gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, and ruthenium.

Many computers and other electronics contain metals like aluminum, copper, steel, and even gold or silver. Scrap recyclers will pay well for these old electronics, particularly in bulk. Precious metal recovery is a big business that can do a lot to retrieve valuable metals from electronics and recyclables.

How much gold is in a computer hard drive? It is possible to find gold plating in small traces, not only in hard drives, RAM memory sticks, but in many other components of desktop or laptop computers. The exact amount can vary around 0.3 gram of gold worth around $20.

Low Yield: The yield of gold from electronics is relatively low compared to other gold extraction methods, and it may not be worth it for individuals who are only looking to extract a small amount of gold.

Motherboards and printed circuit boards – The motherboard is often the best potential source of gold in computers. The edges of most components on the board will have gold contacts and connectors where the wires slide in. You will often find thin layers of gold on the motherboard's surface.

The precious metals are gold, silver, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium, and platinum.

What is most valuable precious metal? ›

RHODIUM: TOP MOST VALUABLE METAL

Rhodium is the most valuable metal and exists within the platinum group of metals. It is used in jewelry for a final finish on white gold jewelry. It occurs in the very same ore in which gold and silver exist – only, in smaller quantities.

Copper alloys, particularly those of copper and zinc (brass), were valued for their resemblance to gold, as indicated by a medieval term for brass; auricalcum. Names for brass alloys that most nearly resemble gold included Ormolu, prince's metal or Prince Rupert's metal, Mannheim gold, and Similor.

Pour nitric acid into the glass container over the circuit boards. Stir the mixture with the glass or metal rod until the contents become a uniform fluid. Once the gold has separated from the plates — it may take some time — strain the nitric acid from the mix using the filter. Take out the pieces that aren't melted.

Most companies that specialize in this field focus on motherboards, circuit boards, and CPUs because they tend to contain the most gold. One tonne of electronic waste can contain up to 800 times as much gold as gold ore.

While extracting gold from electronics is not without its challenges, it can be worth it for individuals looking to recover valuable metals and reduce e-waste. However, following safety precautions and using personal protective equipment when handling hazardous chemicals is essential.

content per PCB varies significantly, ranging from $3.5 to 0.5 mg/module, and shows a marked decrease over time (Fig. 5). The average palladium content (1.5 mg/module; 86 ppm) is somewhat lower than that generally reported in the literature for other PC PCB samples (90-309 ppm, Table 3).

At Precious Metals Reclaiming Service, we pay top dollar for gold IC chips from electronic devices, such as computers, servers, tablets and more. If your e-waste has Intel, Pentium, Motorola or any other brand gold plated chips in it, you can count on us for accurate quotes and fair compensation.