How to get gold from radio components?

Gold is an almost incomparable material. It has unique properties, due to which it is widely used not only for the manufacture of jewelry, but also in various industries. In the past, gold was used quite often in radio components. Therefore, many are now trying to get additional income by extracting the noble metal from electronics. How to do it correctly and safely - you can find out by reading this article.

First you need to know exactly where and how to extract gold. To make such "extraction" more effective, it is necessary to study from which elements of the radio equipment it is possible to extract the maximum volume. For these purposes, there are catalogs of radio components, which indicate the amount of gold. You can also find out by examining the passports for the radio equipment. And then to direct their efforts to the search for just such gold-bearing items.

It does not require huge costs and specific knowledge, you just need to have electronic equipment containing gold, chemicals and time for painstaking work. But in this case, there is a small peculiarity. The purchase of precious metals can only be carried out by specialized organizations and enterprises. So, before organizing large-scale gold mining and sale, it is worth studying the regulatory legal acts in order to understand whether it is legal or not in your country, whether there will be problems with law enforcement agencies in the future.

Many people wonder why this noble metal is so widespread for coating parts in the electronics industry. For example, silver is cheaper and has better electrical conductivity as well as lower electrical resistance. The answer lies on the surface: the oxidation ability of gold is much lower than that of silver, and this allows it to serve in devices for a longer period.

Attention should be paid to domestic electronics manufactured before 1985-86. At this time, the amount of gold used to cover radio components was decent.

Surely, many have old equipment in garages, attics and closets, maybe even a work one, which it is a pity to throw away. In these Soviet devices: televisions, tape recorders, radio receivers, there are many radio components that contain gold. It cannot be said that it is not in the details of foreign manufacturers, it is present there, but only in very small quantities.

An approximate list of gold-bearing elements of radio equipment:

• transistors, quite a lot of precious metal is in the KT series;
• microcircuits;
• connectors of the Soviet period were covered with a small layer of gold;
• radio tubes, you can find other precious items in them;
• diodes.

AND The closest attention should be paid to capacitors - up to 8 grams of gold can be mined from them. But since they were most often used in the military sphere, it is very difficult to meet them. Also, a little metal can be found in modern products, for example, in motherboards (and the older they are, the more gold there is), in SIM cards for phones and memory modules.

As already mentioned, separating gold from radio components at home will take time, chemicals, parts containing this precious metal, a separate room with good ventilation, and some dexterity. Gold can be smelted in various ways, but the most effective and proven two are chemical (it is called refining) and physical (isolation by electrolysis). The first option is easier and more affordable, since it is easier to get chemical reagents than to find or make an electrolysis bath. And in terms of financial costs, it is much more profitable, but more hazardous to health.

To obtain gold from radio components and separate it from other metals, we need a very strong oxidizing agent. These can be cyanides, but their large concentration is very dangerous for health, therefore they are used only in specialized institutions. A mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid is ideal for self-refining; this solution is popularly called "aqua regia".

It is required to strictly follow the step-by-step instructions.

1. We disassemble the radio components, as much as possible remove the components that do not contain precious metal. To improve the process, you can grind the remaining elements.
2. We get rid of organic matter by burning parts.
3. We open windows or turn on ventilation in the room.
4. Prepare a solution by mixing hydrochloric and nitric acid (proportion 1: 3) in a special container. The mixture must be prepared immediately before use.
5. We lower the prepared parts into the finished solution, heat it on an electric stove and leave it for a maximum of 6 hours. This is how long it takes for the metal to dissolve and precipitate. The volume of "aqua regia" should, on average, be 3 times greater than the weight of gold-bearing materials.
6. After the gold is dissolved in the liquid, it falls to the bottom of the container in the form of small, almost imperceptible particles. To isolate the precious metal from the solution, you will need to add 0.5% hydroquinone to it. It is prepared like this - 5 grams per 100 grams of water.
7. The prepared liquid is very carefully added to the acidic solution (1 ml of solution per 100 ml of acid).Then we mix everything and wait about 4 more hours.
8. As a result of these actions, a sediment with gold should fall to the bottom of the dishes. We drain the liquid part of the mixture, and evaporate and dry the rest of the mixture.
9. From the produced dry mixture, we smelt precious metal, it is better to do this in a special crucible (this minimizes losses) using a burner.

If you have enough time, you can also use the cold processing method. However, this will take about 7 days. Gold-containing components are immersed in a solution that consists of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a 2: 1 ratio. The liquid must be stirred daily. After a week, the gold will separate. After that, the solution must be filtered and the precipitate washed with methyl alcohol. The resulting sediment, as in the previous case, must be dried and then remelted.

The battery electrolyte used in such cases is also an acid, although not everyone knows this.

Another non-thermal option, for which you need to have a special container, is gold chloride and hydrochloric acid.

For a reaction to occur, a direct current must be connected to the cathode and anode. Then just gently remove the finished metal from the cathode. All methods of mining precious metals at home can lead to a loss of about 10% of the volume of gold, and it is not always obtained pure. Additional cleaning will be required, which also leads to a decrease in the amount of metal.

You need to understand that gold mining with concentrated acids is a rather dangerous process, and in order to maintain health, you need to observe safety measures during this work. After all even a small amount of acid on the skin can cause severe chemical burns, and foul-smelling fumes can damage the respiratory system and eyes. To prevent this from happening, you need to work with protective gloves and goggles to save your eyes and skin. It is best to have a complete set of protective clothing.

If acid gets on the skin, first aid is urgently needed. The affected area is washed under running water for at least 15 minutes. After that, a soda compress is made from a 2% soda solution for 10 minutes. Next, the compress is removed, the skin is wiped dry. After these events, you need to visit a doctor.

The room in which the refining process takes place must be well ventilated or have an excellent ventilation system.

In that case, when the solution is spilled, it is necessary to cover this place with sand, then remove it and throw it away. After cleaning, this part of the flooring must then be treated with a soda solution and rinsed with clean water.

As you can see, obtaining gold from radio components is a profitable business, although it is difficult and time-consuming. You will have to spend a lot of energy searching for materials containing the precious metal, reagents, a suitable place, etc. And again, do not forget about the health hazards associated with this activity, and possible criminal connotations. Both can be prevented by reviewing chemical handling instructions and laws.

The following video shows the process of obtaining gold from electronic boards at home.