Daily Survival: Here’s How to Recycle Gold and Copper from Old Electronics

Some people actively prospect for gold and other precious metals across rivers, creeks, and streams. Images of Alaska Sourdoughs and California 49ers come to mind as they swirl their gold pans in freezing waters and look with hope for a speck of gold.

But you don’t have to head for them thar’ hills to find gold and other precious metals. It’s all around us if we know where to look.

The Circuit Board Source

Many circuit boards use gold across their surfaces. Gold is an outstanding electrical conductor, and it is frequently used on circuit boards for computers, cell phones, TVs, radios, and other high-end electronic devices.

On a side note, older electronics often have more gold on their circuit boards due to the historically lower price of gold in the past. We’re going to cover the process and techniques for harvesting the gold, other metals, and specific electronic and electrical sources.

Why Bother?

The reason is simple. The spot price for one ounce of gold as of this writing is $5,197 USD per ounce and climbing. Even if you’re only able to harvest a ¼ ounce of gold, that’s more than $1,000. But it doesn’t stop with gold.

Copper Possibilities

Copper is everywhere! While it’s not as precious as gold, copper prices are already rising worldwide. The spot price for one pound of copper as of this writing is close to $6 USD a pound. That’s nowhere near as valuable as gold, but copper sources are much easier to find in greater quantities.

Your Stockpile May Be Worth More than Your Savings Account

This includes copper wire bundles surrounding electric motors, copper pipes, electrical wires, copper cables, and even copper pots. You may be lucky to harvest a ¼ ounce of gold, but you can easily find pounds and pounds of copper.

We’ll cover some of the tips and tricks to make copper harvesting easy.

Where Can You Sell it?

Copper can be sold at junkyards and scrap yards. There are various grades of copper, so make sure you sort your copper so they don’t average everything down to the lowest price grade. We’ll also cover how to identify those grades.

Gold can be sold at pawn shops and stores that often feature large signs proclaiming, “We buy gold!” Most of them buy gold jewelry or coins, but they can test small gold bars or chunks to determine the gold content. There are lots of videos on the Internet about how to melt down gold into small ingots or pieces.

Gold Is Also Graded

It comes as a surprise to some, but gold found in nature is rarely 100% or 24 karat gold. It is often an alloy of gold, silver, copper, and other native metals. The average gold nugget found in North America is about 60% gold with silver as the primary alloy. On the other hand, Australian gold found in mines and creeks can be as high as 90% gold!

This Common Metal Will Be More Valuable than Gold When SHTF

The gold you harvest will probably have a high percentage of gold up to 90% or more, but some traces of solder or other metals on a circuit board can find their way into the mix. That’s important to know.

When the gold dealer tests your gold and quotes you a price less than you expect, they may be very accurately telling you its actual worth based on the final gold percentage.

Safety First

Harvesting and salvaging copper is pretty straightforward and mostly involves dismantling motors, stripping wires, and sawing up copper pipes. From a safety standpoint, leather gloves are a wise idea, especially around the sharp parts of a motor armature surrounded with copper wire.

Gold harvesting from circuit boards is another story. It often involves the use of nitric acid. That’s dangerous. Nitrile gloves, a face mask, goggles, and even a full face shield are a good idea, along with a long sleeve shirt.

Homemade Golden Milk for Inflammation & Stiff Joints

There’s another method that takes longer and is a little more labor intensive, using white vinegar, salt, and hydrogen peroxide. It’s much safer but takes a couple of days, and you may have to physically scrape off some of the gold.

You’ll also need some tin snips to cut apart the circuit boards. We’ll cover safe handling instructions, but if you are hesitant about nitric acid, stick with the copper salvage or the white vinegar approach to gold.

Circuit Board Prospecting for Gold

There are a number of sources for circuit boards. Some have more gold than others. Here are the sources to consider:

Computers.
Cell phones.
TV’s.
Radios.
Any CPU (Central Processing Unit).
Appliances with Smart Electronic Features.

Getting to the circuit boards requires taking the equipment or appliance apart. You’ll need some tools, including screw drivers, socket wrench and sockets, pliers, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, and leather gloves.

The circuit board is usually a central feature inside computers, cell phones, and radios. You’ll also need to look a little harder for it in large TV’s and appliances.

The CPU chips in everything are often loaded with gold, so don’t miss it.

The same is true for RAM boards that often have a long row of gold at the bottom of the board. The whole idea is to use tin snips to cut out the parts of a circuit board that have gold inlays.

You don’t need to immerse the whole board in dilute nitric acid, just those parts that contain gold. And always remember to do your circuit board processing in a well-ventilated area or ideally outside.

The Nitric Acid Method

You’ll need some equipment and supplies to remove the gold from the circuit boards and CPUs.

Tools & Supplies

A large glass beaker or a large Pyrex glass bowl.
Enough nitric acid to fill half of the glass container (some jewelry/refining supply stores sell it – check your local regulations first).
Coffee filters.
A glass stirring rod.
A fine mesh strainer.
A bucket of water.
Tin snips for cutting gold parts from circuit boards.
Safety gear, including gloves, safety glasses or goggles, apron and a face mask. You can find a complete safety kit on Amazon for around $30.

How to Do It

Use the tin snips to carefully cut out the gold-bearing parts of the circuit boards. The acid is going to melt the plastic parts of the board, leaving the gold behind.
Add nitric acid to your glass beaker or bowl until it is half full.
Carefully drop the circuit board parts into the acid one at a time.
Stir the mixture carefully with the glass rod until the non-gold components have dissolved.
Carefully pour the contents of the beaker or glass bowl into a bucket of water. You can acid to water. Never add water to acid. It will violently flash. Always add acid to water. Remember: “AAAW.” You’re doing this to dilute the acid, so it won’t dissolve your strainer or the filters.
Pour off some of the water into another bucket of water, making sure that the gold flakes remain in the bottom of the bucket.
Carefully strain the water/acid and gold mixture through a fine mesh metal strainer lined with a coffee filter.
You should see the gold flecks on the coffee strainer.
Pick out the gold flecks as much as possible and remove any remaining plastic or debris.
Collect your gold in a small glass vial.

Harvesting Gold: The Acetic Acid Method

Cleaning vinegar is diluted acetic acid. Most store-bought vinegar is a 5% dilution intended for meals.

There is another vinegar solution usually sold in home centers in the cleaning aisle. It is a 30% dilution.

It’s not suitable for human consumption, but the concentration works better for dissolving circuit boards.

The overall process takes longer but is much safer.

Here’s the equipment and supplies you’ll need:

½ gallon of 30% dilution of vinegar
Sea salt
A bottle of hydrogen peroxide
Glass bowl or large jar
Tin snips for cutting circuit boards

When it comes to the actual process, it’s important to take all the safety measures possible. Also, for proper results, make sure you don’t skip any of these steps:

Use the tin snips to carefully cut the gold parts from the circuit boards
Fill the glass bowl or jar half full with the 30% vinegar (acetic acid)
Add 2 tablespoons of sea salt and stir to dissolve
Add the gold chips from the circuit boards
Carefully pour one cup of hydrogen peroxide into the mixture
Let the boards soak for 48 hours, stirring occasionally
Look for the gold foils separating from the circuit board pieces
Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the gold foils from the solution
Pick out the plastic bits with tweezers, leaving the gold foil
Strain through a coffee filter and gently rinse under distilled water
Let them dry completely, scrape off the gold, and collect in a small glass vial

Be Patient

The acetic acid process with white vinegar won’t dissolve the plastic as much, but it will release the gold pieces from the plastic parts. You might have to do some peeling and stirring to shake all of the gold loose.

These 17 U.S. Towns Are Giving Away Free Land. Here’s How to Claim It!

It’s hard to say how much gold you’ll end up with. It depends on how many circuit boards you started with and the amount of gold on each one. Over time, you can continue this harvest.

If you want, you can dumpster dive behind electronics stores where they sometimes discard old or defective electronics. You can also inform friends and family that you’ll take any old electronics they plan to throw away.

Copper Salvaging

Salvaging copper is much safer and easier to find. That’s good because copper is nowhere near as valuable as gold, but you can easily make a decent amount of money with copper salvage.

Here are some sources to consider:

Armatures from old motors from washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, furnaces, and other appliances wrapped in copper wire
Copper coils from air-conditioners, refrigerators, dehumidifiers, and other appliances work through condensation
Copper plumbing pipes and fittings
Copper wire and cables
Old Copper kitchen utensils found at flea markets or resale shops

The the equipment and supplies you’ll need for copper extraction includes:

Screwdrivers
Socket wrench and sockets
Wire cutters
Needle-nose pliers
Wire stripper
3 containers to collect copper across the 3 grades
Hacksaw

The 3 Grades of Copper

The copper you salvage will be evaluated on its grade or purity.

Here are the 3 grades to look for as you salvage (make sure you place each grade in its own bin for when you take it to the salvage yard):

Grade 1: “Bare Bright.” This is salvaged copper that is 100% copper and still shows a bright, copper shine.
Grade 2: “Wire/Cable.” Clean, unalloyed copper wire or cable that is at least 98% copper.
Grade 3: “Contaminated.” Copper that appears contaminated with solder, paint, roofing tar, or other substances that add weight from non-copper sources. If possible, cut or trim away these parts to upgrade the piece to grade 2 or 1 and toss the contaminated pieces into bin 3.

Another form of contaminated copper is copper that has a patina of green. This is caused by oxidation.

The Statue of Liberty is actually made from copper plates, but the green patina from exposure to oxygen and moisture makes it appear green. The easiest way to clean this green patina is with a combination of vinegar and salt. That will upgrade it from Grade 3 to Grade 1.

Process

Salvaging copper is a straightforward, physical process. No harsh acids are necessary.

Motor Armatures

Motor armatures are a great source for Grade 2 copper. Use wire cutters, tin snips, or needle-nose pliers to cut and pull the copper wire from the armature. Armature designs very so you’ll have to figure out the best way to cut or pull the wire loose. Toss the wires into bin #2.

Copper Condenser Coils

Copper condensation coils from air conditioners, refrigerators and other appliances that condense moisture are an excellent source of grade 1 copper. They are usually free of contaminants and there’s often a significant amount of copper that can be salvaged. Use a hacksaw and pliers to remove the copper or loosen any fitting holding the coils to the unit.

Copper Plumbing Pipes and Fittings

Copper plumbing pipes and fittings are another excellent source for Grade 1 copper although the pipe ends and fittings are often contaminated with solder, putting them at Grade 3.

Trim off and isolate any contaminated parts.

Most of the copper will be Grade 1 and you don’t want to downgrade the value because there’s a little solder on the ends of the long copper pipe.

Copper Wire and Cables

The approach to harvesting copper from wire and cables is logical. The larger the gauge of the wire or cable, the easier it is to harvest more copper.

Stripping smaller wires and cables is up to you. It’s an easy way to pass the time if you have it, but larger wires and cables are more profitable. All would fall in the category of Grade 2.

Copper Pots, Pans, and Utensils

Copper pots, pans, and utensils are usually 99.9% copper. That would easily put them in Grade 1.

The big question is, do you want to give up your cookware for salvage?

An easier decision is old copper cookware that you buy at a flea market or resale shop. Look for the pieces that are dented or somehow damaged.

They should be cheap and the salvage value might exceed the price. That’s the key. Is it worth more to a junkyard than to you?

All It Takes Is Time

Most salvage projects are an ongoing process of accumulation until you have enough to make the trip to the junkyard or salvage yard. It’s a mindset that simply keeps you focused on looking at everything with salvage in mind and the long-term potential to make some extra money with a bit of effort.

Some Items Might Be Worth More than Gold When SHTF

Sure, gold is valuable – but it’s valuable now. When the grid goes down and store shelves are empty, some other items will keep you warm, fed, or safe.

The items that will really be worth their weight in gold are the ones most people overlook – 75 things you can still get cheap today but won’t be able to find at any price once a crisis hits.

Right now, every one of them is sitting in plain sight. Ordinary aisles, ordinary prices, and absolutely no one paying attention. That’s the whole point. The things that matter most in a collapse aren’t the things people panic-buy – they’re the things nobody thinks to grab until it’s far too late.

The full list is inside The Last Frontier. Get your copy before these 75 items stop being cheap – or available at all

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on SelfSufficientProjects.com and was written by Steve Nubie. It has been republished here with permission for our readers.

You may also like:

How to Turn Your Dead Smartphone into a Survival Tool