Are there precious metals in computers

Mayer Alloys Corporation is based in the Metro Detroit area and provides business to business electronic waste recycling. We provide our customers with:. All electronic waste is recycled in an R2 Certified facility. All hard drives are destroyed and Certificates of Destruction in compliance with Department of Defense DoD security standards are provided. Call for Current Pricing and Information. Search for: Search. Home Did you know your computer contains precious metals?

Did you know your computer contains precious metals? Why you should recycle your cell phone. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.

These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Non-necessary Non-necessary. To take the PCIs off the motherboard, simply give it a strong nice pull and the whole thing will easily get ripped out in one go. PCI boards have gold plating fingers and you can cut them off and sell separately for good cash.

Pulling out all these components should be easy now. Use a power drill or screwdriver to unscrew the screws fastening the motherboard with the case.

Unscrew all the screws to pull out the hard drive, hard disks , and power supply as well. Now, make separate piles for each metal component. The big chunk of aluminum just below the cooling fan and the cooling fan contains copper-bearing motors. You can find another copper bearing motor within the power supply.

Just below where the CPU location, you can find gold plated pins. Whatever golden things you find, simply cut and take them.

You can make the process simpler by looking for gold, aluminum, and copper and make a separate pile for each. Once you are done accumulating all the metals, it is time to cash out. Look for a scrap yard near you. Be careful in dealing with online vendors.

Selling these items on eBay is a good idea as it normally pays more than what you can get from a scrapyard. Also, you probably won't get rich processing old computers for scrap, but you will reduce some trash that would normally go to a landfill with the e-waste recycling. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.