I will detail a SAFE process of turning old electronic parts into little round lumps of pure gold.

There are many tutorials that claim to offer methods of gold recovery such as "Cupellation"*.
These processes are DANGEROUS and put the user at the risk of inhaling vaporized metals.
No over the counter breather will protect you from these dangers; Only lab grade isolated
breathing systems can protect against metal vapors. **********************************
SEE HEALTH HAZARD ON STEP 6***************************************
**** a Side cautionary note, This process is not suitable to purify Panned Gold or KARAT
(Gold Alloyed with silver.) This Guide is best suited for gold plated or pure gold object.
THIS SHOULD ALSO NEVER BE ATTEMPTED INDOORS.
*Cupellation is a refining process in metallurgy, where ores or alloyed metals are treated under
high temperatures and controlled operations to separate noble metals, like gold and silver, from
base metals like lead, copper, zinc, arsenic, antimony or bismuth, present in the ore. The process
is based on the principle that precious metals do not oxidise or react chemically, unlike the base
metals; so when they are heated at high temperatures, the precious metals remain apart and the
others react forming slags or other compounds

Step 1: SAFETY FIRST, Always.

In this instructable you will be working with basic house hold chemicals. By themselves these
chemicals can be fairly harmless. The combination of such chemical which will be presented in
this instructable can be EXTREMELY hazardous; By such there are a couple of safety items
which are not Optional. THE FOLLOW ITEMS ARE REQUIRED. FAILURE TO OBTAIN
THESE ITEMS BEFORE HAND CAN POSSIBLY COMPROMISE YOUR HEALTH.
Item # 1.
Breathing equipment. You will need a chemical mask rated AT LEAST as a P100. If you dont
know what a P100 rating means It is your responsibility to yourself to find out.
Item # 2
Heavy duty Gloves. pvc or rubber is fine, do not use Latex or Nitrile gloves.
Item # 3
Safety Glasses. Any pair will work as long as It is safety rated and solvent rated.

Step 2: Equipment needed.

Helpfull items which can make doing these experiments easier.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Borosil glass labware.

2 1/2 gallon bucket.
a 1 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom. - to be used as a strainer.
a 60 ounce pickle Jar
Coffee filters
Filter holder from a coffee machine.
Spray bottle.
Mini scale with the ability to measure Grams and Oz.
some pipettes and test tube

Step 3: Chemicals required.

I have used a number of chemicals these I have found to be the most widely
available.
1 gallon of Clorox Bleach. or Sodium hypochlorate at 6%
2. Muriatic Acid 34% HCL ~ Baume.
3. Hydrogen Peroxide - 3% but no greater then 5%
4. Stumpout by Bonide. or Sodium bisulfate - 99.9% as specified in the Msds or
Sodium Meta Bisulfite.
You cannot substitue with these chemicals trying to do so will no give the required
reactions.

Step 4: Selecting materials to be recovered.

I was taught by the method of Crap in Crap out. You want your materials to be as
clean as possible with the least Amount of Garbage as possible.
Gold fingers are typically found on PCI cards, ISA cards, or on Memory
sims/dimms/etc. They create the corrosion free connection between the computer
and the expansion card.
This process can also be used to recover gold from CPU such as Pentium Pro, or
Cyrix or older 486 and lower generation chips.

Step 5: The first chemical bath.

Objective of this first chemical bath is to remove a large majority the base metals,
Such as nickle, zinc and copper.
After cleanly removing your plated sections of computer parts. remove any visible
capacitors transistors, or other components. be sure to also remove any steel or
iron parts attached. These metals can foul the reaction causing poor results.
Tools
100 ML beaker, 1 gallon bucket, 2 1/2 gallon bucket.
Chemicals
Muratic acid, and hydrogen peroxide.
Materials you are looking to recover.
First step, place your 1 gallon stainer bucket, into your 2 1/2 gallon wash bucket.
But first place your parts to be recovered inside your 1 gallon strainer bucket. as
pictured.
Add enough muratic acid to cover your fingers about 1 cm above your materials.
keep track of how many MLs are added. you want to keep your waste Acids to a
minimum. second. To activate the solution you want to add your Hydrogen
peroxide 3 - 5% solution in a 2 to 1 ratio. two parts muratic acid to one part
hydrogen peroxide.
after the Peroxide has been added to your muratic acid the mixture should start to
bubble, and the base metals should begin to dissolve. At this point you should be
wearing your safety gear because a few unfriendly fumes are being released.
This process can take up to 24 - 48 hours.
80 - 90 F.

this works best at the temperatures of

When this has been completed you will see a batch of gold foils floating in your now
dark green acid.
Step 6: Filtering the gold foils.

Items required

coffee filters

filter holder

60oz pickle jar. or glass container large enough to contain waste acids.

Simply Poor the contents of the two gallon bucket into the pickle jar using the coffee filters to
catch any foils that are floating on the surface of the acid. Once you have pored off all the acid
you will be left with a pile similar to what is in the picture. scoop these from the bucket into
another container for future processing.
Congratulation you are about 50% finished. **********

HEALTH WARNING : Melting at this stage may lead to the following health
hazards.
ZINC
Inhalation of zinc oxide fumes can occur when welding or cutting on zinc-coated
metals. Exposure to these fumes is known to cause metal fume fever. Symptoms of
metal fume fever are very similar to those of common influenza. They include fever
(rarely exceeding 102o F), chills, nausea, dryness of the throat, cough, fatigue, and
general weakness and aching of the head and body. The victim may sweat profusely
for a few hours, after which the body temperature begins to return to normal. The
symptoms of metal fume fever have rarely, if ever, lasted beyond 24 hours. The
subject can then appear to be more susceptible to the onset of this condition on
Mondays or on weekdays following a holiday than they are on other days.
BERYLLIUM
Beryllium is sometimes used as a alloying element with copper and other base
metals. Acute exposure to high concentrations of beryllium can result in chemical
pneumonia. Long-term exposure can result in shortness of breath, chronic cough,
and significant weight loss, accompanied by fatigue and general weakness.
MERCURY
Mercury compounds are used to coat metals to prevent rust or inhibit foliage growth
(marine paints). Under the intense heat of the arc or gas flame, mercury vapors will
be produced. Exposure to these vapors may produce stomach pain, diarrhea, kidney
damage, or respiratory failure. Long-term exposure may produce tremors, emotional
instability, and hearing damage.
LEAD
Inhalation and ingestion of lead oxide fumes and other lead compounds will cause
lead poisoning. Symptoms include metallic taste in the mouth, loss of appetite,
nausea, abdominal cramps, and insomnia. In time, anemia and general weakness,
chiefly in the muscles of the wrists, develop. Lead adversely affects the brain,
central nervous system, circulatory system, reproductive system, kidneys, and
muscles.
CADMIUM
Cadmium is used frequently as a rust-preventive coating on steel and also as an
alloying element. Acute exposures to high concentrations or cadmium fumes can
produce severe lung irritation, pulmonary edema, and in some cases, death. Longterm exposure to low levels of cadmium in air can result in emphysema (a disease
affecting the ability of the lung to absorb oxygen) and can damage the kidneys.
Cadmium is classified by OSHA, NIOSH, and EPA as a potential human carcinogen

Disposing of your waste acids. DO NOT dump your acids down the drain or on
the ground.
Place your acid in a separate container, I choose used 2 liter or 3 liter bottles,
Label these bottles as CLCu2 with a black sharpie marker. under that write may also
contain trace amounts of NICKLE and ZINC, BERYLLIUM, CADMIUM and LEAD.
You can take these items to your local hazard roundup or recycle your acids with a
method I plan on detailing in another instructable. Be Responsible.
Step 7: Creating Stannous Cloride.

These foils are about 80% gold, and copper 20%

In order to reach a higher level of purity a second bath is required. For that we will
need to create a test Chemical called Stannous cloride or Sn CL2
This metal is essential for Identify how much gold is left in our 2nd chemical bath.
For this you will need 1 beaker, and about 30 ML or muratic acid. 1 gram of tin
metal powder or shot. Weigh it out using your Scale.

it takes appox 4 hours to completely dissolve the tin metal shot. or instantly for the
powder.
The resulting solution should be bright yellow.

Step 8: The Second Chemical Bath Refining your gold foils.

THIS STEP SHOULD NEVER BE ATTEMPTED without your CHEMICAL MASK.

For this chemical bath I will be reproducing the process on small scale. this is by far
the most hazardous step and with the most reactive wastes.
For this step I am going to use a 100 ml beaker a portion of recovered foils, about 3
grams.
I will be using Muratic acid, and clorox.
I will be adding only enough Muratic acid to cover my 3 grams of foils, Using a
Pipette I will slowly add Clorox until all of my foils have dissolved. you can use a
glass rod to help felicitate the process.
After your foils have dissolved the resulting solution will be a deep golden yellow
maybe a little orange in color.

it may be desirable to filter your solution with the coffee filters 1 more time,
depending on if little bits of green plastic from the board found their way into this
step.

Step 9: Filtering particles.