English | May 31, 2013 | ASIN: B00D4FQ1QU | 17 pages | AZW3 | 1.64 MB

''People are often amazed to learn how much precious metal is lost whenever they throw away their old electronic devices. Gold, silver,platinum and palladium can all be recovered from circuits and processors of electronics. Of all the precious metals, gold is the one most frequently recovered and refined from electronics. Although it is possible to melt the gold plating awa a process referred to as reverse electroplating.''

Motherboards and many electronic components contain valuable precious metals that can be recovered. This type of electronic waste accumulates as a waste product during the manufacture of electronic appliances, during the dismantling and recycling of disused appliances and also in the form of overstocks at assembly firms.

The processor is recognizable as a large rectangular or square chip that plugs directly into the motherboard. It is usually the largest single chip in the PC. Intel and AMD are the largest PC processor manufacturers, however IBM, ARM, Motorola and others make them as well. The processor often has a heat sink attached to it which may also have a small fan. Heat sinks are typically aluminum, which has little scrap value.

Processors are also found in video cards (there they are called GPUs: Graphics Processing Units), in cellphones, iPods and iPads, and most other electronic devices. Generally only computer processors are large enough and detactable enough to merit separating them. The value of the processor varies greatly depending on the model. As mentioned above, older processors generally have more precious metal content.