Not all parts of a PC or phone contain gold. You must isolate the gold-bearing components to minimize the amount of acid you need to use.

• From PCs: Remove the CPU (the gold is underneath the heat spreader), RAM sticks, motherboard pins, and expansion card connectors (PCIe slots).
• From Phones: Remove the logic board (main motherboard). The gold is located inside the microchips (ICs). To access it, you must manually desolder or pop the small black chips off the board using pliers or a hot air rework station.

Gold is a noble metal and does not react to most single acids. To dissolve it, alchemists and modern chemists use a mixture called Aqua Regia (Royal Water).

In a well-ventilated outdoor area or fume hood:

1. Take your gold-bearing parts and place them in a large glass beaker.
2. Mix 3 parts Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) to 1 part Nitric Acid (HNO3). (For example: 300ml HCl and 100ml HNO3).
3. Always add acid to water/acid, never the other way around. Slowly pour the mixture over the electronic parts.

The mixture will immediately begin to bubble and produce toxic red/brown fumes (Nitrogen Dioxide). The acid will dissolve the copper, nickel, and the gold into a liquid green/brown solution. Base metals will turn into a brown mud at the bottom.

Once the bubbling has stopped and all the visible metal has dissolved (usually takes a few hours), you need to separate the liquid gold from the useless brown mud (base metals).

Place a coffee filter inside a plastic funnel set over a second, clean glass beaker. Slowly pour the acid mixture through the filter. The brown mud stays in the filter (throw this away safely), and the clear-ish acidic liquid that drips into the beaker contains your dissolved gold.

Now, we force the gold to drop out of the liquid. First, add a small amount of Urea to neutralize any leftover Nitric Acid (if you don’t do this, the next step won’t work and will produce deadly gas).

Next, slowly dissolve Sodium Metabisulfite (SMBS) in a separate cup of water, and slowly add it to your filtered gold liquid. Stir gently.

Like magic, the liquid will turn from green to a muddy brown, and you will see a fine, dark brown/black powder drop to the bottom of the beaker. That powder is pure gold.

Let the beaker sit for a few hours so the gold powder settles completely. Carefully pour off the clear acid liquid (which can be neutralized with baking soda and disposed of properly).

Wash the gold powder thoroughly with distilled water multiple times until the water runs completely clear. Rinse with a little bit of rubbing alcohol to help it dry.

To Melt:

1. Place the wet gold powder into a graphite crucible.
2. Add a pinch of Borax or baking soda (this prevents the gold from sticking to the crucible and helps remove impurities).
3. Use a heavy-duty blowtorch (MAPP gas or Acetylene) to heat the crucible. The powder will shrink, turn bright orange, and eventually melt into a shiny, liquid gold bead.
4. Pour the liquid gold into a mold or a steel plate to cool.