Telecom / military boards

Hundreds of gold pins in a backplane connector plus ceramic gold-lid packages on the same board. That combination is the definition of top grade.

Au 0.3–4 g/lbAg 1–8 g/lbPd 0.02–0.3 g/lbCu 15–25%

eBay typical$11–35per lb

Refiner pays$10per lb

Metal in it$20.9per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencemedof the yield figures

How to spot it

Green, blue or dark soldermask; thick and heavy; DIN 41612 or hard-metric backplane connectors; gold fingers on multiple edges; ceramic gold-lid ICs and flat packs; gold-plated RF shield cans; heavy through-hole plating; conformal coating. Markings: MIL-STD-883, JAN, NATO stock numbers, CAGE codes, S-level or RH rad-hard designations.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Gold	0.3–4 g/lb	genuine 60s–80s mil boards reach the top; modern ENIG mil boards are far leaner
Silver	1–8 g/lb
Palladium	0.02–0.3 g/lb
Copper	15–25%

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $20.9 per pound of contained metal — Gold 0.12 g = $15.7, Silver 1.4 g = $2.66, Palladium 0.04 g = $1.65, Copper 90 g = $0.96. A refiner paying $10 returns about 48% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Preheat 250–280 °C

Harvest the connectors and ceramics first — they're most of the value and they sell into much higher-paying categories than the board itself.

Hazards

☣ Beryllium oxide (BeO)

NEVER grind, sand, file, saw, drill, abrasive-cut, sandblast, hammer, crush, shred, torch, melt or incinerate anything that might contain BeO. Sell or dispose of suspect parts intact. Broken beryllium parts are worth nothing; your lungs are worth everything.

☠ Lead — dust more than fume

NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.

💨 Fumes, ventilation and open flame

NEVER burn boards, wire insulation or plastic. Ever.

Before you scrap it

The most likely category where the intact board is worth more to a surplus or repair buyer than to a refiner. Also: military boards may carry ITAR export restrictions, and they're the most likely place to meet beryllium oxide.

The common trap

Once you pull the CPUs, RAM and gold connectors, the remaining laminate is mid-grade at best. Sellers quote the pre-harvest grade.

Questions

How much gold is in telecom / military boards?

Gold: 0.3–4 g/lb. Silver: 1–8 g/lb. Palladium: 0.02–0.3 g/lb. Copper: 15–25%. At current spot that is about $20.9 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify telecom / military boards?

Hundreds of gold pins in a backplane connector plus ceramic gold-lid packages on the same board. That combination is the definition of top grade.

How do you remove telecom / military boards safely?

Harvest the connectors and ceramics first — they're most of the value and they sell into much higher-paying categories than the board itself.

Is telecom / military boards worth more working than as scrap?

The most likely category where the intact board is worth more to a surplus or repair buyer than to a refiner. Also: military boards may carry ITAR export restrictions , and they're the most likely place to meet beryllium oxide.

Related in Boards

Cell phone boards Boards · $25–40/lb Au 0.09–0.50 g/lbAg 0.23–1.26 g/lbPd 0.025–0.07 g/lbCu 12–56% A Telecom backplanes Boards · $10–18/lb Au 1–3 g/lb wholeAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 20–30% A Laptop motherboards Boards · $10–18/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbPd 0.02–0.08 g/lbCu 15–25% B Server motherboards Boards · $9–16/lb Au 0.05–0.3 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbPd 0.02–0.10 g/lbCu 15–25% B Wire-wrap / pin boards Boards · $20–35/lb Au 0.6–1.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 20–30% B Arcade PCBs / JAMMA Boards Boards · $30–800/lb Au 0.05–0.20 g per board ≈ 0.09 g/lbCu ~45 g/lbAu ceramic gold-lid customs (FD1094 C

Get this offline → The full guide runs in your browser with no signal, and you can add your own photos.