Hi everyone,

I'm a final-year physics grad student and have been quietly following this forum for a while. Scrapping has become a real passion of mine, and I've recently decided to focus my thesis on a topic related to determining the precious metal content in electronics.

As part of this, I've spent a lot of time learning about fire assay techniques specifically for e-waste (especially PCB). I was shocked to see that most commercial labs charge extremely high prices for this kind of analysis — often over $800 per sample. Since I'm genuinely interested in fire assaying and find these prices quite excessive, I've been considering setting up a small lab to offer this service at a much more affordable rate.

After running the numbers, I believe I could offer precise gold and silver content analysis for e-waste samples up to 1 kg (larger samples possible) for around $250. The process involves transforming the entire sample to a fine, homogeneous powder and then analyzing it via fire assay — the exact same method used by major refineries and commercial labs. I could accept samples from anywhere in the world and would also take care of all customs-related matters.

I'm curious to know if there's any interest in the community for such a service. Do you think $250 per sample is a fair price? And how often would you consider using a service like this?

Thanks for your feedback and all the best!

there are always outliers and exceptions, but generally speaking the vast majority of what is sorted out by services such as this tend to be well-known consistencies. You’re probably in the wrong area to outreach with a service like this.
You would more be targeting start ups in small shops we don’t have extensive experience.

The scrap price is offered here as close as you can get without being beyond the trailer load on your own. and generally speaking those with experience probably could tell you the total melt value/scrap value of most items if not individually; by the pound per kilogram a ton.

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