Wed 11-3-2021 8:05 p.m.
This post suggests that ebay sellers who have access to discarded, thrift store, flea market, and garage sale items begin to recover scrap metal and alloys from those items.
There was an interesting article which showed up on the Internet recently. The article discussed a mine outside of Salt Lake City, Utah and how it has become desirable to process waste sludge in the mine for valuable metals such as tellurium, rhenium, etc.
There are a variety of metals such as cobalt which are necessary to make various industrial products. For example, cobalt is used as a binder in the production of tungsten carbide cutting tools.
Many discarded items (particularly very old items) contain a variety of useful metals and alloys. A variety of electrical and electronic items contain materials such as brass and copper. Printed circuit boards in electronics equipment may have contacts which are plated with gold, although the amount of gold is very small. Electrical contacts in relay devices may contain, silver, gold, and tungsten. Older thermostats contain bimetallic strips which are composed of useful metals. Various electrical / electronic devices contain tantalum capacitors. An old style light bulb typically has a brass button-shaped contact on the bottom, an aluminum or brass threaded feature which interfaces with the light socket, and a tungsten filament. Older ballpoint pens had a brass ink cartridges. Old clocks often had brass gears and components. Some kitchen appliances contain stainless steel components. Knives, forks, and spoons are frequently made of stainless steel. Toasters and other appliances contain heating elements which are a source of nichrome wire. Jewelry often contains precious metals or some small amount of precious metal plating. Cigarette lighters contain flints which create sparks when rubbed against a serrated metal wheel. The flint typically contains an alloy called Misch Metal. Misch Metal alloy consists or cerium, lanthanum, and other rare earth elements / metals as well as iron oxide and / or magnesium oxide.
I have gone to a number of thrift stores and found discarded ski poles. There is not much demand for used ski poles. However, ski poles appear to be composed of aluminum which has scrap value. Pots and pans are also composed of aluminum.
The United States is currently in a position where scrap metals and alloys of various types are needed for electrical, semi-conductor, solar energy, and various industrial / military applications. It would be helpful to become familiar with the metals and alloys which compose a variety of commercial items. Developing some capability to separate the various metals and alloys from commercial products increases the value of the more useful metals and alloys.
This is a good opportunity to learn about metallurgy and make some useful profits over time.
Regards,
ag01
evry1nositswindy • seller since 2013
