ICs & chips
13 components in this category. The highest-value item here is Ceramic IC — gold lid + gold legs at $500–650 per pound.
Ceramic IC — gold lid + gold legs
Au 3–8 g/lb wholeAg 0.5–3 g/lbBase Kovar
S
Gold flat packs (military / aerospace)
Au 3–10 g/lbAg 1–4 g/lb
S
Thick-Film Hybrid Microcircuits
Au 1.5–4 g/lb packaged; 5–10 g/lb stripped substratesAg 0–15 g/lb on Ag/Pd conductor variantsPd present in Ag/Pd pastes
S
BGA with gold tab / gold-corner BGA
Au 1.0–2.0 g/lbAg 0.3–1 g/lb
A
Ceramic BGA / CCGA
Au 1–3 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbBase alumina
A
Ceramic CCD/CIS Image Sensors
Au 0.02–0.15 g per ceramic package ≈ 1.8 g/lbAu under 0.001 g per mobile/webcam moduleBase Nd-Fe-B in VCM actuators
A
Ceramic IC — gold legs OR gold lid (not both)
Au 1.0–2.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lb
A
Gold-plated SMD (SAW filters, RF modules, shields)
Au 0.5–1.5 g/lbAg 0.2–1 g/lb
B
Plastic ICs — pre-2010 (gold bond wire)
Au 0.5–0.7 g/lbAg 0.2–1 g/lbPd trace–0.1 g/lb
B
Backup batteries & Dallas RTC modules ☠
Cu ~40 g/lbAu <0.1 g/lb
C
Crystal oscillators & OCXO modules
Au 0.1–0.5 g/lb (modules)Ag 0.5–3 g/lb
C
Thick-film resistor networks (SIP/DIP)
Ag 2–5 g/lbPd 0.2–0.7 g/lb
C
Optocouplers / optoisolators
Au 0.1–0.35 g/lbAg 2–5 g/lbCu ~120 g/lb
D
How this category is graded
Tier S is top material worth sorting out and keeping separate. Tier A is high value and worth the labour to harvest. Tier B is solid in volume. Tier C only pays at scale or as part of the board it sits on. Tier D is near zero — knowing what not to spend time on is half the skill.