Hard drive platters

Look at the edge. Translucent, glassy, perfectly polished chamfer = glass (worthless). Opaque metallic edge = aluminium (aluminium scrap). Glass won't flex at all and rings higher when tapped; aluminium flexes minutely and shows bright metal if you scratch the edge.

Pt 1–2.2 mg per 3.5" platterBase 10–16 g aluminium each

eBay typical$10–11per lb

Refiner pays$0.25per lb

Metal in it$13.8per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencehighof the yield figures

How to spot it

Mirror-finish discs on the spindle. Aluminium substrate is common in 3.5" drives; glass in 2.5" and high-RPM drives.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Platinum	1–2.2 mg per 3.5" platter	≈12 cents of platinum — a 30 nm CoCrPt film
Base metal	10–16 g aluminium each	glass platters: nothing

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $13.8 per pound of contained metal — Platinum 0.25 g = $13.8. A refiner paying $0.25 returns about 2% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Cold

Torx T6/T8 on the lid and spindle clamp, lift platters and spacers off the hub. Gloves and eye protection with glass platters — they shatter into razor shards.

Hazards

🩹 Glass and sharps

NEVER blow on, wipe with bare fingers, or brush away cut optical fibre.

Before you scrap it

Genuinely worth more to crafters and artists on eBay than to any refiner. Sell them as décor.

The common trap

The single biggest myth in e-scrap. The mirror surface is not gold and there is no recoverable platinum for a hobbyist — one source put it as "an hour of your time and three cents of chemicals to reclaim ten cents of platinum". Refiners pay $0.25/lb. eBay pays $10/lb because people buy them for craft projects, not metal.

Questions

How much gold is in hard drive platters?

Platinum: 1–2.2 mg per 3.5" platter. At current spot that is about $13.8 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify hard drive platters?

Look at the edge. Translucent, glassy, perfectly polished chamfer = glass (worthless). Opaque metallic edge = aluminium (aluminium scrap). Glass won't flex at all and rings higher when tapped; aluminium flexes minutely and shows bright metal if you scratch the edge.

How do you remove hard drive platters safely?

Torx T6/T8 on the lid and spindle clamp, lift platters and spacers off the hub. Gloves and eye protection with glass platters — they shatter into razor shards.

Is hard drive platters worth more working than as scrap?

Genuinely worth more to crafters and artists on eBay than to any refiner. Sell them as décor.

Related in Drives & media

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