MLCC — modern nickel (BME, post-2005)

Pale cream, ivory or light tan bodies with bright shiny tin terminations, and small — 0402 and 0201 are modern-only sizes and always base-metal.

Pd 0.2–0.7 g/lbAg 1.4–2.7 g/lbBase Ni 5–20%

eBay typical$20–55per lb

Refiner pays$12per lb

Metal in it$22.6per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencemedof the yield figures

How to spot it

Same shape as the valuable ones, from any board made after roughly 2005. Nickel internal electrodes, tin-over-nickel terminations.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Palladium	0.2–0.7 g/lb	measured 0.105 wt% by ICP-OES
Silver	1.4–2.7 g/lb	measured 0.467 wt%
Base metal	Ni 5–20%, rare earths ~0.84%

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $22.6 per pound of contained metal — Palladium 0.45 g = $18.6, Silver 2.1 g = $3.99. A refiner paying $12 returns about 53% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Preheat 240–280 °C

Same as above — preheat plate and scrape. Honestly, on a modern consumer board it's usually not worth the labour; sell the board populated.

Hazards

☠ 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.

The common trap

This is where most people waste weekends. The industry switched from palladium to nickel electrodes through the late 90s into the mid 2000s because palladium spiked. Twenty times less metal, identical appearance.

Questions

How much gold is in mlcc — modern nickel (bme, post-2005)?

Palladium: 0.2–0.7 g/lb. Silver: 1.4–2.7 g/lb. At current spot that is about $22.6 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify mlcc — modern nickel (bme, post-2005)?

Pale cream, ivory or light tan bodies with bright shiny tin terminations , and small — 0402 and 0201 are modern-only sizes and always base-metal.

How do you remove mlcc — modern nickel (bme, post-2005) safely?

Same as above — preheat plate and scrape. Honestly, on a modern consumer board it's usually not worth the labour; sell the board populated.

Related in Capacitors

MLCC — palladium-bearing (PME, pre-2000) Capacitors · $100–170/lb Pd 2.3–9 g/lbAg 4.5–23 g/lbBase Ni S Tantalum capacitors Capacitors · $18–85/lb Ta 30–40 wt% of the capAg 1–3% in some B Ceramic disc capacitors Capacitors · $20–70/lb Ag 4–10 g/lbPd 0.05–0.3 g/lb C Silver mica capacitors Capacitors · $80–500/lb Ag 10–20 g/lbCu ~60 g/lb C Aluminium electrolytic capacitors Capacitors · $0.3–1/lb Base aluminium can D Film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene) Capacitors · $10–40/lb Cu ~20 g/lb D

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