Boards · Tier D

Set-top / cable boxes

A CableCARD slot or a gold-fingered daughtercard is the only high-grade part in the whole box.

Au 0.03–0.10 g/lbAg 0.3–1 g/lbCu 10–15%

eBay typical$1–3per lb

Refiner pays$0.5per lb

Metal in it$9.61per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencemedof the yield figures

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Gold	0.03–0.10 g/lb	board only, which is 150–350 g of a 0.5–2 kg box
Silver	0.3–1 g/lb
Copper	10–15%

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $9.61 per pound of contained metal — Gold 0.06 g = $7.83, Silver 0.6 g = $1.14, Copper 60 g = $0.64. A refiner paying $0.5 returns about 5% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Strip the steel case and PSU — that's where the actual money is.

Hazards

☠ Lead — dust more than fume

NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.

The common trap

"Cable boxes are gold mines" — no. F-connectors and tuner cans are nickel and tin. The value is the steel case and the power supply copper.

Questions

How much gold is in set-top / cable boxes?

Gold: 0.03–0.10 g/lb. Silver: 0.3–1 g/lb. Copper: 10–15%. At current spot that is about $9.61 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify set-top / cable boxes?

A CableCARD slot or a gold-fingered daughtercard is the only high-grade part in the whole box.

How do you remove set-top / cable boxes safely?

Strip the steel case and PSU — that's where the actual money is.

Related in Boards

Cell phone boards Boards · $25–40/lb Au 0.09–0.50 g/lbAg 0.23–1.26 g/lbPd 0.025–0.07 g/lbCu 12–56% A Telecom / military boards Boards · $11–35/lb Au 0.3–4 g/lbAg 1–8 g/lbPd 0.02–0.3 g/lbCu 15–25% A Telecom backplanes Boards · $10–18/lb Au 1–3 g/lb wholeAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 20–30% A Laptop motherboards Boards · $10–18/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbPd 0.02–0.08 g/lbCu 15–25% B Server motherboards Boards · $9–16/lb Au 0.05–0.3 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbPd 0.02–0.10 g/lbCu 15–25% B Wire-wrap / pin boards Boards · $20–35/lb Au 0.6–1.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 20–30% B

Get this offline → The full guide runs in your browser with no signal, and you can add your own photos.