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Precious Metals
Silver Contacts
Grade: SiconHigh Tier
Electrical contacts and switches with silver
Market Price EstimateUpdated Daily
$18,500/ MT
+1150 (6.6%)vs yesterday
Verified specifications & market data
Chemical Composition
Elemental breakdown by percentage weight.
Standard composition limits
Values represent maximum allowed percentage unless otherwise noted.
Physical Properties
Material form, density, and contamination specifications.
Post-use silver electrical components; discarded electrical switches, relays, circuit breakers, contactors from industrial/commercial equipment; high precious metal concentration (70-99.5% silver); established electrical equipment recycling infrastructure; moderate supply volume; specialty electrical component waste stream; industrial equipment retirement/demolition source
Acceptable Inclusions
- Silver 70-99.5% (contact specification)
- Copper <20% (alloy component; precious metal value)
- Nickel <10% (alloy component; electrical properties)
- Cadmium <5% (legacy contact material; now restricted but acceptable trace)
- Platinum <3% (precious metal trace; ultra-valuable)
- Gold <3% (precious metal trace; ultra-valuable)
- Palladium <2% (precious metal trace; ultra-valuable)
- Tin <5% (solder/contact component)
- Carbon/arc residue (expected electrical use)
Prohibited Materials
- Silver <70% (below contact specification)
- Lead >0.1% (hazmat exceeds occupational limit)
- Cadmium >0.01% (hazmat RoHS exceeds; legacy concern)
- Mercury >0.001% (hazmat RoHS extreme; mercury-wetted contact)
- Unknown silver composition
- Non-electrical contact waste
Quality Assurance
Testing protocols, sampling methods, and acceptance criteria.
Sampling Protocol
frequencysampling: relay contacts separate, circuit breaker separate, switchgear separate, vintage vs. modern generation; alloy variation sampling; hazmat element screening comprehensive
maximumQuantity5,000+ individual contacts per shipment
minimumQuantity5-20 kg or 100-500 contact pieces
percentage10-15% of lot
Acceptance Limits
all Criteria Must PassMaterial must be silver electrical contact 70-99.5%; alloy composition verified; hazmat within tolerance; electrical component authenticity
alloy CompositionAlloy composition confirmed
contact TypeIdentifiable as electrical contact; relay/circuit breaker/switchgear classification ; electrical component authenticity
hazmat LimitsMercury <0.001%, Cadmium <0.01%, Lead <0.1%; occupational safety extreme; legacy equipment status
material AuthenticityConfirmed as silver electrical contact 70-99.5%; counterfeited; non-contact waste
precious Metal TracePrecious traces documented if present; specialty contact classification
silver ContentAg 70-99.5% within specification; quantified via fire assay or
Weight Tolerance
measurementPrecise scale measurement mandatory; weight certification required
variance±2% from purchase order weight
Required Test Methods
100% Visual Electrical Contact Identification
CRITICALABSOLUTEMANDATORY
Purpose
- confirm silver electrical contact (not non-contact waste)
- identify contact type
- assess electrical use markers and arc damage
Acceptance Criteria
- Silver electrical contact apparent
- contact point characteristics evident
- electrical arcing visible from use
- component authenticity confirmed
Procedure
- 100% visual inspection
- inspect contact characteristic appearance (smooth/pitted/oxidized typical electrical use)
- identify relay/circuit breaker/switchgear type
- assess arc damage pitting pattern
- confirm electrical component
- detect obvious contamination
Contact Type & Generation Classification
CRITICALEXTREME
Purpose
- categorize by contact type (relay/circuit breaker/switchgear)
- estimate equipment generation (modern vs. vintage)
- assess legacy hazmat risk profile
Acceptance Criteria
- Contact type
- equipment generation identified
- legacy hazmat risk STRATIFIED extreme
- silver recovery potential
Procedure
- Visual assessment
- identify contact age/equipment generation characteristics
- relay vs. circuit breaker morphology
- estimate silver content by color/appearance
- classify legacy hazmat risk vintage vs. modern
Silver Content & Alloy Composition Analysis
CRITICALMANDATORYEXTREME
Purpose
- verify silver 70-99.5%
- quantify alloy composition (copper/nickel percentage)
- estimate recovery value
Acceptance Criteria
- Silver within 70-99.5% specification
- alloy composition quantified
- recovery potential
Procedure
- Fire assay (traditional electrical contact standard) or XRF calibrated for electrical alloys
- quantify silver + copper/nickel + trace elements
- estimate recovery percentage
Precious Metal Trace Detection
Purpose
- detect platinum/gold/palladium trace (ultra-precious elements specialty contacts)
- assess total precious metal value premium contact identification
Acceptance Criteria
- Precious traces documented
- Pt/Au/Pd quantified if present
- specialty contact classification
Procedure
- XRF spectrometry ultra-sensitive
- detect platinum/gold/palladium trace in specialty electrical contacts
- quantify ultra-precious components if present
Legacy Hazmat Screening
CRITICALABSOLUTEEXTREME
Purpose
- detect mercury <0.001% (ppt-level
- mercury-wetted contacts rare legacy)
- cadmium <0.01% (silver-cadmium contacts restricted legacy)
- lead <0.1% (solder contamination)
Acceptance Criteria
- Mercury <0.001% VERIFIED extreme precision
- Cadmium <0.01% verified
- Lead <0.1% verified
- legacy equipment status CLASSIFIED extreme
Procedure
- XRF or ICP-AES ultra-sensitive
- detect mercury (mercury-wetted contacts
- ppt-level extreme precision)
- cadmium (silver-cadmium vintage contacts
- restricted)
- lead solder (legacy)
- hazmat element quantified precision
Electrical Arcing/Damage Assessment
Purpose
- evaluate electrical contact wear
- assess arc damage extent
- determine if material loss significant
- recovery processing impact
Acceptance Criteria
- Contact damage within normal electrical use
- no structural compromise detected
- recovery processing feasible
Procedure
- Visual inspection arc pitting/crater patterns
- assess erosion severity
- determine material loss extent from arcing
- evaluate if damage impacts recovery yield
- estimate processing difficulty