Mining for Gold in Old Cell Phones (found on CNBC.com)

A wireless conference might be the last place you'd expect to see a precious metals refinery company, but precious metals are prevalent in cellular devices and once stripped down, those metals can be cashed in.

"We look for gold, silver, palladium and copper in cell phones scraps... We return those metals back to the commodity markets," said Todd Willis, Senior Account Executive at Redlan Metals, a precious metals refinery that is exhibiting at CTIA. But in order for recycling cell phones to be profitable, there needs to be a lot of old cell phones. "The key is you have to have enough volume in order for it to be economically feasible to go through the recovery process," Willis said.

But, it's not just cell phones that can be recycled for precious metals. Other telecommunication devices can also be recycled for precious metals, Willis added. These include air cards, cell phone chargers, SIM cards, and lithium ion batteries. These old devices can't be found just anywhere in high volumes though, that's why Redlan Metals seeks out companies looking for an environmentally safe way to dispose of old products as clients. "We look to partner with companies, large corporations, to help them with their sustainability initiatives for the future with recycling." Willis concluded.

Building a Scrap4Treasure Funnel

You can make good money recovering gold, silver or platinum when you develop a system for finding the scrap you need. We call this 'building a a Scrap4Treasure funnel. A funnel is a an object you use to channel the flow of a substance into a larger container.So, a Scrap4Treasure funnel is a way to get the right kinds of scrap to be poured into your container - your basement or truck or wherever you keep it.

At Scrap4Treasure we show you ways to get that scrap from scouring junk yards, flea markets, auctions, recycle companies, schools and from businesses that need to have old electronics carted away. It all starts by knowing where to look and by letting people know you are interested in their old electronic scrap.

It is important to remember that funneling can sometimes take more time than recovering the precious metals inside. But if you maintain a system for funneling a steady source of scrap you will be way ahead of all those who just go out from time to time and hope for the best.