Tin mining to trace metal content in the copper ore It was soon discovered that the addition of tin or arsenic to copper increased its hardness and made casting much easier, which revolutionized metal working techniques and brought humanity from the Copper Age or Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age around 3000 BC. Early tin exploitation appears to have been centered on placer deposits of cassiterite. The first evidence of tin use for making bronze appears in the Near East and the Balkans around 3000 BC. It is still unclear where the earliest tin was mined, as tin deposits are very rare and
Sundown Tin and Copper Mine 28 July 2000 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The Sundown Mine is of historical importance because of its combination of tin, copper and arsenic production, the primary product at any given time varying with the prevailing market condition. Thus at one site is a microcosm of the forces influencing the pattern of most mining in this region of southern Queensland. The Sundown Mine together with the Beecroft Mine and the Jibbenbar State Arsenic Works, is associated with the prickly pear eradication program. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon