Metalworking oxidation is one of the main reasons that gold is found in nuggets. These nuggets are relatively pure gold and are workable as they are found. Copper ore, being relatively abundant, and tin ore became the next important players in the story of metalworking. Using heat to smelt copper from ore, a great deal of copper was produced. It was used for both jewelry and simple tools. However, copper by itself was too soft for tools requiring edges and stiffness. At some point tin was added into the molten copper and bronze was born. Bronze is an alloy of copper
Sundown Tin and Copper Mine though copper fell dramatically in 1907 as well. However, Kershaw and Dodds intended to erect a crushing works at the site the following year. The mine was worked under tribute in 1909 - 1910. In 1911 -1912 work recommenced, with both copper and tin prices resurging. A road was cut to the site, and a shaft sunk in the bottom of the tin mine, which had previously been mined largely by open-cut. The old smelter was described as still being in good condition in 1913, but mining was clearly slow . In 1914 the mine was taken over by the