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 the slag was cast into sand moulds, typical of reverberatory furnace practice. East of the furnace are a number of sleepers, lengths of wire cable, and the base of the structure which could be the flying fox used to bring tin and copper ore to the mill site. However, this area of the site has been extensively disturbed by more recent bulldozing and earth moving activities. The two dams are located below the Old Works site, and are earthen dams, riveted with timber on the downstream side, and both are broken. A large amount of tailings sand lines the creek