Tin sources and trade in ancient times shapes cast in closed molds of the Bronze Age. Arsenical bronze objects appear first in the Middle East where arsenic is commonly found in association with copper ore, but the health risks were quickly realized and the quest for sources of the much less hazardous tin ores began early in the Bronze Age . This created the demand for rare tin metal and formed a trade network that linked the distant sources of tin to the markets of Bronze Age cultures. Cassiterite (SnO), oxidized tin, most likely was the original source of tin in ancient times. Other forms of tin
Sundown Tin and Copper Mine Sundown Tin and Copper Mining Company (N.L.) which erected a 10-head battery driven by a suction-gas plant, and built two fines dams. No work had been done for some time on the tin portion, but some had been going on for copper. In 1915 a calciner was erected, together with "another" Wilfley concentrating table and a Berdan crushing pan, and a new shaft was sunk on the tin deposit. The new tin shaft had poppet legs erected over it in 1916, and a 16 hp Tangye winding engine and vertical boiler were installed. That year 69.5 tons of tin and