Alloy was used by the Inuit people. Native copper, however, was found worldwide, along with silver, gold, and platinum, which were also used to make tools, jewelry, and other objects since Neolithic times. Copper was the hardest of these metals, and the most widely distributed. It became one of the most important metals to the ancients. Eventually, humans learned to smelt metals such as copper and tin from ore, and, around 2500 BC, began alloying the two metals to form bronze, which was much harder than its ingredients. Tin was rare, however, being found mostly in Great Britain. In the Middle
Sundown Tin and Copper Mine Sundown Tin and Copper Mine Sundown Tin and Copper Mine is a heritage-listed mine at Little Sundown Creek, Stanthorpe, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to 1920s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000. Tin was discovered at Sundown in 1893, and a reward claim was granted for 40 acres, but at that date there was no machinery on the ground. Mining had ceased in 1894 for want of equipment, and copper prices were at rock-bottom at that time. The copper and tin deposits were on opposite sides of Little Sundown Creek,