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 furnace were in working order. 30 tons of arsenic and 5.4 tons of copper were produced in 1922, and 200 tons of arsenic in 1923. In 1924 the furnace and part of the mill was leased by Arsenic Limited to O.C Roberts Limited, who remodelled the furnace to treat high-grade ore, as a result of the Prickly Pear Land Commission letting a 12-month contract for the supply of Roberts Improved Pear Poison, which was manufactured at Wallangarra. The ore was to come form the nearby Beecroft Mine. The arsenic works ceased operation in 1925, and tin does not seem to