Natural History (Pliny) developed for counterfeit coins and proved very popular with the victims, mostly ordinary people. He deals with the liquid metal mercury, also found in silver mines. He records that it is toxic, and amalgamates with gold, so is used for refining and extracting that metal. He says mercury is used for gilding copper, while antimony is found in silver mines and is used as an eyebrow cosmetic. The main ore of mercury is cinnabar, long used as a pigment by painters. He says that the colour is similar to "scolecium", probably the kermes insect. The dust is very toxic, so
Ore dock built in 1865. By 1884, locomotives played a vital part in hauling ore from the mines to the docks. The pockets and chutes were filled using the hopper type ore cars. In 1889, the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway operated a dock with 284 pockets. The railroads also provided alternate transportation for people, goods and eventually, iron ore. The length and capacity of docks corresponded with the capacity of the ore freighters which they were designed to accommodate. As ore carriers increased in height and width, higher pocket openings were required and it was necessary to construct new docks