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Copper Smelter Splash Specimen, 2.5 pounds #109474

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 200.00 USD
Copper Smelter Splash Specimen, 2.5 pounds  #109474
SOLD
20.00USD+ (5.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2019 Dec 08 @ 10:35UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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This is a copper splash specimen from the McGill copper smelter near Ely, Nevada, that processed concentrated ore from a mine at about 34 percent copper content into purified metal that is almost 99 percent pure. It is common for the massive furnaces to spill molten copper metal, and this is a 2-1/2-pound piece that solidified onto a flat surface before solidifying. Usually this copper "splash" is recycled back into the furnace, but this piece made it out somehow. It bears the wrinkly surface texture (also found on the 800-pound copper anodes that are cast at the smelter) caused by the extreme contraction of the metal as it solidifies from the molten state. This piece could be mounted to stand vertically and possibly cleaned with a strong acid to remove the dark oxide coating that naturally formed during cooling. The smelter in McGill began operating in 1908 and was acquired by Kennecott Utah Copper Company in 1932. They operated it until 1983, and it has since been demolished. State: Nevada City: McGill Date: