Non-Chemical old smelting pot

[jimmyreece]

i have a frend that has several old gold mines on his property, and also to which ther is a very old and very large smelting pot that was carved out of rock. it sits on top of another large rock. the story is the miners would use it to smelt ther old with it. if thats true my guess is there would be gold underneath or even with in the pot itself due to any cracks that im sure must have appeared during the time it was in use. any input on this would be great

 

[4metals]

That is correct, when using gas melters back in the day we always crushed up the refractory when it got beat up and sifted out the beads.

If it was used for a melter, it's hard to imagine how they got it that hot,or for that matter what they took out of a mine that was meltable without some sort of concentrating.

I would be scouting around the melt area with a metal detector to see what they may have lost. I would also be looking for signs of tailings piles, prospecting has come a long way and the tailings piles of old may be the gold strike of today!

 

[butcher]

smelting? I would think roasting ore more likely.

 

[jimmyreece]

so it looks to be a promising adventure.fun if anything.but if roasting ore was its purpose then maybe they were after the "blue cement"from ancient river bed?.....i like the metal detecter idea too. tbhe property is in nevada county california.