1865 Pure Copper Assay Office Ingot. 2 lbs+++ Cast from Copper mined in 1863.

Description

Assaying Excellence for over 50 years.
I am selling assay bars submitted to me by one of the oldest mines in Arizona. The ore was mined in 1865.
I am not open to the public but do assays by private treaty to mine owners only.
My career for the mines spans over five decades.
I still enjoy it as much as the first assay I ever performed.
The pure Copper Ingot bars are assayed by me in my shop in Wickenburg, Arizona.
They are over two pounds in weight.
They are truly made by a labor of love from the students of our Blacksmith School.
I assay them without the assistance of emission spectrometry, laser ablation optical emission or mass spectrometry.
I assay the old school method of Sulfuric Acid, Cyanide Soluble Copper, Sodium Cyanide (NaCN) on a shaking table using Centrifuge and wash samples per acid soluble step.
When I certify that the Copper Ingot is Pure Copper (CU) you can take it to the bank that it is the finest sample known to mankind and is .9999 fine.
My degree is a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and I am a scientist, not a pencil pusher.
I run a one man shop and do not have lab assistant or a swamper to sweep the floor. If I don’t sweep the floor, it doesn’t get done.
I put in long hours in an effort to keep up with the demand. Sometimes I think I would make more money as a greeter in Wal-Mart for minimum wage than I do now.
I don’t perform this miracle for the money; I do it for the art and pursuit of excellence.
I was asked when I plan to retire and my only answer is; When God thinks it is time and calls me home.
I teach part time in a private academy for Blacksmiths.
The school was started over 150 years ago by a returning Vet from the Civil War.
The school is dedicated to preserving the art of
Metallurgy
and makes its copper bar ingots out of the tailings pile mined in 1865 from the Vulture mine, the largest producing Gold mine in the History of Arizona.
The sale of pure Copper Assay Ingots are truly an art form and helps to pay the tuition for the students at the school.
It is an all female school proving that Women are just as capable of Blacksmithing as any man.
Our school is by invitation only and we have over a five year waiting list to be admitted.
Our Blacksmiths have the highest placement in the industry with 100% of our graduates being placed at the major mines throughout the world.
They work for less than minimum wage making this ingot for you, but upon graduation from a seven year curriculum as a geologist, they give a whole new meaning to the classification of “Blacksmith”.
It takes over ten hours from start to finish to process the ore, smelt the mineral out of the ore, refine it into its most purest state, fire the forge to melt it, pour it into 1865 mold, grind its shape using a 1880’s hand cranked spinning grinding wheel and finally sealing it where oxidation does not take its toll over the years and preserves its pristine look.
You do the math.
Ten hours labor for fifty bucks not counting the price of the raw material: Copper.
Buy a piece of history.
Support a student in her search for excellence.