Neil is such a font of knowledge. Also the most relaxing voice in the blademaking world.

You beat HTME at his own game!

For context, the mineral cassiterite is about 79% tin.  The reason many modern mines operate at 1% to 2% tin "head grade" is because the proportion of cassiterite per tonne of ore mined is very low and the scale of the mining is large.  Thus mining selectivity has a great deal to do with how "rich" the ore will be.

As cassiterite is rare in very high concentrations over large masses of rock, there will only be occasional instances where you find very rich veins; this is why alluvial tin was so sort after as mother nature had done much of the liberation and concentration of the mineral for you.

However, with modern mining technology and processing, mining large volumes of ore is economically sound, whereas such a feat would not have been possible in the early ages of human civilisation. :)

Oh! Ice cold Cornish stream! I've been on camping trips where the water tastes better than the beer. That stream looked so good!
My hometown in Brixham, Devon, Roman tin mines shaped the coastline at Sharkham Point...

This deserves more views great video my man I generally feel like I've learned something

Copper can't. But, tin can. Too punny?

Hmmm. I need to go prospecting for tin...

Your videos are always so compelling, so awesome.

Enjoyable and informative video.  Makes you wonder how long it took them to figure out how hot the fire had to be. Or that they needed a reducing atmosphere when smelting.

I clicked the video because i read "smelling tin" and got curious why would you smell tin and what purpose does it serve.

I love the combination of archaic bellows and digital thermocouple.
How do you think those bellows compare to your clever Japanese contraption?

this is freakn fascinating! I am a nerd with ancient processes and its just amazing how smart people were 4-6k years ago.

I think I know why it must be melted at higher temps to release and why it settles higher in formations than other heavy metals. It holds heat better, less conductive, than most other metals.

Nice video

I do like your vids

if you're still about in Penwith i'd recommend asking about Cornish Hedging, and the stone circles and Menhirs, Cornish history going back further than the discovery of any metal, to the very beginnings of human ingenuity. for me an old stone hedge perfectly encapsulates harmony with nature.

it's still strange how i know this place well enough that i know exactly where you were doing the panning and talking about the copper.

tyvm

Awesome!

Whay they use iron tools and modern ways? It looks like something wrong with anchent ways and chronology.

Awesome video!  Be great to see more of Neil on the Tube - you guys gotta convince him to start making videos.  My hobby is making reproduction anachronistic bronze age axes from a fictional world, so he is kind of one of my heroes.