Irene,Gmelin has a volume devoted to Boron and Forbes'Ancient
Technology may have something , Ken Tidswell
On Sun, 2 Apr 2000 16:37:19 +0100 (BST) Peter Claughton
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >not strictly mining-related but does anybody know anything about the early
> >exploitation and refining of borax,
>
> Irene,
>
> Sources for borax (a hydrous sodium borate) in ancient times would be very
> limited. The natural occurence of borax, along with the other hydrous
> borates, would appear to be confined to dry, desert conditions where they
> formed from surface solutions. Pough, A Field Guide to Rocks and Mineral,
> (London, 1970), pp. 174-5 and 178, gives Tibet as the ancient source.
>
> Given its limited occurence, I would suggest that its use in European
> metallurgy was confined to specialist processes. If you were to find
> evidence of wider use then is it possible that another, chemically similar,
> flux was being used?
>
> Peter
>
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----------------------
kenneth tidswell
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