Thanks for the responses so far. To be worth scraping arsenic from flues etc
and then separating it from the lead and zinc would require more than blip
ores I suspect. There was much coming and going between N Wales and
Shropshire though the references I have seen are of ore going to Minera or
Penyclun for smelting rather than ore coming into Shropshire.
I suspect that the arsenic story began with John W Warter's 'An Old
Shropshire Oak' where some process he saw or heard of at Pontesford reminded
him of similar operations perhaps in Cornwall and he jumped to this
conclusion, he also suggested that the operatives drank oil to counteract
the arsenic, other sources agree about the consumption of oil but saw it as
protection against the lead fumes.
Mike Shaw
----- Original Message -----
From: John Mason <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 3:47 PM
Subject: Re: [MINING-HISTORY] arsenic
> Hi Mike,
>
> I agree with Rob on this.
>
> The snailbeach mineralisation is not particularly exciting with regard
> to "exotic" elements.
>
> The only arsenic "blips" I have seen are in "chalcocite" ores from the
> Habberley area.
>
> Was the smelter dedicated purely to Snailbeach ores or did they process
> stuff from other areas, such as North Wales???
>
> Cheers - John
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