As it is more than unsure if we will be able to produce copper with our current approaches we decided to conduct experiments with an electric fan in a smithing hearth. The aim is to produce a copper regulus which is well separated from the matte. Of course we did not stopped the other experiment series. While the electric fan made its work we conducted further experiments, this time operating the bellows “Nepalese style” (short strong bursts). Our hope was to reach a higher and more stable temperature. Both of our wishes came true.
In the smithing hearth we managed to produce a beautiful regulus of about 14 g. And in the fire pit A. Thiede and Y. Nienaber achieved temperatures highter than 1200 °C in a superhuman effort, temperatures we never ever reached before in the pit. Additional the liquid melt allowed us to extract several flat slags.
During these experiments, the remaining crew members continued with the crushing to ensure we have enough material to repeat the experiment tomorrow several times and to have a second run with the blowpipes.
At the end of day, we conducted a small experiment to test if a russian coin and malachite will smelt together to brass. Unfortunately a storm arose and we had to abort the experiment.
