Scientific journeys to one of the oldest copper cementation sites in Central Europe (Smolník, Slovakia)

Abstract

The process of copper cementation has already been known since the period of antiquity in Europe. Nevertheless, the first historically relevant reports come from the 14th century from the mining town of Smolník in Upper Hungary (present-day Slovakia), which makes this site the oldest place of the commercial production of copper using cementation in Europe. It is one of the oldest known sites in the world after China, where this process has been used since the 11th century. The cementation copper from Smolník was considered to be a high-quality copper in the period between the 14th and 19th century and was an important export product of Hungary. The study processes the history of cementation and discusses the production process of the artificial cementation water, as well as its subsequent mining and sedimentation. A detailed description of the technological progress of cementation from the earliest times up to the first half of the 19th century is given. The study is based upon the historical works of medieval alchemists and the first miners and naturalists, which were published as early scientific books in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. These findings are complemented by original archival research.