Bronze chisel, date about 1370 B.C. found at Tel El Amarna, Upper Egypt, in winter season of 1921-22

The origins of extraction metallurgy go back to pre -history. At a very early time in history, bronze, which is normally an alloy of copper and tin, was made by fusing mixed ores of the two metals together to produce a melt of two layers. On top would be a slag and below molten bronze. Bronze was much prized because of its great hardness and because, when melted, it could be cast easily into intricate shapes. Bronze was probably the first alloy to be made and the earlist metallurgists found that it was stronger and tougher than the metals it was made from.