I Mined A Bunch of Zinc & It Explained The REAL History of Cerro Gordo

In this video, we dive deep into the Zinc Era of Cerro Gordo. A period of time that doesn't get near the attention as the silver era, but was longer, and in many ways more productive.

I head down to the 700 level of the Union Mine to retrieve some smithsonite, refine the smithsonite all the way down to zinc, and use the zinc for it's most common uses. Along the way, we learn a lot more about the history of this famous mining town.

Mailing Address: PO Box 490, Lone Pine, CA 93545

THANK YOU!

[realmindscale]

these types of your videos are my favorite - a little bit of mining, little bit of metallurgy, little bit of history, and you produced a coin to boot! love it

[edchester]

Fun Fact: My Mom was a welder in the shipyards during WW2! She welded Galvanized steel below the decks of large warships! At the end of the day they handed out quarts of milk for the welders to drink to neutralize the effects of the zinc in the galvanized smoke! Later when I was a welder we would grind off the galvanization off the area to be welded before welding anything galvanized! then we would spray-paint the weld with galvanized paint!

[jamiehill]

Another use: Zinc blocks are bolted to the underwater side of ship hulls to prevent corrosion. Battleship New Jersey has hundreds of them from their recent drydocking period. They changed from zinc to aluminum ones because the ship is moored in fresh water in Camden NJ.

[nicholasmaxheleau]

Hey Brent, as a metallurgical chemist( long retired) I really enjoyed your inventiveness in extracting the zinc and the way you processed it to create your products. Well done! I love your curiosity and drive to explore. That keeps me coming back!

[KenG]

If the zinc lotion doesn't keep you from getting sunburned, at least you won't rust!

[robertlook]

I have hiked and climbed in eastern mountains for over fifty years. Plants used to just be green plants to me. Once I began to learn how to identify them and learn about them give them a name, like you say they just jump out at you and you recognize them for the depth of their story. It is so amazingly rewarding. The Judy Kuhn song Colors of the Wind from Disney’s Pocahontas speaks to this, “every rock, and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name”.

[pamabernathy]

Brent, your passion, committment, literal blood, sweat & tears, allows us all to feel how special Cerro Gordo is!!!!

[dennisfahey]

For those unaware of the history - coins originally were allowed to be cut into fragments as payment. A whole coin had its value and lower values were achieved with a simple snip. The smallest denomination was 1/8th (pieces of eight). Another term for 1/8th was a "bit". Think of it as a penny - the smallest one could charge. For a dollar coin, 1/8th is 12 1/2 cents so that is the "bit" and "two bits" would be 1/8 plus 1/8 or 1/4 or a quarter. Eventually the denominations were struck as unique coins and the snipping ( which could easily be used to cheat ) was outlawed. Coins also saw their rims embellished to prevent shaving off a little bit and this cheating the recipient of their full value.

[simonwilliams]

Sunday evening with no kids, an ice cold beer and a new video from Brent... Sunday night made!!

[STEVEARABIA]

It’s great that you’re showing people where things come from and that mining and modern conveniences are so intertwined.

[Janer-]

Brent, I've been watching since the beginning of your channel. I know how hard it was when you first started YT. The confidence and joy you now have is so inspiring! I'm so glad you have kept going - despite setbacks like the fire and the road washing out multiple times. Now you have marathons and bar-b-ques, a book and silver coins. And Joy. Bravo.

[carrierhinier]

Oh my gosh! THIS was your best episode yet! Your excitement is infectious! It’s really cool how you’ve been able to connect the dots and identify things in the timeline! I can tell you had fun with your zinc experiments! You also did a GREAT job in explaining the processes! Well done, Brent! You had my full attention the whole time!

[MickyDee]

Well done Brent. My father worked in a galvanising workshop in Hobart Tasmania in the 1960, s where I worked in the welding shop next door. I used to watch the hot dip method where the item was dipped in sulphuric acid to clean, then washed and then hot dipped in tanks about 30 feet in length and about 6 feet deep. I was excited as you were when watching this video. Wonderful stuff. Thank you.

[snickz]

I’m a line operator for a zinc plating factory. I push the buttons and run the bars full of parts and zinc plate them. I never realized how many things were plated until I stared.
The process is pretty cool. We run the parts through 2 different soaps then they go into hydrochloric acid to strip all the rust. Then they go into the zinc tanks. The electricity pulls the zinc onto the parts and forms the protective coating. Then they get dipped into either a yellow dye tank or a clear / silver tank.

We have zinc balls in the zinc tanks. Bigger than golf balls but smaller than apples. The current and acidic makeup pulls zinc from the balls to plate the parts. I played my axe head once 😅 looks awesome!

[kennyle]

I was up in Cerro Gordo 8 days ago (July 21; the road up to the town is...memorable) and got to see some of the zinc featured in this video in the staging workshop. I didn't get to see Brent (which is a shame since we were carrying his book around hoping it could get signed, but he's a busy man) because he was off doing chemistry in another part of the town, but I did get to feed the goats. If you've got a vehicle with decent clearance, some form of all-wheel drive (yes, I did need it since there were parts where at least some of my tires lost traction), and happen to be somewhere near Lone Pine, I recommend visiting just to see what it's like. You might want to email them beforehand, since the first time I went up during my son's spring break (back in March), the road up to the town was closed off to film a car commercial.

[GangLife-cjhn]

You know it's a good day when Brent post a new video.

[RZRMINERBDR]

As a zinc miner from Tennessee, I really appreciate the history of the mining and uses of the metal. I never gave it much thought before becoming a miner, but every piece of metal you see (everywhere you look) has been mined.

[mannsonthemove]

Brent they also use Zinc to make glass. The liquid silica is poured on to a pool of molten zinc . The molten zinc is perfectly smooth which is transferred to the glass on the bottom and the glass self levels on the top. I watched this process at PPG in Carlisle Pennsylvania.

[craigbrowning]

Smithsonite, a zinc carbonate mineral, was named after James Smithson (1754-1829), an English chemist and mineralogist who first identified it in 1802.

Smithson was also the founder of the Smithsonian Institution (Wikipedia).

[qfitjcy]

Brent, great seeing you with a big smile and really enjoying yourself learning new things. The history lessons you pass along while educating your audience just helps draw us in to your excitement of your growth. Be mindful of the dangers involved while mining, and the dangers involved while processing. So cool to see you making more coins the old fashioned way, really gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride in your work! You Sir, are making life memories going down the path of your choosing that few people in modern times can fathom much less appreciate. Keep moving forward and stay safe.