Mercury Extraction: Amalgamation Logistics of Ancient Silver Mining

The Spanish Empire's absolute dominance of the global economy hinged on the sprawling silver deposits of Potosi. Yet, the raw ore was too low-grade to process using traditional thermal smelting. The empire's wealth was unlocked by a singular, deadly chemical phenomenon: the patio process. By mixing crushed rock with liquid mercury, metallurgists could extract microscopic silver particles through c...