Students Learn Smelting Technique in History Class

If you happened to smell a wood fire burning recently on Nash Community College’s campus, you might be surprised to learn that something a little “foreign” was underway. As part of a series of class projects, Christopher Kent and his East Asian history class were down by the campus pond setting up a metal foundry to smelt aluminum for casting. For those unfamiliar with the terminology, “smelting” refers to the of extracting metal from its ore through heating and melting.

Chris Mercer, NCC SGA Secretary and project leader, had plenty of help from his classmates collecting aluminum cans, supplies, and designing castings for the smelting process. He explained that it took approximately 45 to 50 cans to produce one pound of pure aluminum ingots. Once the cans were melted down in the foundry, the aluminum was poured into steel containers to produce the ingots necessary for casting. The ingots could then be reheated and melted to create a number of castings including coins, butterflies, and other decorative items.

The project helped students understand the complexity of melting down and forming metals. Bronze smelting and weapon making was only a brief part of China’s history, however much of their early culture revolved around bronze goods. Students worked on the project for approximately two weeks with one week to create the foundry and one week to smelt the aluminum for castings. When asked about the experience, project leader Chris Mercer shared that it was not only fun but a meaningful exercise that taught students more about China’s history.