Non-ferrous metals

The increasing attention to the environmental and health impacts of industrial activities by governmental regulations and by the growing awareness level in the society is forcing industrialists to reduce the use of mineral oil-based metalworking fluids as cutting fluid. Cutting fluids have been used extensively in metal cutting operations for the last 200 years. In the beginning, cutting fluids consisted of simple oils applied with brushes to lubricate and cool the machine tool. As cutting operations became more severe, cutting fluid formulations became more complex. There are now several types of cutting fluids in the market and the most common types can be broadly categorized as cutting oils or water-miscible fluids. In this review, the applicability of vegetable oil-based metalworking fluids in machining of ferrous metals has been undertaken. The advantages of metalworking fluids and its performances with respect to the cutting force, surface finish of work piece, tool wear and temperature at the cutting zone have been investigated. It has been reported in various literature that metalworking fluids, which are vegetable oil-based, could be an environmentally friendly mode of machining with similar performance obtained using mineral oil-based metalworking fluids. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. Allrightsreserved.

http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0890695511001726/1-s2.0-S0890695511001726-main.pdf?_tid=264eeadc-1d34-11e4-ae6e-00000aacb35f&acdnat=1407307234_34c85dbb762d33f91af7172058226f2e 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890695511001726

Copper electrorefining process is carried out in an electrolyte with strictly defined content of copper and impurities, which are primarily nickel, arsenic, antimony, iron, and the anode sludge in suspended state. The presence of these impurities in the electrolyte leads to contamination of copper cathodes and decrease of technical and economical parameters of copper electrorefining process. Therefore it is necessary to periodically remove harmful elements from the electrolyte. The subject of the presented study is an overview of copper electrolyte purification and regeneration processes conducted in various copper electrorefining plants.

The European Union continuously increases the pressure on its member states in order to restrict harmful substances of daily use. One among these substances is the heavy metal lead. Absorbed by the human body this element may cause acute gastro-intestinal disorders, irritations of the peripheral and central nervous system, damage to various blood and renal dysfunction. For minimizing the risk of exposure of people to the substances which are classified as carcinogenic the European Union has enacted several directives such as 2011/65/EU (RoHS) and 836/2012 (REACH). As a consequence demand for ecologically compatible metal-based materials like lead-free brass alloys led to the realization of a research project on the development of alternative brass alloys with silicon and manganese for the use in various applications, for sand and mould casting. For the development of new alloys the crucial material characteristics had to be identified and appropriate measurement methods had to be found. Based on these preconditions an experimental plan was designed by using the software MODDE 7 ®. Material-specific and cast-technological data were gained from a series of experiments. In a further step the data was analyzed by MODDE and a variety of empirical models of crucial alloy characteristics were calculated/generated. These served to develop further new lead-free brass with optimized characteristics.

Aufgrund der archäometrischen Untersuchungen besteht kaum Zweifel daran, dass die aus Kalkstein gefertigten Dauergießformen aus Magdeburg zum direkten Gießen von Zinnobjekten bzw. Gegenständen aus Zinnlegierungen oder Blei benutzt wurden. Eine andere Verwendung kommt – mit Ausnahme der Herstellung von Wachsmodellen – angesichts der Temperaturempfindlichkeit des Kalksteins nicht infrage. Es liegt deshalb auf der Hand, mittelalterlichen Kalksteinformen generell eine derartige Verwendung zu unterstellen. Allerdings wurden in der Vergangenheit die wenigsten Fundstücke von anderen Fundorten diesbezüglich analytisch untersucht, sodass nur eine geringe Anzahl von gesicherten Belegen für die genaue Benutzung von Dauerformen aus Kalkstein bzw. aus anderen Materialien vorliegt. Im Folgenden wird das aus Europa stammende Fundmaterial überblicksweise vorgestellt und – soweit anhand von Literaturangaben möglich – hinsichtlich der Verwendung bewertet. Der Fokus liegt v. a. auf chronologisch nahestehenden Vergleichsfunden zu den Magdeburger Gießformen. Daneben werden Weißmetallobjekte besprochen, die in ihrer Machart in vergleichbaren Gießformen entstanden sind.

Zinc plant residue (ZPR) is a secondary material generated during hydrometallurgical zinc production that contains considerable contents of valuable elements such as Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Cd, Ag, In, Ga, Tl. Zinc, copper and accompanying elements in ZPR are in different minerals, mainly in the ferrites. A promising approach for recycling ZPR is the sulfating roasting using iron sulfates followed by water leaching. In this study, the composition of ZPR and the obtained products were thoroughly investigated by various methods including X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), chemical phase analysis and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The effect of temperature, amount of iron sulfates and roasting time on the conversion of valuable metals into a water-soluble form was thermodynamically and experimentally studied both using pure ferrites and ZPR. Based on the results of time-resolved XRD analysis and synchronous thermal analysis (STA), a mechanism of the sulfation roasting was elucidated. The rate-controll...

(in: Experimentelle Archäologie in Europa 16 – Jahrbuch 2017, pp. 25-44)
In order to review the hardening properties during cold-forging and recrystallization through annealing and subsequent quenching, seven non-ferrous alloys were produced following ancient examples. The small flat blanks were uniformly forged and annealed and during all working steps the Brinell hardness was measured. The results were graphically plotted and compared with observations from archaeological, archaeometrical, historical and modern specialist literature, iconographical presentations and field studies. In the outlook the results are assessed.

Cette thèse d’histoire, soutenue par Pierre-Christian Guiollard le 11 décembre 2009, fut réalisée sous la direction conjointe des professeurs Pierre Fluck et Nicolas Stoskopf à l’Université de Haute-Alsace. L’auteur se propose d’analyser et d’interpréter les facteurs et les événements qui contribuèrent à l’émergence, à la prospérité et au déclin des mines d’antimoine et de tungstène françaises au cours des XIXe et XXe siècles, ceci afin de démontrer que cette branche de l’activité minière occupa, au delà des apparences, une place belle et bien entière dans l’industrie minière française.

Link to pictures and figure captions: https://exarc.net/issue-2018-4/at/viking-jewellery-mould-making-experimental-and-reconstructive-aspects

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Abstract: Craftsmanship relies upon the silent knowledge of the skilled experience of the creative workings of the hands, a knowledge that is difficult to convert to written characters without creating a blur of words that make very little sense. Theoretical reasoning lacks the dialogue with, and the resistance from, the raw material. Making up a picture of how wax, clay and metal would behave without practical experience of them is next to impossible. You must work with the material directly to get proper answers. After nearly 600 recorded castings with reconstructed early medieval casting technology behind me, and just as many unrecorded, I may perhaps consider myself a craftsman almost as much as I am an archaeologist, and I would like to share a little of what I have learned from these experiences.

Kebutuhan manusia tidak pernah terlepas dari penggunaan bahan material. sejak 50 tahun terakhir para ilmuwan telah berusaha untuk menemukan hubungan antara sifat bahan dengan elemen struktur bahan sehingga menghasilkan berbagai jenis material yang memiliki sifat yang berbeda satu dengan lainnya. Dalam dunia teknik material dibagi menjadi logam dan non logam.

RESUMEN Con el fin de analizar los resultados obtenidos de los ensayos destructivos de probetas de hierro colado, y con aleaciones de cobre, zinc y estaño, por medio de Mecánica de Fracturas, utilizando el primer modelo del Balance Energético de Griffith, se procedió a diseñar y elaborar dichas probetas, para lo cual, primero se compraron los materiales existentes en Guatemala, los cuales eran hierro colado y cobre; y se importaron los materiales inexistentes en Guatemala, es decir, el zinc se importó de Estados Unidos, y el estaño se importó de Alemania. A continuación se realizó la fundición de los materiales para realizar las respectivas aleaciones, lo cual se hizo en el horno cubilote de la Fundidora Ramírez, ubicada en la zona 7 de la Ciudad de Guatemala, una vez obtenidas las placas fundidas y aleadas, se tornearon hasta conseguir la forma precisa de probeta que conseguía ser ajustada en la, lugar donde se realizarían las pruebas. Al tener las probetas maquinadas, se hicieron los ensayos anteriormente mencionados, para analizar los resultados y poder obtener conclusiones. ABSTRACT In order to analyze the results that have been obtained from the destructive testing of cast iron specimens, with copper, zinc, and tin alloys by means of fracture mechanics, using the first Energy Production Griffith model, we proceeded to design and elaborate such specimens, therefore, the first thing was buying the existing materials in Guatemala, which were cast iron and copper; and materials nonexisting in Guatemala, such as zinc, was imported from United States, and tin, was imported from Germany. Hereinafter, the casting iron materials was performed so the respective alloys could be done which was done in the cupola furnace of the Fundidora Ramirez, located in Zone 7 of Guatemala City after obtaining the castings and alloyed plates, they were lathed until the precise shape of specimen was obtained, that way it could be adjusted in the Universal testing Machine from the Mechanical Engineering School at the University San Carlos de

In the Budapest History Museum, there is a huge collection of small metal finds from the medieval period, which was found during the excavations of the Buda Castle. In spite of the fact that the castle was excavated nearly 60 years ago, these bronze, copper and lead objects have not been published since then.
This paper - which is actually an MA thesis at Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem - would like to present this unique collection, with the intention of proving the central and  representative role of the medieval town of Buda.  Among the finds, there are candlesticks, parts of different chandeliers, objects in connection with the cloths and dresses, and with the everyday life.

This paper discusses non-ferrous metalworking on Gotland, Sweden, c. AD 500–1150 as it is reflected through products and production debris recovered during metal detector surveys over a period of more than 30 years. Since most of the surveys were focused on the recovery of silver hoards the production-related finds have mostly been overlooked by previous research. This is unfortunate since they often offer important clues, both for establishing where non-ferrous metalworking occurred and to how it was organised. An additional number of sites, identified through more traditional archaeological methods are also discussed. Altogether these finds help to increase the understanding of the Gotlandic society in the late Iron Age and Early Medieval Period.

The purpose of this study is to present the small bronze, copper, tin and lead findings that were recovered from the area of the royal palace of Buda during the last few decades, mostly by works led by László Gerevich  and currently kept in the Budapest History Museum. It can be said, that the nature of the royal capital is implied by the large number and diversity of metallic finds and by the unique pieces (incised copper plates, key ring, label fonts etc.).

This contribution summarises our state of knowledge of metal working activities in the long-researched oppidum of Třísov; from the excavations of the National Museum in the 1950s–1980s to the extensive prospections in recent years. The spatial pattern of specialised production of non-ferrous metals is outlined based on the spatial distribution of characteristic features and finds. The first results of the chemical and isotope analyses of a selection of bronze objects are presented, pointing out the hypothesis of the extensive recycling common at the oppida in the late La Tène period that possibly involved also objects obtained through long distance contacts. Late La Tène — oppidum — bronze — metallurgy — workshop — geochemistry — isotopes

The River Ljubljanica, running through central Slovenia, has yielded a wealth of archaeological finds, including 79 pieces of Roman military equipment. An in-depth research of these pieces (Istenič 2019), mostly from the Middle and Late Augustan periods (15 BC to AD 14), included the  characterisation of non-ferrous metals (33 objects are in whole or partly of non-ferrous metals).

More than 20 kg of dust and sludge per 1 tonne of produced metal are generated in the basic oxygen furnaces used in steel metallurgy. In this type of waste there may be many non-ferrous metals, including also zinc. The content of this metal in dusts ranges from 1 to 6%. After lowering the zinc content to a level of about 1%, such type of waste may become a full-fledged iron-bearing material used in ferrous metallurgy. There is also a possibility to recover and manage the zinc removed from waste materials. Recycling of these materials also reduces the risk to the natural environment, resulting from e.g. the transition of metal compounds contained in stored waste materials into the groundwater and soil. The article presents the results of ammonia leaching of wastes from basic oxygen furnaces where the zinc content is 2.82%. Ammonia leaching allows the turn zinc into the liquid phase with minimal loss of iron in this process. The examinations apply three compounds of ammonia (NH4Cl, (NH4)2CO3 and NH4OH) to analyze the efficiency of the leaching process at different times, temperatures, concentrations of applied compounds and ratios of liquid phase to the solid phase.

The impressive front of the Dalem brooch is frequently depicted while the back is often neglected. In this chapter the brooch is studied from a craft perspective which shows that a study of both sides is essential for a full understanding of how the brooch was made. The details reveal access to specialized tools and materials, and a high level of skill, knowledge and creativity. They seem to indicate that the team of fine metalworkers included a master smith with enough experience and confidence to play with techniques and motifs. It is also likely that designs and knowledge were exchanged with other craftspeople. We do not know where the Dalem brooch was made, but it is very likely to have been an elite residence. It is argued that the master smith may have played an active and visible role in these places comparable to that of skalds in the later part of the Iron Age.

Abstract Booklet: „Archaeology, history and ethnography of precious- and non ferrous metals in the Carpathian-Basin". From manufacturing technic, archaeometric and society historical point of view ...Conference in the Hungarian National Museum. 14th-15th Nov. 2018.

Invitation.  Conference in the Hungarian National Museum. 14th-15th Nov. 2018.
„Archaeology, history and ethnography of precious- and non ferrous metals in the Carpathian-Basin. From manufacturing technic, archaeometric and society historical approaches…

Zinc plant residue (ZPR) is a secondary material generated during hydrometallurgical zinc production that contains considerable contents of valuable elements such as Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Cd, Ag, In, Ga, Tl. Zinc, copper and accompanying elements in ZPR are in different minerals, mainly in the ferrites. A promising approach for recycling ZPR is the sulfating roasting using iron sulfates followed by water leaching. In this study, the composition of ZPR and the obtained products were thoroughly investigated by various methods including X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), chemical phase analysis and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The effect of temperature, amount of iron sulfates and roasting time on the conversion of valuable metals into a water-soluble form was thermodynamically and experimentally studied both using pure ferrites and ZPR. Based on the results of time-resolved XRD analysis and synchronous thermal analysis (STA), a mechanism of the sulfation roasting was elucidated. The rate-controlling step of zinc and copper sulfation process during the ZPR roasting was estimated. The sulfating roasting at 600 °C during 180 min with the optimal Fe2(SO4)3∙9H2O addition followed by water leaching enables to recover 99% Zn and 80.3% Cu, while Fe, Pb, Ag, In, Ga retained almost fully in the residue.

The statistics of Soviet non-ferrous metal production remained to be top secret until the very recent years and unavailable to researchers despite of its importance for the whole industrial development. This is why historians had to operate only estimations of the unknown reliability made by different non-Soviet authors on the base of indirect or scattered data.
The current paper provides the accurate data on this production during the 50 years of the Soviet rule. The data are taken from recently declassified archives of the TsSU (Central Statistical Directorate) of the Soviet Union. The research is focused on the dynamics of Soviet non-ferrous metal production. The declassified archival data are compared with the data available for researchers previously.
Also, the non-ferrous metal production is compared with the statistics of the Soviet trade revealing the periods of non-ferrous import particular importance to the Soviet economy and some tendencies in exports and imports correspondence.

***
Статистика советского производства цветных металлов оставалась до последнего времени строго засекреченной и неизвестной исследователям, хотя роль этой отрасли в промышленном развитии достаточно высока. В этих условиях историкам приходилось оперировать лишь оценками неизвестной степени точности, составленными на основании разных источников различными западными авторами.
В данной статье приводятся сведения о производстве цветных металлов в первые 50 лет Советской власти, взятые из рассекреченных архивов ЦСУ СССР. Проводится анализ динамики советского производства цветных металлов. Рассекреченные данные сопоставляются с основными публикациями, имевшимися в распоряжении исследователей ранее.
Статистика производства цветных металлов в СССР сопоставляется со статистикой внешней торговли; выявляются периоды особенной важности импорта для советской экономики и тенденции соотношения экспорта и импорта.

Tisztelettel meghívjuk " A színesfémművesség évezredei a Kárpát-medencében" c. Országos konferenciára a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeumba, és várjuk, hogy előadásával, vagy poszter bemutatásával járuljon hozzá a konferenciai eredményességéhez. Az MTA VEAB két munkabizottsága 2018 őszén folytatni szándékozik a különböző anyagfajták kézművesipar-régészeti lelőhelyeinek komplex vizsgálatát. Az Iparrégészeti és Archaeometriai Munkabizottság és a Kézművesipar-Történeti Munkabizottság korábban az agyag-, a fa-, a vasművesség, a csont-és bőrfeldolgozás, a textilipar régészeti lelőhelyeit, néprajzi vonatkozásait, történeti adatait és archaeometriai vizsgálatainak tanulságait összegezte egy-egy országos konferencia keretében.  Munkabizottságaink  a következő konferencián a nemes- és színesfémek előállításának és feldolgozásának régészeti műhelyleleteit, az ércbányászat-, a kohászat, az öntészet, az ötvösség, a réz-és bronzművesség régészeti és történeti emlékeit vizsgálják az őskortól a 18. századig. Technológia-és társadalomtörténeti, néprajzi, és anyagvizsgálati (archaeometriai) megközelítésekkel..

The European Union continuously increases the pressure on its member states in order to restrict harmful substances of daily use. One among these substances is the heavy metal lead. Absorbed by the human body this element may cause acute gastro-intestinal disorders, irritations of the peripheral and central nervous system, damage to various blood and renal dysfunction. For minimizing the risk of exposure of people to the substances which are classified as carcinogenic the European Union has enacted several directives such as 2011/65/EU (RoHS) and 836/2012 (REACH). As a consequence demand for ecologically compatible metal-based materials like lead-free brass alloys led to the realization of a research project on the development of alternative brass alloys with silicon and manganese for the use in various applications, for sand and mould casting. For the development of new alloys the crucial material characteristics had to be identified and appropriate measurement methods had to be found. Based on these preconditions an experimental plan was designed by using the software MODDE 7 ®. Material-specific and cast-technological data were gained from a series of experiments. In a further step the data was analyzed by MODDE and a variety of empirical models of crucial alloy characteristics like the material hardness were calculat-ed/generated. In case of the presented model it can be seen that a high content of silicate and zinc leads to an enhanced hardness whereat the Si-content has a higher influence on that material property. The influence of the element manganese is much less in contrast to the other ones.

The study relates to the processing of zinc-containing wastes of metallurgical production using products of joint pyrolysis of polyethylene wastes and wood pods. The process is carried out in two stages: preparation of polyethylene waste for the operation and then the recovery process. Zinc-containing wastes are thickened, dehydrated to a moisture content of not more than 10-13%, mixed with a reducing agent. Dehydrated Zinc-containing wastes (cake or sludge) are mixed with synthetic reducing agents in a mass ratio cake-artificial reducing agent from 8.8: 2.2 to 8.2: 2.8, respectively, and pelletized. They carry out reductive heat treatment of pelletized waste in the presence of a reliable carbon-containing reducing agent in the amount of 20-40% by weight of the processed waste and the resulting products of the combined pyrolysis of polyethylene waste and wood pods with counter current air blasting in a rotary kiln, distillation of zinc and trapping of sublimates to produce zinc oxides. Moreover, before igniting a reliable, reducing agent and pyrolysis products of polyethylene wastes (synthetic reducing agent), gaseous fuel is burned in the working volume of the furnace. This study will increase the intensity of the processes of sublimation of zinc and reduction of iron, increase the degree of utilization of polymer waste.

Archaeological excavation of the deserted pre-location settlement at Opatovice revealed evidence of extensive domestic and craft activities, which vanished during the 1st half of the 13th century. Further analyses confirmed existence of a developed workshop for the production and processing of iron, as well as the production of non-ferrous metals and their alloys.

The St. Sigismund church was built by Hungarian king Sigismund around 1408-1410 to serve royal needs. During the early years of 1990's several metal objects were found in a 16-century dust pit nearby, which are thought to had been the parts of the equipment and decoration of the church: bronze and copper-alloy objects of a gothic chandelier, candleholders, incense-burners, bookbindings. Besides that, numerous ornaments, costume elements and everyday objects were excavated from the pit, which can be dated to the 15-16.century.

To characterize the reaction of zinc ions with anion exchangers of various types, the equilibrium compositions of all the components of the sorption system (zinc salt, hydrochloric acid, and water) and distribution of associated molecules in the resin phase were considered.

Various types of waste materials containing zinc (e.g. dusts and sludges from gas dedusting process) are obtained in steel industry. The contents of Zn in these materials may vary considerably. Even a low concentration of zinc in recirculated productsvprecludes their recycling in ferrous metallurgy aggregates. Long storage of this type of material can lead to contamination of soil and water by zinc compounds which can be leached out by acid rain, for example. This paper focuses on research involving alkaline leaching tests of low zinc content iron-bearing materials. These tests were preceded by the analysis of the elemental, phase and grain size composition, and analysis of the thermodynamic conditions of the leaching process. The main aim of research was to decrease the content of the zinc in the sludge to the level where it is suitable as an iron-bearing material for iron production (~1% Zn). Leaching at elevated temperatures (368 K, 60 min) has led to a decrease in the zinc content in the sludge of about 66%. The research revealed that long hour leaching (298 K, 100 hours) carried out at ambient temperatures caused a reduction in zinc content by 60% to the value of 1.15-1.2% Zn.

The zinc and lead smelter "Miasteczko Śląskie" near Tarnowskie Góry started in 1968. In the last few years emissions of contaminants from the production process of Zn and Pb were reduced. But some of the elements remain accumulated in the upper layer of the soil. Samples of the upper layer (0 - 5 cm) of the soil were taken along transects set with a compass in the following directions: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW, starting from the smelter in the distances of: 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 m, and then every 250 m, up to 3000 m. The concentration of zinc was measured by conventional AAS method. The highest content of zinc in soil was found 50 - 100 m from the smelter. It was probably due to the grain-size composition of dust emitted by the smelter and to local content of heavy metals in the soil.

ABSTRACT The recycling of electronic waste and the recovery of valuable components are large problems in the modern world economy. This paper presents the effects of melting sorted electronic scrap in a plasma furnace. Printed circuit boards, cables, and windings were processed separately. The characteristics of the obtained products (i.e., alloy metal, slag, dust, and gases) are presented. A method of their further processing in order to obtain commercial products is proposed. Because of the chemical composition and physical properties, the waste slag is environmentally inert and can be used for the production of abrasives. Process dusts containing large amounts of carbon and its compounds have a high calorific value. That makes it possible to use them for energy generation. The gas has a high calorific value, and its afterburning combined with energy recovery is necessary.

https://rdcu.be/b4j4p

Use of biodiesel in automobile can significantly reduce our dependence of fossil fuel and help reduce environmental pollution. However, there are concerns over the compatibility of currently used automotive materials in biodiesel. A few automobile manufacturers extended their warranty only to lower blends of biodiesel (e.g. B5). Higher blends (e.g. B50 or B100) are still not covered by warranty. In automobile fuel system, metallic materials like ferrous alloy and non-ferrous alloys, and elastomers come in contact with fuel. Biodiesel, having different chemical characteristics from diesel, can interact with materials in a different way. It can cause corrosive and tribological attack on metallic components and degrade elastomer parts. This paper attempts to present an overview of the work done so far on the compatibility of biodiesel with automotive materials. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://ac.els-cdn.com/S001623611000582X/1-s2.0-S001623611000582X-main.pdf?_tid=17b77c50-a9c6-11e3-a056-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1394615581_45cf0dbef26d69ebcb2b4c9d36c02edf 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001623611000582X

This article applies the mildly explosive/multiple bubbles testing methodology developed by Phillips et al. (2015a, International Economic Review, forthcoming) to examine the recent time series behaviour of the six main London Metal Exchange non-ferrous metals prices. We detect periods of mild explosivity in the cash and 3-month futures price series in each of copper, nickel, lead, zinc and tin, but not in aluminium. We argue that convenience yield, although the formal counterpart to dividend yield in commodity markets, is not a useful basis on which to assess whether observed explosivity is indicative of bubbles. We construct other measures that suggest the observed explosivity in the non-ferrous metals market can be associated with tight physical markets.

One of the boisterously developing areas is the development of nano-structural materials, which at present belongs to the priority areas of scientific research aimed at materials and also at forming technologies all over the world. Significance of use of these materials grows especially in automotive industry, in military and space industries. This paper informs namely on ECAP technology investigations that have been oriented by overall objectives of acquiring new knowledge concerning deformation resistances, stress condition impacts and structure and properties of nonferrous metals and its alloys. Magnesium - zirconium alloy and WE43 magnesium alloy for investigation was used.

The objective of the study was evaluate zinc and lead contamination in the upper, organic layer of the soil around zinc and lead smelting plant KGH "Bolesław" in Bukowno near Olkusz. The study material were samples of the upper layer (0-5 cm) of the soil collected at the distance of 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 m, and further each of the 250 m up to 3000 m sections in 8 directions: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW. The most contaminated soil samples were found at the distance of up about 1000 m from the subject plant. The most polluted is the NE and SW area. Pollution of the NE area is related to wind direction. The SW area could be a zinc and lead are outcrop, or else, it was contaminated when used as a dumping ground for the waste from the plant in the past. Heavy pollution of this area with zinc and lead could case serious damage to living organisms in the area close to the plant.

In the late 1990s Suffolk County Council Archaeology Service (now Suffolk Archaeology) began a series of excavations in advance of construction work at the US Air Force base RAF Lakenheath (Eriswell, Suffolk). During the course of this work three substantial Early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries (dated from 475 to 650 CE) were excavated. These sites are some of the largest and best preserved Anglo-Saxon cemeteries excavated in modern times. Many of the inhumations were furnished. Amongst the host of grave goods were approximately 800 non-ferrous metal objects. This presented a significant opportunity to examine Early Anglo-Saxon non-ferrous metallurgy. Previous studies of Early Anglo-Saxon non-ferrous artefacts have tended to focus on acquiring quantitative data using invasive sampling on specific (predominantly cast) object types. The data from these small subsets of objects were then extrapolated to create an interpretation of the technological and metallurgical skills of the era. As this tended to exclude sheet metal objects and the more utilitarian metalwork it is suggested by the author here that this approach is not representative and leaves something to be desired. In this study it was decided to focus on producing a broad data set that, whilst being qualitative, would allow broad trends in alloy composition to be assessed (if present) against a variety of variables. Data was predominantly acquired using handheld portable X-ray fluorescence (HHpXRF). The results showed that the usage of copper and silver alloys in the Early Anglo-Saxon period is more complex than has previously been suggested. It is thought that this is predominantly linked to decisions regarding an object’s manufacturing technique, but there is also evidence to suggest that elements of cultural identity may have also had a role to play. There is also evidence for continuity of practice between the late Romano- British and Early Anglo-Saxon periods.