THE EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY OF COPPER FROM CABEZO JURÉ, HUELVA, SPAIN: CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL STUDY OF SLAGS DATED TO THE THIRD MILLENIUM B.C.

Les fouilles archeologiques a Cabezo Jure, pres d'Alosno, province de Huelva. dans le sud-ouest de l'Espagne, ont revele recemment les vestiges d'une ancienne communaute de travailleurs specialises dans la metallurgie du cuivre. Ces gens etaient actifs entre 2873 et 2274 avant Jesus-Christ, selon les datations calibrees au radiocarbone. L'activite metallurgique se voit dans les debris des fours de traitement de minerai, ainsi qu'une grande quantite de laitier et de produits de cuivre, soit epures ou bien a l'etat brut. Les resultats d'etudes archeologiques, geochimiques, mineralogiques et texturales montrent que l'extraction du cuivre se faisait en deux etapes. Il y avait d'abord une fusion primaire dans un four a temperature relativement elevee (∼1200°C), en presence de roches mafiques utilisees comme fondant. Une epuration ulterieure du metal dans des vaisseaux en ceramique produisait un laitier ayant une composition mineralogique plus simple qu'au stade primaire, dans le four. La proportion des oxydes de cuivre dans les laitiers issus des processus de traitement de minerai et d'epuration temoigne d'une extraction metallurgique tres inefficace, menant a une liberation partielle seulement du cuivre dans le minerai.

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