The History of Copper Ores

Heated native copper was less likely to break due to its brittle qualities while cold. The process of working a heated piece of metallic material and allowing it to cool down to its re work shaped is called aneeling. It would have been through the close contact of native copper and sources of heat that humans would have likely discovered pure copper. Pure copper is extracted from native copper ores by the act of smelting, which involves heating the ore at a very high temperature.