I Mined Zinc To Understand The Forgotten Era of Cerro Gordo

Here is a link to win the handmade coin from this video. It's FREE to enter: kingsumo.com/g/1ggqrj1/win-a-handmade-cerro-gordo-…

Sunday evening with no kids, an ice cold beer and a new video from Brent... Sunday night made!!

Brent, your passion, committment, literal blood, sweat & tears, allows us all to feel how special Cerro Gordo is!!!!

You know it's a good day when Brent post a new video.

If the zinc lotion doesn't keep you from getting sunburned, at least you won't rust!

Another use: Zinc blocks are bolted to the underwater side of ship hulls to prevent corrosion. Battleship New Jersey has hundreds of them from their recent drydocking period. They changed from zinc to aluminum ones because the ship is moored in fresh water in Camden NJ.

Brent, I've been watching since the beginning of your channel. I know how hard it was when you first started YT. The confidence and joy you now have is so inspiring! I'm so glad you have kept going - despite setbacks like the fire and the road washing out multiple times. Now you have marathons and bar-b-ques, a book and silver coins. And Joy. Bravo.

It’s great that you’re showing people where things come from and that mining and modern conveniences are so intertwined.

Fun Fact: My Mom was a welder in the shipyards during WW2! She welded Galvanized steel below the decks of large warships! At the end of the day they handed out quarts of milk for the welders to drink to neutralize the effects of the zinc in the galvanized smoke! Later when I was a welder we would grind off the galvanization off the area to be welded before welding anything galvanized! then we would spray-paint the weld with galvanized paint!

For those unaware of the history - coins originally were allowed to be cut into fragments as payment. A whole coin had its value and lower values were achieved with a simple snip. The smallest denomination was 1/8th (pieces of eight). Another term for 1/8th was a "bit". Think of it as a penny - the smallest one could charge. For a dollar coin, 1/8th is 12 1/2 cents so that is the "bit" and "two bits" would be 1/8 plus 1/8 or 1/4 or a quarter. Eventually the denominations were struck as unique coins and the snipping ( which could easily be used to cheat ) was outlawed. Coins also saw their rims embellished to prevent shaving off a little bit and this cheating the recipient of their full value.

No offense, But I honestly didn’t think I would be such a fan of the channel. Also due to massive claustrophobia issues. But the history, revival, and seeing you mine and process your ore has been super super fascinating. Thanks man and God bless!!

these types of your videos are my favorite - a little bit of mining, little bit of metallurgy, little bit of history, and you produced a coin to boot! love it

Zinc very important oil additive for classic cars ! Can’t wait to stay in the hotel!! Thanks for your endeavor to preserve and promote Cerró history !!

Smithsonite, a zinc carbonate mineral, was named after James Smithson (1754-1829), an English chemist and mineralogist who first identified it in 1802. Smithson was also the founder of the Smithsonian Institution (Wikipedia).

Well done Brent. My father worked in a galvanising workshop in Hobart Tasmania in the 1960,s where I worked in the welding shop next door. I used to watch the hot dip method where the item was dipped in sulphuric acid to clean, then washed and then hot dipped in tanks about 30 feet in length and about 6 feet deep. I was excited as you were when watching this video. Wonderful stuff. Thank you.

Brent, great seeing you with a big smile and really enjoying yourself learning new things. The history lessons you pass along while educating your audience just helps draw us in to your excitement of your growth. Be mindful of the dangers involved while mining, and the dangers involved while processing. So cool to see you making more coins the old fashioned way, really gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride in your work! You Sir, are making life memories going down the path of your choosing that few people in modern times can fathom much less appreciate. Keep moving forward and stay safe.

BRENT, you look like a mad scientist in this video! 😂👍

I went from watching an old abandoned mining town to Bill Nye the Science Guy. I love it!!! You are going all out Brent! Knowledge is power.

Just what I needed on my Sunday afternoon!

wow That was so much info about zinc. Between that and how they extracted silver- I am amazed. Thanks for the deep dive into these products. Never to old to learn something.