Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c44.s6.23

v2.c44.s6.23

In a well-researched paper, T.N. Lung (1986) has documented that China was the first nation to discover the above cementation route to make copper from the mine water and vitriol spring containing cupric ion in solution. Several records on the process were written during the period second century BC to second century AD. One Eastern Han Period (AD 25-220) recipe actually used vinegar antedating Nalina’s process mentioned in his Dhātuvāda. Commercial production of cement copper started in China around AD 1086. It is quite possible that the reference in Dhātuvāda on cementation of copper indicated India’s scientific-cum-technological contact with China through Tibet.