To test by fire: The assayer in the American mining West, 1848-1920
Western history texts note that the assayer was essential to the discovery of new mining strikes. In his furnace he tested the prospector's ore, which if assayed high in gold or silver, caused a lively stir in the Western mining camp.
History, United States, History of Science
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign