Last year, the Russell L. & Lyn Wood Mining History Archive received a working model of a stamp mill, generously donated by Mike and Holly Blitstein of Buena Vista, Cob. Stamp mills were used to crush ore into a fine enough grind so that precious metals could be liberated. Stamp mills were a significant improvement over arrastras that had been used since antiquity to grind ore. Stamp mills were used in China, not just to crush ore, but for crushing and milling rice. In Europe, stamp mills first appeared in the Middle Ages. By the Renaissance, stamp mills were well established in mining and milling operations in Germany and Bohemia.
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