asarco FIVE FOLD

[XRING363]

Good day my friends. I recently came into a few ingots that I was wondering if anyone here has info on. They are octagon, 5# ingots marked FIVE on the top and FOLD on the bottom. In the center it is marked asarco. The company, Asarco, is no longer in the lead business so the net is no help. I know, I can put it in pot and check it against my known alloy for weight but I'm hoping I can put it in my smoke-pole pot. Any bells ringing out there? Regards Jeff

[45 2.1]

Can't help with the name, but drop an ingot on a solid concrete floor from about 5 feet. If it goes "thud", it is soft. If it "rings" at all, it's not smokepole material.

[454PB]

Asarco was "American Smelting and Refining Company", they owned a large lead smelter in my home town, but sold it to a Mexican company. The Mexicans sold off all the good stuff, then left. The smelter is now scheduled for demolition.

Your ingots could be a lot of different alloys, so I'd suggest you do some hardness testing and experimental casting.

[anachronism]

Set the ingot on the concrete sidewalk and hit it once with a heavy hammer. HARD. Harder alloys usually crack when the get smashed like that. Softer alloys simply smash like used bubblegum. I know it sounds crazy, but try it sometime. I ended up using this method to sort a bunch of ingots that got mixed together. Wheelweights cracked, the pure lead didn't. This method is only good as a rough guide. Very rough.

[DLCTEX]

The ones I have are pure lead, same markings. Dale

[straight-shooter]

The smelter is now scheduled for demolition.

Brings a tear to my eye :cry:

[XRING363]

Thank you my brothers. Questions.. anachroism, "heavy" hammer is a judgment call. I like you're idea but I'd like to know what you consider a heavy. Also, how hard? Are we talkin about breaken cement?
45 2.1, man, what an eyeopener! I have a few dozen 1# ingots and didn't have a clue as to how to figure it's hardness. Very distinct 'ring' with the coded x. Big JERRY died 2 years ago and I'm his benefactor. MARINE, IWO. gotta go

[Freightman]

Worked at the Amarillo ASARCO zink smelter, we had a off grade area where separated the lead from the zink, we had a furnace that was 8'x 8' and the pot area was approx. 4'deep. At the top there was a spigot that we stopped up with a plug of clay, when the pot had reached above the melting point of zink we quit putting the off grade zink in. then we let it settle for one hour then ran the zink off the top. After about a week there was a spigot at the bottom we would run the lead from and mold it into blocks. The lead was then sent to another refinery to be further refined. I worked there in '65-'67 that plant is gone but there is a copper refinery at another location north of town that was built in the late 70's early 80's. that is ASARCO

[XRING363]

I'm truly hoping that I have what DALE has. Thank you my brothers for your informative feedback. Drop test sounds promising.

[76 WARLOCK]

ASARCO used to produce antimony here in Denver but they closed years ago as well.

[hotwheelz]

ASARCO , must have had refinerys all over the country there was on in Tacoma, Wa that was torn down years ago alot of the people who lived near by got big settelments from poisioning and most of the soil near it was removed at there expense.

Wish they were still making lead there tired of walking threw the parking lots with plires to get my lead :kidding:

[randyrat]

I had some (25-30 lbs lbs)Zink ingots that had ASARCO on them,mine were rectangular. I traded them for some nice pure lead + tin and some babbit. Drop Test Sounds>>>>>> Thud= pure lead, ding=harder lead, ring=WW, ting= ZINK or Antimony..... Zink has a harder ting than Antimony.....Also you can score them with a hand held wire cutter/snip if not it's ZINK. The scrap dealer should pay good money for the Zink $3-$5/lb if they are pure 98% Zink. (THUD,RING DING TING)