Mining Metals

This is a tentative summary of the main mining sources of metals in Dragon Pass and the Holy Country. Bronze and copper are primarily locally sourced. Although some tin, silver, gold, and aluminum are locally mined, much of the supply is imported from elsewhere. Nearly all iron is imported – either from the dwarfs or from Seshnela.

Note that any metal can be bought from the Dwarf Mine, although their prices are always much higher than from human merchants (on the other hand, they always have supplies).

• Bronze
  • Bronze can be directly mined from Gods Age battlefields where the storm gods fought and fell. Although they can be almost anywhere in the Dragon Pass area, such deposits are rare and very valuable. it is usually easier and cheaper to alloy copper and tin. Mining sources:
    • Red Hill
    • Destor’s Hills, Finovan Hills – sometimes called the Bronze Hills. Where many minor Storm gods fell fighting against the invasion of the Water Gods.
• Copper
  • Copper is a common metal in the Dragon Pass area. Most copper is alloyed with small amounts of tin to create bronze, although some is used without alloying. Dragon Pass and the Holy Country are net exporters of copper. Mining sources:
    • Barastaros Hills – sometimes called the Copper Hills (large)
    • Thorab’s Hill (large)
    • Dwarf Mine (unknown)
    • Indigo Mountains (small)
    • Sharl Plains (small)
• Tin
  • Tin is an uncommon metal, However, there are several small deposits of Tin in Dragon Pass. Tin is also imported from the Lunar Heartlands and Teshnos. Mining sources:
    • Starfire Ridge (small)
    • Auroch Hills (small)
    • Dwarf Cliff (small)
    • Dwarf Mine (unknown)
    • Solung Plateau (small)
    • Falling Hills (small)
• Gold
  • Gold is a very rare metal and in high demand. Dragon Pass imports most of its gold from the Lunar Heartlands or from Teshnos. Mining sources:
    • Guardian Hills (small)
    • Dwarf Mine (unknown)
    • Falling Hills (small)
• Silver
  • Silver is a rare metal and in high demand. Dragon Pass imports most of its silver from the Lunar Heartlands. Mining sources:
    • Guardian Hills (small)
    • Falling Hills (medium)
    • Dwarf Mine (unknown)
• Lead
  • Lead us a common metal in Dragon Pass. The Lead Hills are the main source of lead, and it is extremely easy to mine there. Mining sources:
    • Lead Hills (large)
    • Dwarf Mine (unknown)
• Aluminum
  • Aluminum is a rare metal. Dragon Pass imports most of its aluminum from the seas in the form of Quicksilver. Mining sources:
    • Indigo Mountains (small)
    • Dwarf Mine (unknown)

Glorantha is not Earth, and the metals named in print as “bronze,” “iron,” “gold,” and so forth, are analogues, not duplicates, of earthly metals.

Here is the description of Bronze in a forthcoming publication:

BRONZE (hu-metal) is the most important metal of Glorantha. Bronze has a melting point of about 950° C.

Bronze originates from the bones of storm deities slain in the Gods War. It can be mined in its own right, but is more commonly made by alloying copper and tin. On rare occasions, a piece of bronze is still found that retains its former bone-like shape. These are highly prized and sometimes have magic properties. Unfortunately, they are also easily faked. Most bronze used by mortals is produced by alloying copper and tin.

No Enchant rituals for it are common, but normal non-magic forging makes perfectly serviceable weapons, tools, and armor.

My purpose in posting these notes is not to reenact tedious arguments from 25 years ago, but rather to make it clear that there are mines in Dragon Pass, and metal is transported from point A to point B. Remember most bronze is alloyed. Although copper is very common, tin comes from a handful of places – which means Issaries gets involved. So places like the Starfire Ridges, Auroch Hills, and Dwarf Cliff have small mines, kilns for smelting tin into bars, and markets where tin bars are traded. That tin is then taken to the cities or to areas where copper is mined to be alloyed with copper to make bronze.

This is stuff that the adventurers can get involved in. A mine has been taken over by something else – trolls, rock lizards, cave trolls, dwarfs, whatever, which means the local supply is unavailable and the local community asks the adventurers to help reclaim the main. Or an Issaries caravan has a large amount of valuable metal and hires the adventurers to help guard them (as they got the supply at the expense of an other tribe, dwarfs, Lunar noble, whatever).

Trolls trade lead they find to human merchants through the Argan Argar cult. They probably take most of what they find, of course – but even the excess is a lot.

Dwarf Mine – well now we are dealing with one of the ancient Mostali – who knows how far that mine extends.

Note that Bronze bones have some very interesting magical properties…

Mines aren’t big things like in our world. You’d likely have many small mines. These mines might extend quite a way into the earth, but have a very small surface footprint.

Things under the Earth belong to the Earth Temple. The earth might get delegated to a clan, a tribe, an individual, another temple – or might stay with the Earth Temple. Of course, the Earth Temple probably gets something for the delegation.

So for example, the silver mines near Guilder Town are “owned” by the Asrelia Temple of Boldhome, and under the control of the Serzevethi family of the Kheldon tribe.