base metal
Iron, not gold
Base metal refers to common, relatively inexpensive metals that oxidize or corrode easily—iron, copper, lead, zinc, nickel—as opposed to precious metals like gold and silver.
In alchemy, base metals were what practitioners hoped to transmute into gold.
The term now appears mainly in metallurgy, jewelry, and commodity trading: The ring is gold-plated over base metal.
Reddish-brown metallic element
nickel · aluminum · antimony · bismuth · cadmium · cobalt · chromium · magnesium
Copper-zinc metal mixture
- bronzeCopper-tin alloy
- pewterTin-based tableware alloy
- steelCarbon-hardened iron alloy
- solderFusible bonding alloy
gunmetal · cupronickel · nichrome · duralumin · galvanized · amalgam · electroplating · composition
Extracting metal from ore
- foundryMetal casting facility
- castingShaping through liquid form
- forgeFurnace for shaping metal
- furnaceEnclosed heat-producing structure
ingot · billet · slag · fabrication · machining · welding · galvanizing · annealing
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- goldElement seventy-nine
- silverLustrous white precious metal
- transformationThorough change in form
Installed electrical conductors
- circuitClosed electrical pathway
- electrodeConductive interface point
- groundingConnecting to earth
- currentDirected flow of charge
resistance · soldering · electrical · plating · connector · terminal · contact · shielding
Extracting earth's resources
- extractionAct of removing
- galenaSulfide ore of lead
- cassiteritePrincipal tin oxide ore
- bauxiteAluminum hydroxide ore
hematite · magnetite · sulfide · prospecting · leaching · tailings · gangue · roasting
copper
Reddish-brown metallic element
iron · nickel · aluminum · antimony · bismuth · cadmium · cobalt · chromium · magnesium · manganese
brass
Copper-zinc metal mixture
solder · gunmetal · cupronickel · nichrome · duralumin · galvanized · amalgam · electroplating · composition
smelting
Extracting metal from ore
furnace · ingot · billet · slag · fabrication · machining · welding · galvanizing · annealing · tempering
transmutation
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- goldElement seventy-nine
- silverLustrous white precious metal
wiring
Installed electrical conductors
current · resistance · soldering · electrical · plating · connector · terminal · contact · shielding
mining
Extracting earth's resources
- extractionAct of removing
- galenaSulfide ore of lead
- cassiteritePrincipal tin oxide ore
bauxite · hematite · magnetite · sulfide · prospecting · leaching · tailings · gangue · roasting · concentrate
- metalworking materialssteel, aluminum, copper, brass, stainless steel
- base metalsnickel, tin, aluminum, cobalt, tungsten
- metallurgysmelting, refining, ferrite, alloys, annealing
- transmutationlead to gold, philosopher's stone, great work
- precious metalsgold, silver, platinum, palladium, bullion
- element typesnonmetal, noble gas, halogen, alkaline earth, lanthanide
base metalprecious metal
Valuable metallic element
noble metal · gold · silver · platinum · bullion
base, metal, metallic, heavy metal, baseness, metallurgy, nonmetallic, precious metal, metalloid