Re: A sense of smelt

From: Simon Phipp <soltakss_at_-Oj8tLToc68YkyWHAO1VP2yv_8XxZDqHLQmDNR1CJ5vrdM9BEY8vczGEW9DKn2i2Uyh>
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:29:39 -0000

jorganos:
> >> Nope... copper is a lot heavier than sand, so there are fairly easy ways to separate a sand-poor, copper-rich fraction just like farmers separate spelt from grain by simply shaking it. (Ok, another magic not native to the Beast Nomads...)
> David Cake:
> > For example 'panning' for alluvial gold specks was a very common technique in at least the Australian gold rushes, and I presume others as well - essentially swirling sand around in a shallow pan of water to separate out the heavier metal fragments.

There's another important factor that, I believe, nobody has mentioned yet.

The Copper Sands are the remnants of the People of Genert. Even Praxians know that these people are their distant ancestors. It might also be guarded by the ghosts of those ancestors. Because of that, I would think that the Praxians and Oasis People would not particularly want to desecrate the Copper Sands.

Lunars, on the other hand, would have no such scruples and would be able to exploit the resource. However, it is very remote, across trackless wasteland and guarded by hostile nomads, chaos forces and the spirits of the dead.