| Aes purum fossile | Gedigen kupfer | Native copper | Native copper |
| Aes rude plumbei coloris | Kupferglas ertz | Chalcocite (Cu2S) | *Copper glance |
| Chalcitis | Rodt atrament | A decomposed copper or iron sulphide | Chalcitis (see notes on p. [573]) |
| Pyrites aurei colore | Geelkis oder kupferkis | Part chalcopyrite (Cu Fe S) part bornite (Cu3FeS3) | Copper pyrites |
| Pyrites aerosus | |||
| Caeruleum | Berglasur | Azurite | Azure |
| Chrysocolla | Berggrün und | Part chrysocolla | Chrysocolla (see [note 7, p. 560]) |
| schifergrün | Part Malachite | ||
| Molochites | Molochit | Malachite | Malachite |
| Lapis aerarius | Kupfer ertz | Copper ore | |
| Aes caldarium rubrum fuscum or Aes sui coloris | Lebeter kupfer | When used for an ore, is probably cuprite | *Ruby copper ore |
| Aes sui coloris | Rotkupfer | ||
| Aes nigrum | Schwartz kupfer | Probably CuO from oxidation of other minerals | *Black copper |
In addition to the above the Author uses the following, which were in the main artificial products:
| Aerugo | Grünspan oder Spanschgrün | Verdigris | Verdigris |
| Aes luteum | Gelfarkupfer | Impure blister copper | Unrefined copper (see [note 16, p. 511]) |
| Aes caldarium | Lebeterkupfer | ||
| Aeris flos | Kupferbraun | Cupric oxide scales | Copper flower |
| Aeris squama | Kupferhammerschlag | Copper scale (see [note 9, p. 233]) | |
| Atramentum sutorium caeruleum or chalcanthum | Blaw kupfer wasser | Chalcanthite | Native blue vitriol (see note on p. [572]) |
[Pg 110] Blue and green copper minerals were distinguished by all the ancient mineralogists. Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, etc., all give sufficient detail to identify their cyanus and caeruleum partly with modern azurite, and their chrysocolla partly with the modern mineral of the same name. However, these terms were also used for vegetable pigments, as well as for the pigments made from the minerals. The Greek origin of chrysocolla (chrysos, gold and kolla, solder) may be blamed with another and distinct line of confusion, in that this term has been applied to soldering materials, from Greek down to modern times, some of the ancient mineralogists even asserting that the copper mineral chrysocolla was used for this purpose. Agricola uses chrysocolla for borax, but is careful to state in every case (see [note xx., p. x]): "Chrysocolla made from nitrum," or "Chrysocolla which the Moors call Borax." Dioscorides and Pliny mention substances which were evidently copper sulphides, but no description occurs prior to Agricola that permits a hazard as to different species.
Lead Minerals.
| Plumbarius lapis | Glantz | Galena | Galena |
| Galena | Glantz und pleiertz | Galena | Galena |
| Plumbum nigrum lutei coloris | Pleiertz oder pleischweis | Cerussite (PbCO3) | Yellow lead ore |
| Plumbago metallica | |||
| Cerussa | Pleiweis | Artificial White-lead | White-lead (see [note 4, p. 440]) |
| Ochra facticia or ochra plumbaria | Pleigeel | Massicot (Pb O) | *Lead-ochre (see [note 8, p. 232]) |
| Molybdaena | Herdplei | Part litharge | Hearth-lead (see [note 37, p. 476]) |
| Plumbago fornacis | |||
| Spuma argenti | Glett | Litharge | Litharge (see note on p. [465]) |
| Lithargyrum | |||
| Minium secundarium | Menning | Minium (Pb3O4) | Red-lead (see [note 7, p. 232]) |
So far as we can determine, all of these except the first three were believed by Agricola to be artificial products. Of the first three, galena is certain enough, but while he obviously was familiar with the alteration lead products, his descriptions are inadequate and much confused with the artificial oxides. Great confusion arises in the ancient mineralogies over the terms molybdaena, plumbago, plumbum, galena, and spuma argenti, all of which, from Roman mineralogists down to a century after Agricola, were used for lead in some form. Further discussion of such confusion will be found in [note 37, p. 476]. Agricola in Bermannus and De Natura Fossilium, devotes pages to endeavouring to reconcile the ancient usages of these terms, and all the confusion existing in Agricola's time was thrice confounded when the names molybdaena and plumbago were assigned to non-lead minerals.
Tin. Agricola knew only one tin mineral: Lapilli nigri ex quibus conflatur plumbum candidum, i.e., "Little black stones from which tin is smelted," and he gives the German equivalent as zwitter, "tin-stone." He describes them as being of different colours, but probably due to external causes.
Antimony. (Interpretatio,—spiesglas.) The stibi or stibium of Agricola was no doubt the sulphide, and he follows Dioscorides in dividing it into male and female species. This distinction, however, is impossible to apply from the inadequate descriptions given. The mineral and metal known to Agricola and his predecessors was almost always the sulphide, and we have not felt justified in using the term antimony alone, as that implies the refined product, therefore, we have adopted either the Latin term or the old English term "grey antimony." The smelted antimony of commerce sold under the latter term was the sulphide. For further notes see p. [428].
Bismuth*. Plumbum cinereum (Interpretatio,—bismut). Agricola states that this mineral occasionally occurs native, "but more often as a mineral of another colour" (De Nat. Fos., p. 337), and he also describes its commonest form as black or grey. This, considering his localities, would indicate the sulphide, although he assigns no special name to it. Although bismuth is mentioned before Agricola in the Nützliche Bergbüchlin, he was the first to describe it (see p. [433]).