{{Short description|Portable tool used for crushing rock}} {{Use dmy dates |date=October 2023}} {{Use Australian English |date=October 2023}} A '''dolly pot''', also known as a '''dolly''', is a portable tool used for crushing small quantities of gold-bearing rock, by hand, in a process known as '''dollying'''.
In principle, a dolly pot is somewhat like a large mortar and pestle, but is always made of metal and is intended specifically to crush hard rocks like quartz. It is typically flat at the bottom, rather than rounded as in a typical mortar.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Glass Negative - Dolly Pots for North Broken Hill Ltd., Chas Ruwolt Pty Ltd, 1932 |url=https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/793304 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Museums Victoria Collections}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=dolly pot |url=https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/52d7474d2162ef0e0c4c9459 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Victorian Collections |language=en}}</ref> 19th-century versions were often made of cast iron.<ref name=":1" /> Some cast iron dolly pots were made from cast iron containers that had been used to hold mercury,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Functional object - DOLLY POT |url=https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5bbad15e21ea6d13889abf59 |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=Victorian Collections |language=en}}</ref> which was used in the amalgam process. Modern dolly pots are typically fabricated from steel. The place of the pestle is taken by a long heavy steel rod, at one end provided with a stamping surface.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plan, Design and Build a Dolly pot; hand powered rock crusher |url=http://nevada-outback-gems.com/design_plans/DIY_crusher/rock_crusher.htm |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=nevada-outback-gems.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
The process of dollying is highly labour-intensive. It involves pulverising the rock, by hand, until the gold separates from the surrounding rock matrix. It typically is used only to test for the presence of gold in samples taken from a quartz reef.
<gallery widths="250" style="text-align:left"> File:Reno, near Gundagai, NSW - Dollying gold-bearing quartz at Long Tunnel Mine (Australian Town & Country Journal, 29 March 1911 p20 ).jpg|Dollying gold-bearing quartz, using a cast-iron dolly pot, Reno, New South Wales, 1911.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1911-03-29 |title=A Rich Gold Mine –At the Long Tunnel, Gundagai |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263765079 |access-date=2024-03-29 |work=Australian Town and Country Journal |pages=20}}</ref> File:Dolly pots 1932 (Museums Victoria).jpg|Steel dolly pots made in 1932<ref name=":0" /> File:Ben Nicker crushing rock samples in a dolly pot, Northern Territory, 1933.jpg|Dollying rocks, Northern Territory, 1933,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ben Nicker crushing rock samples in a dolly pot, Northern Territory, 1933 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-149289236/view |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Trove |language=en}}</ref> using a steel dolly pot. </gallery>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Gold prospecting Category:Metallic objects Category:Metalworking hand tools
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