noun
- a small, shallow, porous cup made of bone ash or other refractory material, used in assaying to separate precious metals from lead and other impurities
Usage: metallurgy; technical
verb
- to refine or assay metals using a cupel
Usage: metallurgy; technical
Examples
- The assayer placed the gold sample in a cupel for testing.
- Bone ash cupels are preferred for their high porosity.
- The laboratory ordered new cupels for the silver analysis.
- They cupeled the ore sample to determine its gold content.
- The cupel absorbed the lead oxide during the refining process.
- Ancient metalworkers used primitive cupels to purify precious metals.