1. a refining process in which precious metals are separated from base metals by heating them in a porous cup called a cupel, allowing the base metals to oxidize and be absorbed while the precious metal remains.
Usage: technical; metallurgy

Examples

• Cupellation was used historically to purify gold and silver from ore.
• The jeweler employed cupellation to refine the silver recovered from the old coins.
• In ancient times, cupellation was one of the most reliable methods for obtaining pure precious metals.
• The cupellation process requires careful temperature control to ensure the base metals oxidize properly.
• Modern assayers still use cupellation to determine the purity of gold samples.