Potter and Wellington write that one of the criteria met by their proposed land of Bountiful was that "ore to molten" (1 Nephi 17:9) was available. Anciently copper was found in large quantities all over northern Oman. There is, however, no evidence of copper production in southern Oman, or more especially on the Salalah plain. Copper by itself, without tin is relatively useless for tools as it is too soft. It seems most likely then that Nephi used iron ore. It need only have been a small deposit as Nephi didn't need a lot of metal, just enough for tools. This could easily explain why it had been overlooked as a site for mining. (For a confirmation of iron ore deposits just a few miles from Salalah, see the commentary on 1 Nephi 17:9 by Ronald Harris, Eugene Clark, Jeffrey Keith, and Revell Phillips)
“Whither Shall I Go That I May Find Ore to Molten”
Responding to a F.A.R.M.S. request, in 1985 Eugene Clark, former geologist for ESSO in Oman, prepared a preliminary report of geological possibilities of mineral deposits in the Dhofar region, where Wadi Sayq (the Astons' choice for Bountiful) and Salalah (the Hiltons' choice for Bountiful) are located. The report identifies a number of geological possibilities for copper and iron ore accessible to Wadi Sayq, based on published geological studies and surveys. Most promising among the published studies are reports of specular hematite found in small, random deposits on the Mirbat plain east of Salalah. Specular hematite is the most readily available form of high-quality iron and would have been most attractive as a low-tech smelting source for Nephi's tools. The report also notes that Dhofar irons would usually occur in mixtures with manganese and carbon, yielding higher-quality steel that would be superior for tools. [Eugene E. Clark, "A Preliminary Study of the Geology and Mineral Resources of Dhofar, the Sultanate of Oman," Introduction]
“Whither Shall I Go That I May Find Ore to Molten”
When Nephi was commanded by the Lord to build a ship, his only reply was, "whither shall I go to find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship" (1 Nephi 17:9)? According to Keith Christensen, Nephi came from the interior of Judah where ships were not built. Yet he does not plead inability to build one. His question is limited to ore to make tools to do the construction. He exhibits no doubt about his ability to make the tools and build the ship.
Starting about 1000 B.C., King Solomon created at the southern end of the Araba (near the Red Sea), an industrial establishment to turn his raw materials into manufactured articles . . . the like of which had not been known before his own day, nor was surpassed until comparatively recent times. . . . It is now known that along the entire length of the Wadi Araba (which runs south of the Dead Sea to Ezion-geber) are deposits of copper and iron. . . . Solomon's men employed what is essentially the principle of the Bessemer blast furnace, rediscovered less than a century ago. Ezion-geber was thus not only an important naval base and fortress guarding the crossroads to Arabia and Egypt but also an industrial center. Following Solomon, the activity of this port was a key to the prosperity of the land. The skills and facilities available at Ezion-geber continued to the time of Lehi, as shown by pottery fragments found there that date to the fifth or sixth century B.C.
Solomon traded copper and iron to Arabia in return for spices, incense, and other precious objects obtainable there. . . . The extent of the materials coming through Ezion-geber is told in describing Solomon's ships which "took three years to make a round trip out of Ezion-geber to . . . Africa, Arabia, and perhaps . . . India and Ceylon (1 Kings 10:22). Along with large quantities of gold [of Ophir] and silver, other articles of trade were ivory, spices, precious stones . . . Solomon and his merchants became rich by shipping out of Ezion-geber copper, iron, olive oil, and possibly many products manufactured in Egypt."
This situation would have provided Nephi the opportunity to learn how to smelt ore and work metal to make tools as well as provided the means to learn how to make and engrave plates. [B. Keith Christensen, The Unknown Witness, pp. 60-61, unpublished]
“Lord Whither Shall I Go That I May Find Ore to Molten”
According to the Hiltons, after Nephi saw the Lord's design for a ship, his first worry when told he was to build it was, "Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown me" (1 Nephi 17:9)? This question might imply that the ore needed wasn't readily available.
After the time their first work on Lehi was published in 1976, the Hiltons lived in Arabia for eleven years. During this time they had a chance to further explore the details of Lehi's journey and give this account of their search for insights into the question of the availability of ore near their proposed site for Bountiful in Dhofar, Oman:
We went to the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals office in Salalah to ask about metal ores in the local mountains. We spoke with the Senior Exploration Geologist, Dr. Haya A. Qudnai, from India. We were soon astonished by the conversation and felt the Lord was preparing the way for us. After Lynn said he had been a faculty member at a major American university, Doctor Gidnai asked which one. Lynn answered, "Brigham Young University." Then the doctor replied, "I have done postdoctoral work at both Brigham Young University and also the University of Utah. You must be Mormons!" He took down a large wall map we had admired, rolled it up, and put it under Lynn's arm as a gift. It showed all the mineral occurrences within a hundred miles of Salalah. He explained that there was a 12-inch thick seam of coal six miles from Salalah; the coal had 80 percent ash content (poor quality), but it was adequate in a forge to smelt ores; there was no iron ore deposit of any type or size in the Qara Mountains. In the showcase, he showed us a "trace" of copper he found at a site 50 miles east of Salalah, but there was no copper ore body anywhere about; there was a large deposit of dolonite manganese ore 17 miles north of Salalah close to the summit of the Qara Mountains next to the ancient caravan road. He identified no other mineralization, except gypsum cement 31 miles away and limestone cement six miles away; 56 miles east there was a deposit of lead ore.
Could tools and also rust-proof nails have been smelted of this manganese ore, or of an alloy of manganese and lead? We recalled that the Lord told Nephi where to go to get the ore he needed (1 Nephi 17:10), and therefore it may have been any type of ore and come by miraculous means, as the Liahona had come. [Lynn M. and Hope A. Hilton, Discovering Lehi, pp. 157-158]