According to John Sorenson, the Book of Mormon text says almost nothing about metallurgical techniques, and what is said need not be interpreted as involving particularly complex operations. Consider the case of Peru, whose museums display abundant metal artifacts, yet Bray emphasizes the "rudimentary nature" of the equipment and methods used for processing, while Peruvian miners, he says, employed only "the simplest possible technology." Clearly the "curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore," among the Nephites (Helaman 6:11) or the like among the Jaredites, need not have had "a sophisticated development of . . . metallurgy" nor have involved "complex technological processes" . . . as critics might imply.
Despite the simple means they employed, Mesoamerican metalworkers did remarkable work. Albrecht Durer, the son of a European goldsmith, saw Aztec metal artifacts in Brussels in 1520, and praised the results roundly: "I have never in all my days seen anything that so delighted my heart as these things. For I saw amazing objects and I marveled at the subtle ingenuity of the men in these distant lands."
Mesoamerican smiths produced a lot of metal and crafted it with great skill. For example, Cortez was given whole bars of gold when he landed in Veracruz. But of the "immense riches" and "huge quantities . . . of golden objects" the Spaniards found, "the number [surviving in American museums] is negligible compared to the great quantity" sent by the Spaniards to Europe, where "most of the metal objects were melted and made into bars." Estimates are that at least 350 kilograms of silver and 4,000 kgs. of gold were looted from Mexico at the time of the Conquest, and 61,000 kgs. of silver and 8,000 of gold from Peru. [John L. Sorenson, "Viva Zapato! Hurray for the Shoe! in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6, Num. 1, pp. 322-323] [See the commentary on Ether 10:23]
“There Was All Manner of Gold in Both These Lands and of Silver and of Precious Ore of Every Kind”
In Helaman 6:11 we find the following:
And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands [the land north and the land south], and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it.
In challenging the idea that metallurgy was a part of Mesoamerican culture during Book of Mormon times, especially in the area of the proposed geographical map of John Sorenson, Deanne Matheny notes that in discussing metals, it is important to distinguish between metalworking, "the act or process of shaping things out of metal," and metallurgy, the "science and technology of metals" which may involve such processes as smelting, casting, and alloying. Many groups in both the Old World and the New developed the art of cold-hammering naturally occurring nuggets of copper, gold and meteoric iron. Some areas of Latin America are rich in precious minerals and other ores, but other areas are not. Mineralogical maps of Mexico show no deposits of gold, silver, copper, or other ores in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco, or Chiapas. A major source of gold and silver exists in Oaxaca located in the north central portion of the state near its border with Veracruz. A few scattered deposits of copper, silver, gold and other ores can be found in the highlands of Guatemala, although the most significant are located near the present frontiers with Honduras and El Salvador. [Deanne G. Matheny, "Does the She Fit?, in New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, pp. 281, 287]
John Sorenson responds with the following:
Matheny discusses Mesoamerican ore sources but inexplicably refers to "mineralogical maps of Mexico" based on present day commercial exploitation of minerals (pp. 287-88). I would have thought she would follow her training in the documents from the period around the Spanish Conquest to find out where the peoples of Mesoamerica then obtained metals. The location of modern mines is irrelevant. Contrary to the geographical picture she offers, placering [ ], the commonest pre-Columbian method employed, was used in Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Chiapas states in Mexico and in Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Furthermore, Clair Patterson argues that ores in ancient times were easier to locate and exploit than in late pre-Spanish times, by which time many surface sources were likely to have been exhausted. Hence even the ore locations known to the Indians at the time of the Conquest might not reflect fully the wider sources accessible in the Book of Mormon era. [John L. Sorenson, "Viva Zapato! Hurray for the Shoe! in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6, Num. 1, pp. 325-326]