I indulged in the purchase of a book I’ve had my eye on for a while. It is the English translation of De Re Metallica by Georgius Agricola, translated by Herbert Hoover and wife Lou Henry Hoover. This book (or collection of books) was published ca 1550. The English translation came out in 1912, written by a young mining engineer from Iowa who would eventually become a US president. De Re Metallica is available in newly printed paperback form.
One issue that had stymied previous translators was the fact that Agricola wrote in Latin, a language that had been effectively dead for a thousand years, and Agricola needed vocabulary for situations that were not anticipated while the language was alive. So he invented vocabulary. Somehow the Hoovers were able to noodle through this. The translation is heavily footnoted.
Agricola was the first western scholar to document the mining arts as well as considerable geology and mineralogy. While I have not gotten too far with the book, it is apparent that mining technology in the European middle ages was fairly sophisticated by way of the mechanical contrivances used in the operations. Explosives would have been welcome then, but that was not to be for a long time.
They had milling machines, hoists, and sluices. They also performed cupellation, smelting, and calcining. Agricola discusses ore bodies, surveying, milling, property rights, and a host of other practical issues relating to oeprating a mine.
The book was published by a rare book publisher who performs print on demand (POD). There are a number of publishers who do this. Typically the copyright has fallen into the public domain.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
Hey – Its me again – Been a while since I have replied on anything. I see you indulged in the purchase of a copy of the De re metallica. While at MTU as a student working in the university archives I once had the opportunity you might say of photocopying an addition of the original in Latin. I was told by the archivist at the time 5 copys existed and the university archive owned 4 of them. I Photocopied carefully wearing white gloves the copy deemed the least valuable of them. I asked why they wanted it photocopied. They didn’t want researchers to handle the originals. This was back in the early 1980’s. Knowing your interest in mining – Hopefully sometime you will get the chance to visit the western counties of the UP of Michigan Particularly, Keweenaw, Houghton and Ontonagon where the bulk of copper minning was done.
I’m glad to hear from someone else who appreciates the work of Agricola. I would love to visit the mining country in Michigan. I’ve been spreading out from Colorado in my studies and have come to appreciate that mining has happened in areas that I had never associated with this activity. Michigan comes to mind as does southwestern Missouri with its lead mines.