An amalgam is a specialized alloy created when mercury dissolves and binds with other metals, such as silver, gold, or copper. Depending on the proportion of mercury, the resulting material can be a liquid, a soft paste, or a solid mass. It is historically significant in gold and silver extraction, where mercury was used to capture fine precious metal particles from crushed ore.
Heard on the job
The old extraction process relied on forming a gold amalgam and then boiling off the mercury to leave the pure gold behind.