Stamp mill

A stamp mill is like a really big machine that can crush rocks into tiny little pieces. It was used a long time ago to help miners get the gold and other minerals out of the rocks they were digging in.

So, imagine you have a big rock that has a bit of gold in it that you really want to find. You could just try to break it open with your hands or some tools, but that would take a really long time and might not work very well. So instead, you put the rock into the stamp mill.

Inside the stamp mill, there are big heavy metal plates that are connected to big heavy metal rods. When the machine is turned on, the rods start moving up and down really fast, like a big metal hammer pounding on the rock.

Each time the plates and rods hit the rock, it breaks off a little piece. The pieces get smaller and smaller until eventually they are tiny. Then the machine separates out the gold and other valuable minerals from the rest of the rock, so the miners can sell them and make some money.

Overall, a stamp mill was a very important tool for miners way back when, because it helped them find and extract minerals more efficiently than they could on their own.