MODEL RELEASED. Copper foundry. Image 1 of 3. Workers at a copper foundry using an electric hoist to raise a crucible of molten copper out of a furnace. They will pour the molten copper into moulds in the sand-filled barrels seen in the foreground. The copper will set in the shape of the mould, a process known as copper casting. Casting in general is the process of a using a mould to shape an object from a molten material. Copper is a chemical element and a metal, with a melting point of 1084 degrees Celsius. Copper is an easily worked metal that is used extensively in industry, in metal statues, and in alloys. Photographed in the UK. See images T810/256-258 for a sequence showing work in a copper foundry.