metallurgy
noun[Gr. metal, and work.]
The art of working metals, comprehending the whole process of separating them from other matters in the ore, smelting, refining and parting them. Gilding is also a branch of metallurgy. But in a more limited and usual sense, metallurgy is the operation of separating metals from their ores. The French include in metallurgy the art of drawing metals from the earth.