Through researching reliable sources, this overview describes how mining and metalworking in Europe during the middle ages transformed through three different ways. The first was secrecy, which meant ideas and secrets that had been passed down from generation to generation or metalworker to apprentice. The second transformation was myth. There were many myths during the middle ages including how minerals were created as well as how they were located. The third and most drastic change, which ended up damaging the European economy, was the advancement of technology.