Casting a Fire Ant Colony with Molten Aluminum

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

Aluminium has a melting point of 660.3 °C. I expect the ants were kind of vaporised.

Ever wondered what would happen if you set of a thermite filled termite mound?

That would get the temperature up to 2300°C.

Hmm...If you used a very large hopper of the stuff at the top you might get a pure iron casting.

The liquid aluminum is poured in quickly, and depends on the thermal mass of the earth to cool the liquid before it burns out of the cavity that used to be the Queen's chambers.
Probably too much hydrostatic head to hold any liquid metal in the above-ground section of a big AfroAus termite colony. While it's still liquid, the shittonnes of molten metal would exert as much force 'outwards' as "downwards", so something rather substantial has to bear that outward weight for the first minute or so until the metal cools enough to set. That would probably rule out heavy iron as a medium of antistic expression.

Shutter it in and pack it with sand?

[piscator]

Aluminium has a melting point of 660.3 °C. I expect the ants were kind of vaporised.

Ever wondered what would happen if you set of a thermite filled termite mound?

That would get the temperature up to 2300°C.

Hmm...If you used a very large hopper of the stuff at the top you might get a pure iron casting.

The liquid aluminum is poured in quickly, and depends on the thermal mass of the earth to cool the liquid before it burns out of the cavity that used to be the Queen's chambers.
Probably too much hydrostatic head to hold any liquid metal in the above-ground section of a big AfroAus termite colony. While it's still liquid, the shittonnes of molten metal would exert as much force 'outwards' as "downwards", so something rather substantial has to bear that outward weight for the first minute or so until the metal cools enough to set. That would probably rule out heavy iron as a medium of antistic expression.

Shutter it in and pack it with sand?

Maybe. If the outside of the mound is strong enough to bear the weight of the shittonnes of sand required to at least equalize the shittonnes of liquid metal in the above-ground portion of the termite colony.
Taking it up in stages might help. But it may melt lower levels already set.