Cockle Creek Smelter was a zinc and lead smelter located at the northern end of Lake Macquarie near Boolaroo New South Wales. The smelter was built in by Sulphide Corporation (Ashcroft Process) Limited in 1896 and the first attempts to refine zinc using the Ashcroft Process began in 1897 but that process was abandoned shortly after due to technical difficulties. Other materials were produced at the smelter to fill the need as required such as Cement, Superphosphate and compounds for explosive manufacture for the war effort in World War I and World War II.