He received a good education and at the age of sixteen began work at the nearby copper and tin mines, learning every aspect of their operation.
It is reported that his abilities were noticed by (later Sir) Thomas Elder, who after that contract was over (c. January 1862), recommended to Hancock that he not return to England, but make his fortune in South Australia, sentiments echoed by Robert Barr Smith.
[2] By 1863 he was in charge of the assay office[3] of the copper mine at Moonta, where a rich find had been made a few years earlier.
Hancock and Captain William Arundel Paynter (1819–1873)[6] invented and patented an improved "jigger" (a device employing water and agitation to separate ore from the lighter stuff).
Their invention not only required less labor to operate, but wasted less copper-bearing ore,[7] and as the Hancock jig was in use worldwide for many years.