How much does it cost to set up a fresnel lens on a sunny day? Put the pennies in a crucible, focus the lens and within a few minutes you have a puddle of molten metal.
A few cents at a time? Suppose you had 9-10 50-gal. barrels full? Maybe you could cover your entire yard with copper so you don't have to mow the lawn. By the way, it still wouldn't separate the alloyed copper into (pure) copper and zinc. Chris