Cinnabar (1) Raw Minerals Stones Rocks Collecting

Description

Origin : Cerreto Piano mine (GR) - Italy

Cinnabar 16-30 gr - cm 2.5-4.5 Raw Minerals Stones Rocks for Collection..

Cinnabar or cinnabrite or cinnabarite or mercury sulphide is a mineral belonging to the class of sulphides, with a reddish appearance; already known to the Greeks. Chemically it is a union of sulfur and mercury (chemical formula HgS) therefore, given its mercury content, it is to be considered a mineral toxic for humans and the environment.
The most important deposits are found in Almadén in Spain (once the most productive fields), in Italy in the area of ​​Monte Amiata (with those that were the second most productive fields in the world) and in Idria in Slovenia.
Crystallizes in the trigonal system. Generally it occurs in masses that have a typical bright red color. The only places where splendid crystals are formed up to a size of a few centimeters are found in the Chinese province of Hunan.
There are two crystalline forms. The pigment derived from cinnabar is extracted from the α, which has a trigonal structure, while there is a second form called β or metacinabro, microcrystalline, with a cubic structure.
The cinnabar exposed to light blackens, and if kept in damp environments it deteriorates rapidly, becoming darker. It is therefore supplied by us with an external treatment to protect it.
Like sulfur and other minerals, it is a product of secondary volcanic activity, that is, a complex set of phenomena affecting the area around the volcano and which are all more or less closely related to the presence of magma at various temperature stages. The cinnabar is not present however, unlike the sulfur, in almost all the volcanic areas but only in a small number of them, in which there are the conditions that contribute to its formation.
It is found as impregnation of different rocks, generally in small quantities. It is possible to find small crystals in the lithoclases or in cavities.
In the Idria area it is found in compact, and sometimes crystalline, masses mixed with hydrocarbons (including hydrialite). In the area of ​​Monte Amiata it is widespread in compact and granular masses or as a fine impregnation of sedimentary rocks, clayey, calcareous and arenaceous or, more rarely, in trachyte.
It rarely occurs in small crystals, it is usually found in compact, shapeless, earthy or granular masses or efflorescences.
Mercury was extracted from this mineral, in ancient times, by roasting and subsequent condensation.
Cinnabar, both natural and synthesized, has been used in painting to produce vermilion pigment, as well as for mercury extraction.
During ancient Rome, slaves and prisoners were sent to work in the cinnabar mines of Almadén, Spain: this sentence was equated with a death sentence, due to the poor life expectancy of the condemned, forced to live in contact with this mineral.
Moreover it has always served, since ancient times, to separate the gold from the impurities of the minerals in which it is contained and even in medicine it was used as a component for the treatment of syphilis.