"become a ghost town. One of the last remaining large mine buildings was burned in wildfires in the mid-1970s, although some concrete structures and metalwork from the mines remain. Mercuryville, California Mercuryville, California is a ghost town in the Mayacamas Mountains along The Geysers road. Mercuryville was founded in 1874, after cinnabar, a mercury bearing ore, was discovered in eastern Sonoma County around 1870. Mercury is a dense liquid metal that can be used to separate gold from other less dense materials and the California Gold Rush, which had begun only 20 years earlier, increased the demand and price of"
"city went through a period of decades of lack of progress from the rest of the country. Now, this situation appears to change due to the attention of the recent government administrations. A 1977 recording of a wedding song sung by a young girl from this region was included on the Golden Record carried on board the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes. The principal ore mineral is cinnabar, which occurs within the Cretaceous Gran Farallon sandstones, and fractures found in the Jurassic Pucara and Cretaceous Machay limestones and igneous rocks. Other sulfide minerals occurring with these deposits include pyrite,"
"transformation of these substances through roasting or burning) gave the final substance a spiritual value. It possesses a superior essence when compared to natural gold. (Cooper, 1990. Pg. 65) Gold and cinnabar (Jindan in Chinese) were the most sought-after substances to manipulate and ingest. They were believed to have longevity and could elongate the life of the consumer. Cinnabar is a mineral with a reddish-brown colour and is the most common source of mercury in nature. It was used in the search for immortality because of the special significance of its colour, and the difficulty with which it was refined."
"New Almaden The New Almaden quicksilver mine in the Capitancillas range in Santa Clara County, California, United States, is the oldest and most productive quicksilver (i.e., mercury) mine in the U.S. The site was known to the indigenous Ohlone for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler became aware of the ores in 1820. By the time they were identified as mercury, the mine was perfectly timed to supply the California Gold Rush. The mine ran intermittently after 1927 and eventually closed. It was purchased by the county and is now part of Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Cinnabar, bright red"
"specimens of cinnabar and edoylerite. Clearcreekite is an extremely rare mineral found only at the Clear Creek mercury mine, New Idria district, San Benito County, California (longitude: 120°43′58″W and latitude 36°22′59″N). The mineral was named after the locality where it was found. The mine has produced about 29 mercury minerals, most of them unique to this area. In 1853, cinnabar was discovered in the region and extensive mining was conducted at the New Idria district. Today the district and the Clear Creek mine are abandoned. Clearcreekite Clearcreekite is polymorphous with peterbaylissite. The chemical formula of clearcreekite is HgCO(OH)∙2HO. It has"
"(""kinnabari""), a Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several distinct substances. Other sources say the word comes from the ""shangarf"" (Arabicized as ""zinjifra""), a word of uncertain origin. In Latin, it was sometimes known as ""minium"", meaning also ""red cinnamon"", though both of these terms now refer specifically to lead tetroxide. Cinnabar is generally found in a massive, granular or earthy form and is bright scarlet to brick-red in color, though it occasionally occurs in crystals with a nonmetallic adamantine luster. It resembles quartz in its symmetry. It exhibits birefringence, and it has the highest refractive index of"
"any mineral. Its mean refractive index is 3.08 (sodium light wavelengths), versus the indices for diamond and the non-mineral gallium(III) arsenide (GaAs), which are 2.42 and 3.93, respectively. The hardness of cinnabar is 2.0–2.5 on the Mohs scale, and its specific gravity 8.1. Structurally, cinnabar belongs to the trigonal crystal system. It occurs as thick tabular or slender prismatic crystals or as granular to massive incrustations. Crystal twinning occurs as simple contact twins. Note, mercury(II) sulfide, HgS, adopts the cinnabar structure described, and one additional structure, i.e. it is dimorphous. Cinnabar is the more stable form, and is a structure"
"time, the New Idria mines were America's second most productive mines, with the New Almaden mines in the vicinity of San Jose, about northwest, being the first. The discovery of mercury ore at New Idria came soon after the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills, which began the California gold rush. At that time, mercury was important in extracting gold from gold ore. Before the New Idria and New Almaden Quicksilver Mines, the mercury came almost exclusively from Europe. The New Idria Mining Company was formed soon after the discovery of cinnabar (quicksilver ore) in the southern Diablo Range"
"tin ore. Oxland believed the cinnabar ore at Sulphur Bank had been formed from hot springs. His thesis stated that hot springs brought metals in a dissolved state from igneous rock deep in the earth through a thick block of metamorphised ancient seabed to form cinnabar ore near the surface of the mine. Oxland also believed the cinnabar deposit was continually forming. Becker came to agree with the Oxland thesis. There were a number of mysteries about the Sulphur Bank that Becker attempted to solve. Among them was how sulfur had been delivered to the surface of the mine and"
"closed in 1992. The price of mercury has been highly volatile over the years and in 2006 was $650 per 76-pound (34.46 kg) flask. Mercury is extracted by heating cinnabar in a current of air and condensing the vapor. The equation for this extraction is In 2005, China was the top producer of mercury with almost two-thirds global share followed by Kyrgyzstan. Several other countries are believed to have unrecorded production of mercury from copper electrowinning processes and by recovery from effluents. Because of the high toxicity of mercury, both the mining of cinnabar and refining for mercury are hazardous"
"been found in small quantities at the Manhattan Mine, located in Napa County, California, USA. The name ""Myrickite"" is a lapidary term like ""Montana Agate"" or ""Thunder Egg"", not a mineral name. In addition, the percentage of mercury (0.01%) in this material is enough to give Myrickite its beautiful coloring. Myrickite is named after Francis Marion ""Shady"" Myrick who discovered it while prospecting in California's Death Valley in 1911. Myrickite Myrickite is a name used for both the agatized and opalized cinnabar materials. With a Mohs hardness of 7, the agatized form is a red-orange with bits of white, whereas"
"Myrickite Myrickite is a name used for both the agatized and opalized cinnabar materials. With a Mohs hardness of 7, the agatized form is a red-orange with bits of white, whereas the opalized material is orange and black and is 5 on the Mohs hardness scale. Although similar in color, this material should not be confused with the stone from China referred to as ""Chicken Blood"", as that material is a cinnabar stained serpentine with a hardness of 2.5-4. Unique to the United States, Myrickite is found at only one location in any quantity. During the early 1950s, Myrickite had"
"Coltan Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore, from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium's original American name ""columbium""), and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite. Tantalum from coltan is used to manufacture batteries for electric cars, and in tantalum capacitors it is used in electronic products. Coltan mining has helped to finance serious conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example the Ituri conflict and the Second Congo War. Approximately 71% of global tantalum supply in 2008 was newly mined,"
"were used in developing and mining the ore just under and in the basalt capping. In depth, development and mining proceeded through shallow shafts. Operations from any one shaft were carried on until the hot water and gas made conditions intolerable, when the shaft was abandoned and a new one was sunk a short distance away."" Curt Schuette, the author of the US Bureau of Mines bulletin #335 observed. The cinnabar ore, known also as mercury sulfide (84 parts mercury to 16 parts sulfur), was treated in furnaces and retorts near the mine. The essential refining method was to turn"
"it was usually imported from other surrounding countries. However, cinnabar could be refined in the mountains of Sichuan and Hunan Provinces in central China. Although the majority of hsien (immortality) elixirs were combinations of jindan, many other elixirs were formed by combining metallic bases with natural herbs or animals bi-products. The rhinoceros' horn was commonly used in medicines and elixirs and was held to have fertility-increasing abilities. Elixirs were composed of metallic compounds such as gold and silver, but they could also be made of more lethal components like arsenic, and sulphur. Both the Eastern practice of alchemy and the"
"obtained by combining solid sulfur and mercury at room temperature. This preparation did not leave the characteristic stain of metallic mercury when rubbed onto gold. When a large amount of Ethiops-mineral was vigorously ground, however, it formed mercury and cinnabar with evolution of smoke and heat. However, the existence of mercurous sulfide was disputed in 1816 by French pharmacist N. Guibourt. In his thesis he claimed that the precipitate obtained in such a manner was nothing more than an intimate mixture of mercury(II) sulfide (mercuric sulfide, cinnabar) and metallic mercury , which could be separated by heating or grinding. (Guibourt"
"spring flow has come about due to the extensive mine shafts driven to achieve the cinnabar extraction. Hastings Mine The Hastings Mine is a mineral extraction site approximately northeast of the city of Vallejo, Solano County, California. The Hastings site on Sulfur Springs Mountain was used for extraction of cinnabar until the year 1930. The Hastings Mine is classified as a medium priority mine from the standpoint of environmental oversight. In the last inspection of the Hastings Mine in 1997, sediments in a drainage below the mine were found to contain ten parts per million of mercury; furthermore, spring water"
"in honor of his achievement. The Romans liked bright colors, and many Roman villas were decorated with vivid red murals. The pigment used for many of the murals was called vermilion, and it came from the mineral cinnabar, a common ore of mercury. It was one of the finest reds of ancient times – the paintings have retained their brightness for more than twenty centuries. The source of cinnabar for the Romans was a group of mines near Almadén, southwest of Madrid, in Spain. Working in the mines was extremely dangerous, since mercury is highly toxic; the miners were slaves"
"The colour of the cinnabar is significant to symbolic belief as well. The colour red in Chinese culture is considered to be the ""zenith of the colour representing the sun, fire, royalty and energy."" (Cooper, 1990. Pg 70) Cinnabar could also be roasted which produced a liquid form of silver known as quicksilver, which we know to be mercury. This substance was ingested but it could also be combined with sulphur and burned again to return to its natural form of cinnabar. ""Cinnabar was the yang to quicksilver's yin"" (Cooper, 1990. Pg 70). In China gold was quite rare, so"
"mined in Spain beginning in about 5300 BC. In China, the first documented use of Cinnabar as a pigment was by the Yangshao culture (5000–4000 BC), where it was used to paint ceramics, to cover the walls and floors of rooms, and for ritual ceremonies. The principal source of cinnabar for the ancient Romans was the Almaden mine in northwest Spain, which was worked by prisoners. Since the ore of mercury was highly toxic, a term in the mines was a virtual death sentence. Pliny the Elder described the mines this way: Nothing is more carefully guarded. It is forbidden"
"poisoning, and gradually declined until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The Chinese compound ""wàidān"" combines the common word ""wài"" 外 ""outside; exterior; external"" with ""dān"" 丹 ""cinnabar; vermillion; elixir; alchemy"". The antonym of ""wài"" is ""nèi"" 內 meaning ""inside; inner; internal"", and the term ""wàidān"" 外丹 ""external elixir/alchemy"" was coined in connection with the complementary term ""nèidān"" ""internal elixir/alchemy"". The sinologist and expert on Chinese alchemy Fabrizio Pregadio lists four generally accepted meanings of ""dan"": ""The color cinnabar, scarlet, or light scarlet"", ""The mineral cinnabar, defined as 'a red stone formed by the combination of quicksilver and sulphur'"", ""Sincerity (corresponding to"
"point of −38.83 °C and boiling point of 356.73 °C, mercury has one of the narrowest ranges of its liquid state of any metal. Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is mostly obtained by reduction from cinnabar. Cinnabar is highly toxic by ingestion or inhalation of the dust. Mercury poisoning can also result from exposure to water-soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methylmercury), inhalation of mercury vapor, or eating seafood contaminated with mercury. Mercury is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, float valves, mercury switches, and other"
"ago. This reduction of spring flow has come about due to the extensive mine shafts driven to achieve the cinnabar extraction. St. John's Mine The St John's Mine is a mineral extraction site approximately three miles north of the city of Vallejo in Solano County, California, United States. The St John's site was used for extraction of cinnabar in the early 1900s. The St. John's Mine is classified as a medium priority mine from the standpoint of environmental oversight. The last inspection of the Hastings Mine occurred in 1997 and found only slight erosion of the considerable mine tailings; however"
"for ""goblin ore"") for some of the blue-pigment producing minerals; they were so named because they were poor in known metals, and gave poisonous arsenic-containing fumes when smelted. In 1735, such ores were found to be reducible to a new metal (the first discovered since ancient times), and this was ultimately named for the ""kobold"". Today, some cobalt is produced specifically from one of a number of metallic-lustered ores, such as for example cobaltite (CoAsS). The element is however more usually produced as a by-product of copper and nickel mining. The copper belt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo"
"The operations previously owned by Gwalia in Wodgina and Greenbushes continue to operate in some capacity. Coltan Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore, from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium's original American name ""columbium""), and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite. Tantalum from coltan is used to manufacture batteries for electric cars, and in tantalum capacitors it is used in electronic products. Coltan mining has helped to finance serious conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example the Ituri conflict"
"St. John's Mine The St John's Mine is a mineral extraction site approximately three miles north of the city of Vallejo in Solano County, California, United States. The St John's site was used for extraction of cinnabar in the early 1900s. The St. John's Mine is classified as a medium priority mine from the standpoint of environmental oversight. The last inspection of the Hastings Mine occurred in 1997 and found only slight erosion of the considerable mine tailings; however the tailings exceed of material, or one of the largest cinnabar tailings in the State of California. Furthermore, the drainage from"
"importance of mining in the south of the Sierra Gorda. The objective of the study was to determine the amount of accumulation of mercury in the bones to find out who was most involved in the mining and how it affected the health of the population. It also studies patterns of mercury contamination in the surrounding environment as well. There have been over eighty extraction sites for cinnabar found around Las Ranas and Toluquilla, which lie on one of the largest deposits of the mineral in Mexico. The archaeological study of mining by the Sierra Gorda Project was begun in"
"bearing nesosilicate. The clarity, resilience, and strong dispersion of danburite make it valuable as cut stones for jewelry. It is named for Danbury, Connecticut, United States, where it was first discovered in 1839 by Charles Upham Shephard. Danburite Danburite is a calcium boron silicate mineral with a chemical formula of CaB(SiO). It has a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5 and a specific gravity of 3.0. The mineral has an orthorhombic crystal form. It is usually colourless, like quartz, but can also be either pale yellow or yellowish-brown. It typically occurs in contact metamorphic rocks. The Dana classification of minerals"
"rich source of mercury-carrying cinnabar ore was found in 1844–1845, and the discovery was made public. Mercury was an important part of gold- and silver-mining operations, and was in demand the world over, and especially in the California gold fields after 1848. The neighboring grant, Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos, was now held by Andrés Castillero, who claimed the mercury mine was part of his land. Robert Walkinshaw and some other men squatted on the land in February 1845 and began to take lumber and limestone away for sale in August. The New Almaden mercury mine began producing a small"
"magnesium. 230,000 metric tons of niobium ore are produced yearly, with Brazil producing metric 210,000 tons, Canada producing 10000 metric tons, and Australia producing 1000 metric tons. 60000 metric tons of pure niobium are produced each year. 70000 metric tons of tantalum ore are produced yearly. Brazil produces 90% of tantalum ore, with Canada, Australia, China, and Rwanda also producing the element. The demand for tantalum is around 1200 metric tons per year. Dubnium is produced synthetically by bombarding actinides with lighter elements. Vanadium's main application is in alloys, such as vanadium steel. Vanadium alloys are used in springs, tools,"
"T. Montgomery in a light-hearted sketch of the great silver rush that resulted in enormous finds of worthless iron pyrites. But the rush did result in the discovery of cinnabar in 1860. Montgomery, who became a stockholder in the X.L.C.R. (pronounced ""excelsior"") mine, is the only known source of the often-repeated tale of Seth Dunham and L.D. Jones discovering cinnabar in a road cut of the Barryessa–Lower Lake Road (now Morgan Valley Road) in what became known as the Knoxville mining district, about a dozen miles south east of the Sulphur Bank in present-day Napa County. The X.L.C.R. became known"
"processed to extact: Gold, Silver, Copper, Vanadium, and Tantalum; at one time and in one process. In the past, each metal extraction had required a separate process, and each waste pile exhibited metal ores that had not been extracted. Significant metals were extracted from these waste piles. This crusher mill and processing building were built by TIC - The Industrial Company of Steamboat Springs Colorado. Paleozoic limestones, shales and sandstones were intruded in the Cretaceous by a quartz monzonite porphyry. This intrusion metamorphosed the surrounding sediments creating a tactite zone in the altered limestone up to 150 meters away, producing"
"the McDermitt Caldera, where uranium and large amounts of mercury have been extracted. Mines in what was called the Opalite Mining District produced 270,000 flasks of mercury—""the richest supply of mercury in the western hemisphere""—from cinnabar extracted from the caldera in the 20th century. The two leading mercury-producing mines in North America were the Cordero and McDermitt mines on the edge of the caldera in Nevada. Together, they operated from 1933 to 1989. The McDermitt Mine, the last mercury mine in the United States, closed three years later, in 1992. However, mineral exploration has continued at the Cordero Mine in"