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Cinnabar
Cinnabar (/ˈsɪnəˌbɑːr/; from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι
(kinnábari)),[7] or cinnabarite (/ˌsɪnəˈbɑːraɪt/), is the
Cinnabar
bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS).
It is the most common source ore for refining elemental
mercury and is the historic source for the brilliant red or
scarlet pigment termed vermilion and associated red mercury
pigments.

Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated

with recent volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs. The
mineral resembles quartz in symmetry and in its exhibiting
birefringence. Cinnabar has a mean refractive index near 3.2,
a hardness between 2.0 and 2.5, and a specific gravity of General
approximately 8.1. The color and properties derive from a Category Sulfide mineral
structure that is a hexagonal crystalline lattice belonging to
the trigonal crystal system, crystals that sometimes exhibit Formula Mercury(II) sulfide, HgS
twinning. (repeating
unit)
Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the
IMA symbol Cin[1]
Near East, including as a rouge-type cosmetic, in the New
World since the Olmec culture, and in China since as early as Strunz 2.CD.15a
the Yangshao culture, where it was used in coloring classification
stoneware. Crystal Trigonal
system
Associated modern precautions for use and handling of
cinnabar arise from the toxicity of the mercury component, Crystal class Trapezohedral (32)
which was recognized as early as ancient Rome. (same H–M symbol)

Space group P3121, P3221

Etymology Unit cell a = 4.145(2) Å, c =
9.496(2) Å, Z = 3
The name comes from Greek κιννάβαρι[7] (kinnabari),[8][9] a
Identification
Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several
distinct substances.[7] In Latin, it was sometimes known as Color Cochineal-red, towards
minium, meaning also "red cinnamon",[10] though both of brownish red and lead-
these terms now refer specifically to lead tetroxide.[11] gray
Crystal habit Rhombohedral to
Properties and structure tabular; granular to
massive and as
incrustations
Properties Twinning Simple contact twins,
twin plane {0001}

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Cinnabar is generally found in a massive, granular or earthy Cleavage Prismatic {1010}, perfect
form and is bright scarlet to brick-red in color, though it
Fracture Uneven to
occasionally occurs in crystals with a nonmetallic adamantine
subconchoidal
luster.[12][13] It resembles quartz in its symmetry. It exhibits
birefringence, and it has the second-highest refractive index Tenacity Slightly sectile
of any mineral.[14] Its mean refractive index is 3.08 (sodium Mohs scale 2.0–2.5
light wavelengths),[15] versus the indices for diamond and the hardness
non-mineral gallium(III) arsenide (GaAs), which are 2.42
Luster Adamantine to dull
and 3.93, respectively. The hardness of cinnabar is 2.0–2.5
on the Mohs scale, and its specific gravity 8.1.[6] Streak Scarlet
Diaphaneity Transparent in thin
pieces
Structure
Specific 8.176
gravity
Optical Uniaxial (+); very high
properties relief

Crystal structure of cinnabar: yellow = sulfur, Refractive nω = 2.905 nε = 3.256

grey = mercury, green = cell index
Birefringence δ = 0.351
Structurally, cinnabar belongs to the trigonal crystal Solubility 1.04 × 10−25 g/100 ml
system.[6] It occurs as thick tabular or slender prismatic water
crystals or as granular to massive incrustations.[4] Crystal (Ksp at 25 °C =
twinning occurs as simple contact twins.[5] 2 × 10−32)[2]
[3][4][5][6]
Mercury(II) sulfide, HgS, adopts the cinnabar structure References
described, and one additional structure, i.e. it is
dimorphous.[16] Cinnabar is the more stable form, and is a structure akin to that of HgO: each Hg
center has two short Hg−S bonds (each 2.36 Å), and four longer Hg···S contacts (with 3.10, 3.10, 3.30
and 3.30  Å separations). In addition, HgS is found in a black, non-cinnabar polymorph
(metacinnabar) that has the zincblende structure.[5]

Occurrence
Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated with recent
volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs. Cinnabar is deposited by
epithermal ascending aqueous solutions (those near surface and not too
hot) far removed from their igneous source.[17] It is associated with native
mercury, stibnite, realgar, pyrite, marcasite, opal, quartz, chalcedony,
dolomite, calcite and barite.[4]

Cinnabar is essentially found in all mineral extraction localities that yield

Cinnabar mercury ore from
mercury, notably Almadén (Spain). This mine was exploited from Roman
Nevada, United States times until 1991, being for centuries the most important cinnabar deposit
in the world. Good cinnabar crystals have also been found there.[18][19]
Cinnabar deposits also appear in Giza (Egypt); Puerto Princesa
(Philippines); New Almaden, Hastings Mine, St. John's Mine, Vallejo, California (United States);[20]
Idrija (Slovenia); New Idria, California (United States); Moschellandsberg near Obermoschel in the
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Palatinate; La Ripa, at the foot of the Apuan Alps and in the Mount Amiata (Tuscany, Italy); the
mountain Avala (Serbia); Huancavelica (Peru); Murfreesboro, Arkansas (United States); Terlingua,
Texas (United States); and the province of Guizhou in China and Western ghats in India where fine
crystals have been obtained. It was also mined near Red Devil, Alaska (United States) on the middle
Kuskokwim River. Red Devil was named after the Red Devil cinnabar mine, a primary source of
mercury. It has been found in Dominica near its sulfur springs at the southern end of the island along
the west coast.[21]

Cinnabar is still being deposited, such as from the hot waters of Sulphur Bank Mine[22] in California
and Steamboat Springs, Nevada (United States).[23]

Mining and extraction of

mercury
As the most common source of mercury in nature,[24]
cinnabar has been mined for thousands of years, even as
far back as the Neolithic Age.[25] During the Roman
Empire it was mined both as a pigment,[26][27] and for its
mercury content.[27]: XLI 

To produce liquid mercury (quicksilver), crushed
cinnabar ore is roasted in rotary furnaces. Pure mercury
separates from sulfur in this process and easily
evaporates. A condensing column is used to collect the
liquid metal, which is most often shipped in iron flasks.
[28]
Cinnabar crystals of an individual size of one
centimeter, on quartz. Almadén (Ciudad Real)
Spain. Coll. Museum of the School of Mining
Engineers of Madrid

Toxicity
Associated modern precautions for use and handling of cinnabar
arise from the toxicity of the mercury component, which was
recognized as early as in ancient Rome.[29] Because of its mercury
content, cinnabar can be toxic to human beings. Overexposure to
mercury, mercurialism, was seen as an occupational disease to the
ancient Romans. Though people in ancient South America often Apparatus for the distillation of
used cinnabar for art, or processed it into refined mercury (as a cinnabar, Alchimia, 1570
means to gild silver and gold to objects), the toxic properties of
mercury were well known. It was dangerous to those who mined
and processed cinnabar; it caused shaking, loss of sense, and death. Data suggests that mercury was
retorted from cinnabar and the workers were exposed to the toxic mercury fumes.[30] "Mining in the
Spanish cinnabar mines of Almadén, 225  km (140  mi) southwest of Madrid, was regarded as being
akin to a death sentence due to the shortened life expectancy of the miners, who were slaves or
convicts."[31]

Decorative use

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Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the Near East, including as a rouge-type
cosmetic,[29] in the New World since the Olmec culture, and in China for writing on oracle bones as
early as the Zhou dynasty. Late in the Song dynasty it was used in coloring lacquerware.

Cinnabar's use as a color in the New World, since the Olmec culture,[32] is exemplified by its use in
royal burial chambers during the peak of Maya civilization, most dramatically in the 7th-century tomb
of the Red Queen in Palenque, where the remains of a noble woman and objects belonging to her in
her sarcophagus were completely covered with bright red powder made from cinnabar.[33]

The most popularly known use of cinnabar is in Chinese carved lacquerware, a technique that
apparently originated in the Song dynasty.[34] The danger of mercury poisoning may be reduced in
ancient lacquerware by entraining the powdered pigment in lacquer,[35] but could still pose an
environmental hazard if the pieces were accidentally destroyed. In the modern jewellery industry, the
toxic pigment is replaced by a resin-based polymer that approximates the appearance of pigmented
lacquer.

Two female mummies dated AD 1399 to 1475 found in Cerro

Esmeralda in Chile in 1976 had clothes colored with cinnabar.[36]

Other forms
Hepatic cinnabar, or paragite, is an impure brownish variety[37]
from the mines of Idrija in the Carniola region of Slovenia, in
which the cinnabar is mixed with bituminous and earthy
matter.[38]
Hypercinnabar crystallizes at high temperature in the
hexagonal crystal system.[39] Chinese carved cinnabar
lacquerware, late Qing dynasty.
Metacinnabar is a black-colored form of mercury(II) sulfide,
Adilnor Collection, Sweden
which crystallizes in the cubic crystal system.[40]
Synthetic cinnabar is produced by treatment of mercury(II)
salts with hydrogen sulfide to precipitate black, synthetic metacinnabar, which is then heated in
water. This conversion is promoted by the presence of sodium sulfide.[41]

See also
Earth sciences
portal

China red
Classification of minerals
List of minerals
Mercury cycle
Red pigments

References
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mgm.2021.43). S2CID 235729616 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:235729616).
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best value, and its impact on teaching sulfide equilibria". Journal of Chemical Education. 63: 689.
3. "Cinnabar" (https://www.mineralienatlas.de/lexikon/index.php/MineralData?mineral=Cinnabar).
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a_Britannica/Cinnabar). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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8. Harper, Douglas. "cinnabar" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=cinnabar). Online Etymology
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a/bari). Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
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manualofmineralo00klei) (20th ed.). Wiley. p. 281 (https://archive.org/details/manualofmineralo00kl
ei/page/281). ISBN 0-471-80580-7.
14. "Table of Refractive Indices and Double Refraction of Selected Gems - IGS" (https://www.gemsoci
ety.org/article/table-refractive-index-double-refraction-gems/). International Gem Society.
Retrieved 2020-01-22.
15. Schumann, W. (1997). Gemstones of the World (https://archive.org/details/gemstonesofworld00sc
hu). New York, NY: Sterling. ISBN 0-8069-9461-4.
16. Wells, A. F. (1984). Structural Inorganic Chemistry. Oxford, Oxon: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-
855370-6.
17. White, Donald E. (1955). "Thermal Springs and Epithermal Ore Deposits" (https://pubs.geoscience
world.org/segweb/books/book/1816/chapter/107705190/Thermal-Springs-and-Epithermal-Ore-De
posits). Fiftieth Anniversary Volume<subtitle>1905-1955</subtitle>. GeoScienceWorld.
doi:10.5382/AV50.03 (https://doi.org/10.5382%2FAV50.03). ISBN 978-1-9349-6952-6.
18. Calvo, Miguel (2003). Minerales y Minas de España. Vol. II. Sulfuros y sulfosales. Vitoria, Spain:
Sulfuros y sulfosales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava. pp. 355–359. ISBN 84-7821-543-3.
19. "Cinnabar. Spain" (https://www.mindat.org/gm/1052?page=21). Mindat.
20. Hogan, C. Michael; Papineau, Marc; et al. (Sep 1989). Environmental Assessment of the
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21. Voudouris, Panagiotis; Kati, Marianna; Magganas, Andreas; Keith, Manuel; Valsami-Jones,
Eugenia; Haase, Karsten; Klemd, Reiner; Nestmeyer, Mark (2020). "Arsenian Pyrite and Cinnabar
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3390%2Fmin11010014). Minerals. 11 (1): 14. Bibcode:2020Mine...11...14V (https://ui.adsabs.harv
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0014).
22. "Cinnabar from Sulphur Bank Mine (Sulfur Bank Mine; Sulphur Bank deposits), Clear Lake Oaks,
Sulphur Creek Mining District (Sulfur Creek Mining District; Wilbur Springs Mining District), Lake
Co., California, USA" (https://www.mindat.org/locentry-133387.html). Mindat. Retrieved
2021-03-15.
23. "Cinnabar from Steamboat Springs mine, Steamboat Springs Mining District, Washoe Co.,
Nevada, USA" (https://www.mindat.org/locentry-204963.html). Mindat. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
24. "Natural Sources: Mercury" (http://ec.gc.ca/mercure-mercury/default.asp?lang=En&n=2C1BBBDA
-1). Environment Canada. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
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J. (1995). "The first known use of vermillion". Experientia. 51 (8): 759–761.
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Standards. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
29. Stewart, Susan (2014). " 'Gleaming and deadly white': Toxic cosmetics in the Roman world". In
Wexler, Philip (ed.). History of Toxicology and Environmental Health: Toxicology in Antiquity (http
s://books.google.com/books?isbn=0128016345). Vol. II. New York, NY: Academic Press. p. 84.
ISBN 978-0-12-801634-3. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
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ion/287174777). Special Paper 467. Boulder, CO: The Geological Society of America. p. 29.
31. Hayes, A. W. (2014). Principles and Methods of Toxicology (6th ed.). New York, NY: Informa
Healthcare. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-842-14537-1.
32. "New World's Oldest" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081205015759/http://www.time.com/time/ma
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me.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,825208,00.html) on December 5, 2008.
33. Healy, Paul F.; Blainey, Marc G. (2011). "Ancient Maya mosaic mirrors: Function, symbolism, and
meaning". Ancient Mesoamerica. 22 (2): 230. doi:10.1017/S0956536111000241 (https://doi.org/1
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62282151).
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35. Dietrich, R. V. (2005). "Cinnabar" (http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/cinnabar.htm).
Gemrocks: Ornamental & Curio Stones. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
36. "Dressed to Kill: Chilean Mummies' Clothes Were Colored with Deadly Toxin" (https://www.livescie
nce.com/63181-mummies-poison-clothing.html). livescience.com. 27 July 2018.
37. "Hepatic Cinnabar: Hepatic Cinnabar mineral information and data" (http://www.mindat.org/min-18
71.html). mindat.org.
38. Shepard, Charles Upham (1832). Treatise on Mineralogy. Hezekiah Howe. p. 132.

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39. "Hypercinnabar: Hypercinnabar mineral information and data" (http://www.mindat.org/min-1994.ht

ml). Mindat.
40. "Metacinnabar: Metacinnabar mineral information and data" (http://www.mindat.org/min-2670.htm
l). Mindat.
41. Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. (2001). Inorganic Chemistry. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. ISBN 0-
12-352651-5.

Further reading
Stewart, Susan (2014). " 'Gleaming and deadly white': Toxic cosmetics in the Roman world". In
Wexler, Philip (ed.). History of Toxicology and Environmental Health: Toxicology in Antiquity. Vol. II.
New York, NY: Academic Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-12-801634-3.
Barone, G.; Di Bella, M.; Mastelloni, M. A.; Mazzoleni, P.; Quartieri, S.; Raneri, S.; Sabatino, G.;
Vailati, C. (2016). Pottery Production of the Pittore di Lipari: Chemical and Mineralogical Analysis
of the Pigments. Minerals, Fluids and Rocks: Alphabet and Words of Planet Earth. Rimini: 2nd
European Mineralogical Conference (EMC2016) 11–15 Sep 2016. p. 716.

External links
MSDS for cinnabar (https://web.archive.org/web/20070912190757/http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSD
S/ME/mercuric_sulphide.html)
Dartmouth Toxic Metals Research Program – Mercury (https://web.archive.org/web/20090626042
032/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~toxmetal/metals/stories/mercury.html)
Cinnabar visual reference (http://www.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/cinnabar/cinnabar.htm)

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