CINNABAR (Mercury Sulfide) Minerals | by Name | by Class | by Groupings | Search | Sulfides
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CINNABAR (Mercury Sulfide) Minerals | By_Name | By_Class | By_Groupings | Search | Sulfides THE MINERAL CINNABAR ● Chemistry: HgS, Mercury Sulfide ● Class: Sulfides and Sulfosalts ● Uses: primary ore of mercury, a pigment and as a minerals specimen. ● Specimens Cinnabar is a colorful mineral that adds a unique color to the mineral color palette. Its cinnamon to scarlet red color can be very attractive. Well shaped crystals are uncommon and the twinned crystals are considered classics among collectors. The twinning in cinnabar is distinctive and forms a penetration twin that is ridged with six ridges surrounding the point of a pryamid. It could be thought of as two scalahedral crystals grown together with one crystal going the opposite way of the other crystal. Cinnabar was mined by the Roman Empire for its mercury content and it has been the main ore of mercury throughout the centuries. Some mines used by the Romans are still being mined today. Cinnabar shares the same symmetry class with quartz but the two form different crystal habits. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: ● Color is a bright scarlet or cinnamon red to a brick red. ● Luster is adamantine to submetallic in darker specimens. ● Transparency crystals are translucent to transparent. ● Crystal System is trigonal; 32 ● Crystal Habits: individual, well formed, large crystals are scarce; crusts and crystal complexes are more common; may be massive, or in capilary needles. Crystals that are found tend to be the six sided trigonal scalahedrons that appear to have opposing three sided pyramids. It also forms modified rhombohedrons, prismatic and twinned crystals as discribed above. ● Cleavage is perfect in three directions, forming prisms. ● Fracture is uneven to splintery. ● Hardness is 2 - 2.5. ● Specific Gravity is approximately 8.1+ (very heavy for a non-metallic mineral) ● Streak is red ● Associated Minerals are realgar, pyrite, dolomite, quartz, stibnite and mercury. ● Other Characteristics: silghtly sectile and crystals can be striated. ● Notable Occurances include Almaden, Spain; Idria, Serbia; Hunan Prov., China and California, Oregon, Texas, and Arkansas, USA. http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/cinnabar/cinnabar.htm (1 of 2) [8/2/2001 2:51:56 PM] CINNABAR (Mercury Sulfide) ● Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, density, cleavage, softness and color. Minerals | By_Name | By_Class | By_Groupings | Search | Sulfides Copyright © 1995,1996 by Amethyst Galleries, Inc. http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/cinnabar/cinnabar.htm (2 of 2) [8/2/2001 2:51:56 PM] Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery The Mineral Gallery A service of Amethyst Galleries,Inc., "The First Internet Rock Shop!" MINERALS The Mineral Gallery is a constantly growing collection of mineral descriptions, images, and specimens (see our new specimens last updated By Name 25-May-2001, and What's New last updated 02-Dec-2000), together with A list of minerals in alphabetical order several ways of accessing these descriptions. The descriptions include searchable mineralogical data, plus other information of interest to students By Class and rock hounds! The inline GIF images (size about 10k) usually are linked Elements, Oxides, to larger JPEG images (size about 50k). 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Here is our List of Galleries Minerals (that's this page) Southwestern Contemporary Sterling Silver Jewelry Gifts (including bookends made from agate and other minerals) Copyright ©1995-1998 by Amethyst Galleries, Inc. Unless otherwise noted, all descriptions, images, and programs are the property of Amethyst Galleries, Inc., and may not be copied for commercial purposes. Permission to copy descriptions and images is granted for personal and educational use only. All such copies must include this copyright notice and explicit references to this URL. http://mineral.galleries.com/default.htm (2 of 2) [8/2/2001 2:51:58 PM] Minerals by Name Minerals | By_Class | By_Groupings | Search Minerals by Name A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Choose a letter of the alphabet from the above list, and the minerals will be listed that begin with that letter. The mineral name itself is a link to the description of that mineral species, while the number to the left is the approximate count of the number of specimens currently available for sale of that species, and is also a direct link to the list of specimens. The count may be zero, but if the link is active then there are specimens available to view, just not currently for sale. If the count is zero and the link is not active, then there are not even any specimens in the database. Remember, there may be more than one page of specimens, so you may need to select Next Page one or more times to see the entire list of available specimens. This page also available in a frames version http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/by-name.htm [8/2/2001 2:51:58 PM] The Mineral Gallery - Minerals by Class Minerals By Class Minerals can be organized, mainly according to their chemistry, into the following classes MINERALS ● Elements Class: The Metals and their alloys and the Nonmetals. By Name ● Sulfides Class: The Sulfides, the Selenides, the Tellurides, the A list of minerals in Arsenides, the Antimonides, the Bismuthinides and the Sulfosalts. alphabetical order ● Halides Class: The Fluorides, the Chlorides and the Iodides. By Class ● Oxides Class: The Oxides and the Hydroxides. Elements, Oxides, ● Carbonates Class: The Carbonates, the Nitrates and the Borates. Carbonates, etc. ● Sulfates Class: The Sulfates, the Sulfites, the Chromates, the Interesting Groupings Molybdates, the Selenates, the Selenites, the Tellurates, the Tellurites Gemstones, Birthstones, and the Tungstates (or the Wolframates). etc. ● Phosphates Class: The Phosphates, the Arsenates, the Vanadates and Full Text Search the Antimonates. Mineral identification by ● Silicates Class: The Silicates (the largest class). keyword searching ● The Organics Class: The "Minerals" composed of organic chemicals! ● The Mineraloids: The "Minerals" that lack crystal structure! Copyright ©1998 by Amethyst Galleries, Inc. http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/by_class.htm [8/2/2001 2:51:59 PM] Mineral Gallery - Interesting Mineral Groupings Interesting Groupings of Minerals Choose from these groups MINERALS ● Birthstones: Lists the commonly recognized birthstones. By Name ● Gemstones: Includes gem varieties of minerals. A list of minerals in ● Biblestones: Minerals referenced in the Bible. alphabetical order ● Significant Element: Includes ores of metals such as lead or By Class Copper. Elements, Oxides, ● Meteoritic Minerals: Minerals found in meteorites. Carbonates, etc. ● Minerals that Twin: These minerals may form twinned crystals. Interesting Groupings ● Fluorescent Minerals: These glow in ultraviolet light. Gemstones, Birthstones, ● Minerals by Locality: Some notable mineral sites and the etc. minerals found there. Full Text Search ● Natural Groupings: Natural associations such as pegmatities, Mineral identification by vugs, etc. keyword searching ● Radioactive Minerals: Minerals that emit high energy radiation. ● Minerals by Class: Elements, Oxides, Silicates, etc. ● Minerals by Name: Alphabetical listing (one very long list, over 50k). Copyright ©1997,1998,1999,2000 by Amethyst Galleries, Inc. http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/interest.htm [8/2/2001 2:52:00 PM] Mineral Search Mineral Search A Glossary of Terms is available which describes the consistent set of terms used in this mineral database, and offers suggestions for effective searching. Try to use several independent descriptive words, since "very heavy" will also match "heavy" and "very soft". Also, don't use negatives (such as "not