View source for Cinnabar

{{Short description|Red mercury(II) sulfide mineral, HgS}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name = Cinnabar
| category = [[Sulfide mineral]]
| boxwidth =
| boxbgcolor =#B0120C
| boxtextcolor = #fff
| image = Cinnabarit 01.jpg
| imagesize = 260px
| caption = Cinnabar, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, [[Germany]]
| formula = Mercury(II) sulfide, HgS
| IMAsymbol = Cin<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}</ref>  
| molweight =
| strunz = 2.CD.15a
| system = [[Trigonal]]
| class = Trapezohedral (32) <br/><small>(same [[H–M symbol]])</small>
| symmetry = ''P''3<sub>1</sub>21, ''P''3<sub>2</sub>21
| unit cell = ''a'' = 4.145(2)&nbsp;Å, ''c'' = 9.496(2)&nbsp;Å, ''Z''&nbsp;=&nbsp;3
| color = [[Cochineal]]-red, towards brownish red and lead-gray
| habit = [[Rhombohedral]] to tabular; granular to massive and as incrustations
| twinning = Simple contact twins, twin plane {0001}
| cleavage = Prismatic {10{{overline|1}}0}, perfect
| fracture = Uneven to subconchoidal
| tenacity = Slightly sectile
| mohs = 2.0–2.5
| luster = Adamantine to dull
| refractive = ''n''<sub>ω</sub> = 2.905 ''n''<sub>ε</sub> = 3.256
| opticalprop = Uniaxial (+); very high [[Optical relief|relief]]
| birefringence = ''δ'' = 0.351
| pleochroism =
| streak = Scarlet
| gravity = 8.176
| density =
| melt =
| fusibility =
| diagnostic =
| solubility = {{val|1.04e-25|u=g/100 ml}} water<br/>(''K''<sub>sp</sub> at 25&nbsp;°C = {{val|2e-32}})<ref>{{cite journal |last= Myers |first=R. J. |date=1986 |periodical=[[Journal of Chemical Education]] |volume=63 |page=689 |title=The new low value for the second dissociation constant of H<sub>2</sub>S. Its history, its best value, and its impact on teaching sulfide equilibria}}</ref>
| diaphaneity = Transparent in thin pieces
| other =
| references = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mineralienatlas.de/lexikon/index.php/MineralData?mineral=Cinnabar|title=Cinnabar|website=Mineralienatlas}}</ref><ref name=Handbook>{{cite web |url=http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/cinnabar.pdf |title=Cinnabar (HgS) |publisher=rruff.geo.arizona.edu |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref><ref name=Mindat>{{cite web |url=http://www.mindat.org/min-1052.html |title=Cinnabar: Cinnabar mineral information and data |publisher=Mindat |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref><ref name=Webmin>{{cite web |url=http://webmineral.com/data/Cinnabar.shtml |title=Cinnabar Mineral Data |publisher=Webmineral |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref>
}}

'''Cinnabar''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|n|ə|ˌ|b|ɑːr}}; {{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|κιννάβαρι}}'' ({{grc-transl|κιννάβαρι}})|}}),<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Cinnabar|volume=6|page=376}}</ref> also called '''cinnabarite''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|s|ɪ|n|ə|ˈ|b|ɑːr|aɪ|t}}) or '''mercurblende''', is the bright [[scarlet (color)|scarlet]] to brick-red form of [[mercury sulfide|mercury(II) sulfide]] (HgS). It is the most common source [[ore]] for refining [[mercury (element)|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 [[volcanic activity]] and [[Alkaline earth metal|alkaline]] [[hot spring]]s. The mineral resembles [[quartz]] in symmetry and it exhibits [[birefringence]]. Cinnabar has a mean [[refractive index]] near 3.2, a [[mohs scale of mineral hardness|hardness]] between 2.0 and 2.5, and a [[specific gravity]] of approximately 8.1. The color and properties derive from a structure that is a hexagonal crystalline [[bravais lattice|lattice]] belonging to the [[trigonal crystal system]], crystals that sometimes exhibit [[Crystal twinning|twinning]].

Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the [[Near East]], including as a [[rouge (cosmetics)|rouge]]-type [[cosmetics|cosmetic]], in the [[New World]] since the [[Olmec]] culture, and in [[China]] since as early as the [[Yangshao culture]], where it was used in coloring [[stoneware]]. In Roman times, cinnabar was highly valued as paint for walls, especially interiors, since it darkened when used outdoors due to exposure to sunlight.

Associated modern precautions for the use and handling of cinnabar arise from the [[mercury toxicity|toxicity of the mercury component]], which was recognized as early as [[ancient Rome]].

== Etymology ==
The name comes from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|κιννάβαρι}}<ref name=EB1911/> ({{Transliteration|grc|kinnabari}}),<ref>{{OEtymD|cinnabar}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|kinna/bari|κιννάβαρι|ref}}.</ref> a Greek word most likely applied by [[Theophrastus]] to several distinct substances.<ref name=EB1911/> In Latin, it was sometimes known as ''minium'', meaning also "red cinnamon",<ref>{{L&S|minium|ref}}</ref> though both of these terms now refer specifically to [[lead tetroxide]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Daniel V. |last=Thompson |date=1956 |title=The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Dover (R. R. Donnelley-Courier) |pages= 100–102}}</ref>

== Properties and structure ==

=== Properties ===
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 lustre|adamantine luster]].<ref name="today">{{cite journal | journal = Geology Today | volume = 18 | issue = 5 | pages = 195–199 | title = Minerals Explained 37: Cinnabar | first = R. J. | last = King | doi = 10.1046/j.0266-6979.2003.00366.x | year = 2002 | s2cid = 247674748 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Klein |first1=Cornelis |first2=Cornelius S. Jr |last2=Hurlbut |title=Manual of Mineralogy |url=https://archive.org/details/manualofmineralo00klei |url-access=registration |publisher=Wiley |edition=20th |date=1985 |page=[https://archive.org/details/manualofmineralo00klei/page/281 281] |isbn=0-471-80580-7}}</ref> It resembles [[quartz]] in its symmetry. It exhibits [[birefringence]], and it has the second-highest [[refractive index]] of any [[mineral]].<ref name=gemsoc-ri-dr>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gemsociety.org/article/table-refractive-index-double-refraction-gems/|title=Table of Refractive Indices and Double Refraction of Selected Gems - IGS|website=International Gem Society|language=en|access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref> Its mean refractive index is 3.08 ([[sodium light]] wavelengths),<ref name=schumann>{{cite book | last = Schumann | first = W. | title = Gemstones of the World | location = New York, NY | publisher = Sterling | year = 1997 | isbn = 0-8069-9461-4 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/gemstonesofworld00schu }}{{page needed|date=July 2015}}</ref> versus the indices for [[diamond]] and the non-mineral [[Gallium arsenide|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.<ref name=Webmin/>

=== Structure ===
[[File:Cinnabar crystal structure.png|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Crystal structure of cinnabar: yellow = sulfur, grey = mercury, green = cell]]
Structurally, cinnabar belongs to the [[trigonal crystal system]].<ref name=Webmin/> It occurs as thick tabular or slender prismatic crystals or as granular to massive incrustations.<ref name=Handbook/> [[Crystal twinning]] occurs as simple contact twins.<ref name=Mindat/>

Mercury(II) sulfide, HgS, adopts the cinnabar structure described, and one additional structure, i.e. it is [[Polymorphism (materials science)|dimorphous]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Wells | first = A. F. | year = 1984 | title = Structural Inorganic Chemistry | location = Oxford, Oxon | publisher = Clarendon Press | isbn = 0-19-855370-6 }}{{page needed|date=July 2015}}</ref> 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 [[angstrom|Å]]), and four longer {{nowrap|Hg···S}} contacts (with 3.10, 3.10, 3.30 and 3.30&nbsp;Å separations). In addition, HgS is found in a black, non-cinnabar polymorph ([[metacinnabar]]) that has the [[Zincblende (crystal structure)|zincblende structure]].<ref name=Mindat/>

== Occurrence ==
[[File:cinnabar09.jpg|thumb|left|Cinnabar mercury ore from [[Nevada]], United States]]
Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling [[mineral]] associated with [[volcanic activity]] and alkaline [[hot spring]]s. Cinnabar is deposited by [[epithermal]] ascending [[aqueous]] solutions (those near the surface and not too hot) far removed from their igneous source.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/segweb/books/book/1816/chapter/107705190/Thermal-Springs-and-Epithermal-Ore-Deposits|publisher=GeoScienceWorld|chapter=Thermal Springs and Epithermal Ore Deposits|doi=10.5382/AV50.03|title=Fiftieth Anniversary Volume, 1905–1955|year=1955|last1=White|first1=Donald E.|isbn=978-1-9349-6952-6}}</ref> It is associated with native mercury, [[stibnite]], [[realgar]], [[pyrite]], [[marcasite]], [[opal]], [[quartz]], [[chalcedony]], [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]], [[calcite]], and [[barite]].<ref name=Handbook/>

Cinnabar is found in essentially all mineral extraction localities that yield mercury, notably [[Almadén]] (Spain). This mine was exploited from Roman times until 1991, being for centuries the most important cinnabar deposit in the world. Good cinnabar crystals have also been found there.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Minerales y Minas de España |volume=II. Sulfuros y sulfosales|last=Calvo|first=Miguel|publisher=Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava|year=2003|isbn=84-7821-543-3|location=Vitoria, Spain|pages=355–359}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/gm/1052?page=21|title=Cinnabar. Spain|website=Mindat}}</ref> Cinnabar deposits appear in [[Giza]] (Egypt); [[Puerto Princesa]] (Philippines); [[Red Devil, Alaska]]; [[Murfreesboro, Arkansas]]; [[New Almaden Mine]]<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Santa Clara County Parks |title=Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum |url=https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/activities/cultural-venues/almaden-quicksilver-mining-museum#1849274314-3146410750 |access-date=25 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Jane |last=Kay |work=SFGate |title=Tracking a toxic trail / Long-closed mine identified as largest source of mercury in San Francisco Bay |date=December 22, 2002 |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/tracking-a-toxic-trail-long-closed-mine-2709557.php |access-date=25 August 2024}}</ref> in [[San Jose, California]]; [[New Idria, California]], the [[Hastings Mine]] and [[St. John's Mine]] both in [[Vallejo, California]]; [[Terlingua, Texas]] (United States); [[Idrija]] (Slovenia); {{Interlanguage link|Moschellandsberg|de}} near [[Obermoschel]] in the [[Rhineland-Palatinate|Palatinate]]; the La Ripa and Levigliani mines<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dini |first1=Andrea |last2=Benvenuti |first2=Marco |last3=Costagliola |first3=Pilar |last4=Lattanzi |first4=Pierfranco |date=2001 |title=Mercury deposits in metamorphic settings: the example of Levigliani and Ripa mines, Apuane Alps (Tuscany, Italy) |journal=Ore Geology Reviews |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=149–167 |doi=10.1016/S0169-1368(01)00026-9|bibcode=2001OGRv...18..149D }}</ref> at the foot of the [[Apuan Alps]] and in [[Mount Amiata]] (Tuscany, Italy); [[Avala]] (Serbia); [[Huancavelica]] (Peru); the province of [[Guizhou]] in China and [[Western Ghats]] in India where fine crystals have been obtained. It has been found in [[Dominica]] near its sulfur springs at the southern end of the island along the west coast.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Minerals|title=Arsenian Pyrite and Cinnabar from Active Submarine Nearshore Vents, Paleochori Bay, Milos Island, Greece|year=2020|doi=10.3390/min11010014|doi-access=free|last1=Voudouris|first1=Panagiotis|last2=Kati|first2=Marianna|last3=Magganas|first3=Andreas|last4=Keith|first4=Manuel|last5=Valsami-Jones|first5=Eugenia|last6=Haase|first6=Karsten|last7=Klemd|first7=Reiner|last8=Nestmeyer|first8=Mark|volume=11|issue=1|page=14|bibcode=2020Mine...11...14V|url=https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-fau/files/15520/minerals-11-00014-v3.pdf}}</ref>
[[File:Cinabrio Almadén 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Specimen composed of pure cinnabar, with the surface covered in crystals. Being an old specimen, they are partially darkened due to exposure to light. [[Almadén Mine]], (Ciudad Real), Spain. Largest dimension, 6 cm.]]

Cinnabar is still being deposited, such as from the hot waters of [[Sulphur Bank Mine]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/locentry-133387.html|publisher=Mindat|title=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|access-date=2021-03-15}}</ref> in California and [[Steamboat Springs, Nevada]] (United States).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/locentry-204963.html|publisher=Mindat|title=Cinnabar from Steamboat Springs mine, Steamboat Springs Mining District, Washoe Co., Nevada, USA|access-date=2021-03-15}}</ref>

== Mining and extraction of mercury ==
[[File:Alchimia 1570 p 9.tif|thumb|Apparatus for the distillation of cinnabar, ''Alchimia'', 1570]]
As the most common source of mercury in nature,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.gc.ca/mercure-mercury/default.asp?lang=En&n=2C1BBBDA-1 |publisher=Environment Canada |title=Natural Sources: Mercury |date=9 January 2007 |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Mercury Pollution: A Transdisciplinary Treatment | editor1-first=Sharon L. | editor1-last=Zuber | editor2-first=Michael C. | editor2-last=Newman | publisher=CRC Press | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-040-21015-4 | page=34 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=riVDEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 }}</ref> cinnabar has been mined for thousands of years, even as far back as the [[Neolithic Age]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martín Gil |first1=J. |last2=Martín Gil |first2=F. J. |last3=Delibes de Castro |first3=G. |last4=Zapatero Magdaleno |first4=P. |last5=Sarabia Herrero |first5=F. J. | year = 1995 | title = The first known use of vermillion | journal = Experientia | volume = 51 | issue = 8 | pages = 759–761 | pmid = 7649232 | doi = 10.1007/BF01922425 |s2cid=21900879 | issn = 0014-4754 }}</ref> During the [[Roman Empire]] it was mined both as a pigment,<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Vitruvius |author=Vitruvius |title=De architectura |volume=VII |at=4–5|title-link=De architectura }}{{primary source inline|date=July 2015}}</ref><ref name=PlinyNatHist33>{{cite book|author-link=Pliny the Elder |author=Pliny |title=Natural History |volume=XXXIII |at=36–42|title-link=Natural History (Pliny) }}{{primary source inline|date=July 2015}}</ref> and for its mercury content.<ref name=PlinyNatHist33/>{{rp|XLI}}

To produce liquid mercury (quicksilver), crushed cinnabar ore is [[Roasting (metallurgy)|roasted]] in [[rotary furnace]]s. Pure mercury separates from sulfur in this process and easily evaporates. A [[Condenser (laboratory)|condensing column]] is used to collect the liquid metal, which is most often shipped in iron flasks.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/jres/041/jresv41n3p205_A1b.pdf |journal=Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards |title=Concentration of Isotopes of Mercury in Countercurrent Molecular Stills |first1=Samuel L. |last1=Madorsky |first2=Paul |last2=Bradt |first3=Sidney |last3=Straus |volume=41 |date=September 1948 |issue=3 |pages=205–210 |doi=10.6028/jres.041.023 |pmid=18890140 |access-date=2024-08-26}}</ref>

== Toxicity ==
{{See also|Mercury poisoning}}
Associated modern precautions for use and handling of cinnabar arise from the [[Mercury poisoning|toxicity of the mercury]] component, which was recognized as early as in ancient Rome.<ref name=Stewart14>{{cite book |first=Susan |last=Stewart |date=2014 |contribution='Gleaming and deadly white': Toxic cosmetics in the Roman world |page=84 |title=History of Toxicology and Environmental Health: Toxicology in Antiquity |volume=II |editor-first=Philip |editor-last=Wexler |location=New York City |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-801634-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0128016345 |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref> Because of its [[Mercury (element)#Toxicity and safety|mercury]] content, cinnabar can be toxic to human beings. Overexposure to mercury, [[mercury poisoning]] (mercurialism), was seen as an occupational disease to the ancient Romans. Though people in ancient South America often used cinnabar for art, or processed it into refined mercury (as a 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 [[retort]]ed from cinnabar and the workers were exposed to the toxic mercury fumes.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287174777 |title=Mining and Metallurgy in Ancient Peru |last=Petersen |first=G. |publisher=The Geological Society of America |year=2010 |series=Special Paper 467 |location=Boulder, Colorado|page=29}}</ref> "Mining in the Spanish cinnabar mines of [[Almadén]], {{cvt|225|km}} 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."<ref>{{cite book |title = Principles and Methods of Toxicology |edition = 6th |last= Hayes |first= A. W. |publisher=Informa Healthcare |location = New York City |year=2014 |isbn = 978-1-842-14537-1 |page = 10}}</ref>

== Decorative use ==
Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the [[Near East]], including as a [[rouge (cosmetics)|rouge]]-type cosmetic,<ref name=Stewart14/> 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]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Cinnabar's use as a color in the New World, since the [[Olmec]] culture,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,825208,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205015759/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,825208,00.html|archive-date=December 5, 2008|title=New World's Oldest|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=1957-07-29}}</ref> is exemplified by its use in royal [[Maya death rituals|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Healy |first1=Paul F.|first2=Marc G. |last2=Blainey|year=2011|title=Ancient Maya mosaic mirrors: Function, symbolism, and meaning|journal=Ancient Mesoamerica|volume = 22 | issue=2|page=230|doi=10.1017/S0956536111000241 |s2cid=162282151}}</ref>
[[File:Chinese carved cinnabar lacquerware.jpg|thumb|Chinese carved cinnabar lacquerware, late [[Qing dynasty]]. Adilnor Collection, Sweden]]

The most popularly known use of cinnabar is in Chinese [[carved lacquerware]], a technique that apparently originated in the [[Song dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-link=Jessica Rawson|editor-last=Rawson|editor-first=Jessica |title=The British Museum Book of Chinese Art |page=178 |date=2007 |edition=2nd |publisher=British Museum Press |isbn=978-0-7141-2446-9}}</ref> The danger of mercury poisoning may be reduced in ancient lacquerware by [[Entrainment (engineering)|entraining]] the powdered pigment in [[lacquer]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/cinnabar.htm|first=R. V. |last=Dietrich|year=2005|title=Cinnabar|work=Gemrocks: Ornamental & Curio Stones|publisher=University of Michigan | location = Ann Arbor, Michigan}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2015}} 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

Two female mummies dated AD 1399 to 1475 found in Cerro Esmeralda in Chile in 1976 had clothes colored with cinnabar.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livescience.com/63181-mummies-poison-clothing.html |first=Mindy |last=Weisberger |title=Dressed to Kill: Chilean Mummies' Clothes Were Colored with Deadly Toxin |website=Live Science|date=27 July 2018 |access-date=26 August 2024}}</ref>

== Other forms ==
* Hepatic cinnabar, or paragite, is an impure brownish variety<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindat.org/min-1871.html|title=Hepatic Cinnabar: Hepatic Cinnabar mineral information and data.|work=Mindat}}</ref> from the mines of [[Idrija]] in the [[Carniola]] region of [[Slovenia]], in which the cinnabar is mixed with [[bitumen|bituminous]] and earthy matter.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shepard|first=Charles Upham|title=Treatise on Mineralogy|publisher=Hezekiah Howe|date=1832|page=132}}</ref>
* [[Hypercinnabar]] crystallizes at high temperature in the [[hexagonal crystal system]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindat.org/min-1994.html|title=Hypercinnabar: Hypercinnabar mineral information and data|work=Mindat}}</ref>
* [[Metacinnabar]] is a black-colored form of mercury(II) sulfide, which crystallizes in the [[cubic crystal system]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindat.org/min-2670.html|title=Metacinnabar: Metacinnabar mineral information and data|work=Mindat}}</ref>
* Synthetic cinnabar is produced by treatment of mercury(II) [[Salt (chemistry)|salts]] with [[hydrogen sulfide]] to [[Precipitation (chemistry)|precipitate]] black, synthetic metacinnabar, which is then heated in water. This conversion is promoted by the presence of [[sodium sulfide]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holleman |first1=A. F. |last2=Wiberg |first2=E. | title = Inorganic Chemistry | publisher = Academic Press | location = San Diego, California | year = 2001 | isbn = 0-12-352651-5 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2015}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Earth sciences}}
* [[Classification of minerals]]
* [[List of minerals]]
* [[Mercury cycle]]
* [[Red pigments]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|first1=Susan |last1=Stewart |date=2014 |contribution='Gleaming and deadly white': Toxic cosmetics in the Roman world |page=84 |title=History of Toxicology and Environmental Health: Toxicology in Antiquity |volume=II |editor-first=Philip |editor-last=Wexler |location=New York, NY |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-801634-3}}
* {{cite conference|last1=Barone |first1=G. |last2=Di Bella |first2=M. |last3=Mastelloni |first3=M. A. |last4=Mazzoleni |first4=P. |last5=Quartieri |first5=S. |last6=Raneri |first6=S. |last7=Sabatino |first7=G. |last8=Vailati |first8=C. |title=Pottery Production of the Pittore di Lipari: Chemical and Mineralogical Analysis of the Pigments |publisher=2nd European Mineralogical Conference (EMC2016) 11–15 Sep 2016 |conference=Minerals, Fluids and Rocks: Alphabet and Words of Planet Earth |location=Rimini |date=2016 |page=716}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Cinnabar}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070912190757/http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/ME/mercuric_sulphide.html MSDS for cinnabar]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090626042032/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~toxmetal/metals/stories/mercury.html Dartmouth Toxic Metals Research Program – Mercury]
* [http://www.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/cinnabar/cinnabar.htm Cinnabar visual reference]
{{Ores}}

{{Authority control}}

== See also ==

* [[Pompeian Red]]

[[Category:Sulfide minerals]]
[[Category:Mercury(II) minerals]]
[[Category:Trigonal minerals]]
[[Category:Blendes]]
[[Category:Minerals in space group 152 or 154]]
[[Category:Traditional Chinese medicine]]
[[Category:Alchemical substances]]