Image: <bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56247090" class="extiw" title="d:Q56247090"><span title="mineral collector and dealer">Robert M. Lavinsky</span></a></bdi> (CC BY-SA 3.0)
trigonaluncommonSulfides
Cinnabar
HgS
This specimen features bright red, crystalline cinnabar, likely intergrown with or on a matrix containing corderoite, which appears as darker, smaller crystals.
Cinnabar Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
2.5Crystal System
trigonalLuster
adamantineStreak Color
scarlet to reddish-brownCleavage
perfect prismatic {1010}Fracture
unevenSpecific Gravity
8.1Colors
red, scarlet, reddish-brownTransparency
opaqueType Locality
McDermitt Mine (Cordero Mine; Old Cordero Mine), Opalite District, Humboldt County, Nevada, USAMineral Group
SulfidesUses
mercury ore, pigment, collectorAssociated Minerals
corderoite, quartz, pyriteRarity
uncommonGeological Context
Cinnabar forms in low-temperature hydrothermal veins and hot spring deposits, often associated with recent volcanic activity. It precipitates from alkaline solutions rich in mercury.
