Mercury (element)

Mineral occurrence

A rare element in the earth's crust, mercury is found either as a native metal (rare) or in cinnabar, corderoite, livingstonite, and other minerals with cinnabar (HgS) being the most common ore. Approximately 50% of the global supply comes from Almaden (Spain) and Idria (Slovenia), with much of the rest coming from Russia, and North America. The metal is extracted by heating cinnabar in a current of air and condensing the vapor. The equation for this extraction is

Related Topics:
Cinnabar - Corderoite - Livingstonite - Mineral - S - Almaden - Spain - Idria - Slovenia - Russia - North America

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:HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2

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