Cinnabar Mineral Specimen, China

Cinnabar is a bright red mineral consisting of mercury and sulfur. It provides most of the world's supply of mercury. It is a colorful mineral that will add a unique color to any mineral collectors case. Cinnabar or Mercury Sulfide is quite often recognized by its deep red coloring. The tone of the red crystals depends on the purity of the mineral. If it is pure, the color is a vermilion red. If it is impure, the color is more of a brownish red, cinnamon red to brick red. Found mostly near the earth's surface, close to volcanic rocks and hot springs it usually occurs in earthy masses or scattered in opal. This Cinnabar is from the Hunan Provence,China. The quartz crystals on this specimen are connected to the gray parent rock. This gives them an interesting bluish gray tint. Bonus: the large crystal hidden in the shadow is a Twin. This is a very nice specimen.