Cinnabar

specimen number:
2262224

location:
Almaden, Ciudad-Real, Spain

description:
Good reference example for this famous Spanish locality with rich masses of red cinnabar throughout matrix. The specimen comes with a previous data card as shown at the end of the video..

The Almaden district, located in the Ciudad Real province of south-central Spain, is the largest and most productive mercury deposit in human history, famous for its world-class specimens of deep-red cinnabar. Geologically, this unique stratabound deposit is hosted within Silurian-age Criadero Quartzite formations that underwent intense fracturing and submarine volcanic activity, allowing low-temperature, mercury-rich hydrothermal fluids to impregnate the highly porous sandstones. This specialized genetic process resulted in massive, high-grade replacements of cinnabar alongside spectacular, rare crystal intergrowths and pockets of native liquid mercury. Historically, extraction at Almaden dates back over two millennia, with the indigenous Celtiberians first exploiting the cinnabar pigments before the Roman Empire nationalized the mines to supply vermilion to Rome. The site saw heavy continuous operations through the Moorish period and the Spanish Empire, when its mercury became a critical strategic asset for processing silver from the New World via amalgamation. Mining and quarrying activities expanded dramatically under state and corporate management during the 19th and 20th centuries, keeping the complex highly active until environmental and health regulations led to the permanent cessation of extraction in 2002. Now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Almaden mines remain the ultimate global historical and geological benchmark for cinnabar mineralization.

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