Mercury (element) metals. Alchemists thought of mercury as the First Matter from which all metals were formed. They believed that different metals could be produced by varying the quality and quantity of sulfur contained within the mercury. The purest of these was gold, and mercury was called for in attempts at the transmutation of base (or impure) metals into gold, which was the goal of many alchemists. The mines in Almadén (Spain), Monte Amiata (Italy), and Idrija (now Slovenia) dominated mercury production from the opening of the mine in Almadén 2500 years ago, until new deposits were found at the end of
Hunan Nonferrous Metals Hunan Nonferrous Metals Hunan Nonferrous Metals Holding Group Co., Ltd. is a nonferrous metals company of China. It is a subsidiary of China Minmetals, which in turn indirectly under supervision of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Some of the assets of the conglomerate was listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2006 to 2015 as "Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation Limited" (SEHK: 2626). (The holding company retained Hunan Yaogangxian Mining Co., Ltd., Hunan Huangshaping Mining Branch and a joint venture (Duddar mine).) However, in 2014 China Minmetals announced the plan to privatization of the listed company, which China Minmetals already