Cinnabar means to gild silver and gold to objects) "the toxic properties of mercury were well known. It was dangerous to those who mined and processed cinnabar, it caused shaking, loss of sense, and death. Data suggest that mercury was retorted from cinnabar and the workers were exposed to the toxic mercury fumes." Overexposure to mercury, mercurialism, was seen as an occupational disease to the ancient Romans: "Mining in the Spanish cinnabar mines of Almadén, southwest of Madrid, was regarded as being akin to a death sentence due to the shortened life expectancy of the miners, who were slaves or convicts."
Ore shoot Ore shoot In mining and geology, an ore shoot is a long seam of mineral or metal bearing rock that can be profitable to extract. The term may have originated in the 17th and 18th centuries when various theories existed on the origins of ore deposits, including some that suggested they grew like trees. Tabular or sheet-like deposits of metalliferous ores often contain areas of enhanced metal content that are larger in one dimension than another. A structure may contain multiple ore shoots. A "vein," "lode" or other mineral-bearing structure could be thick, steeply inclined within the host rock, persisting