Cinnabar Cinnabar Cinnabar () and cinnabarite (), likely deriving from the ("kinnabari"), refer to the common bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS) that is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury, and is the historic source for the brilliant red or scarlet pigment termed vermilion and associated red mercury pigments. Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated with recent volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs. The mineral resembles quartz in symmetry and in its exhibiting birefringence; cinnabar has a mean refractive index of approximately 3.2, a hardness between 2.0 and 2.5, and a specific gravity
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