New Almaden hydrothermal deposition of cinnabar from deep within the earth is found in a gangue of silica-carbonate rock formed locally by hydrothermal alteration of serpentine. The Guadalupe mine produced about 10% as much mercury as the New Almaden. There are several smaller mines in the mining district, but their ore production was not significant. The only significant quicksilver ore is cinnabar; other sulfides are present in small quantities. Mining, other than a single placer deposit of cinnabar, was underground. There is a high probability of undiscovered high-grade ore which could be found and exploited using modern techniques. Mining operations resulted in
Cinnabar Theater Quicksilver Theater Company under the leadership of Richard Blake. The current conductor, Mary Chun (who also serves as conductor of San Francisco's new music ensemble Earplay), has led performances for Hawaii Opera Theatre and served on the conducting staffs of San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Belgium's La Monnaie, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Opéra de Lyon, where she was also the Director of Musical Studies for Music Director Kent Nagano. She has conducted Cinnabar productions of "She Loves Me" (2011), "Don Giovanni" (2012), "Carmen" (2013), "The Marriage