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 Metal Exchange aims to add uranium to its list of metals on warrant. The World Bank reports that China was the top importer of ores and metals in 2005 followed by the US and Japan. DILL, H.G. (2010) "The “chessboard” classification scheme of mineral deposits: Mineralogy and geology from aluminum to zirconium," Earth-Science Reviews, Volume 100, Issue 1-4, June 2010, Pages 1-420 Ore An ore is an occurrence of rock or sediment that contains sufficient minerals with economically important elements, typically metals, that can be economically extracted from the deposit. The ores are extracted from the earth through mining; they