Mercury is a liquid metal. How is it mined?
By cuddiluk
@cuddiluk (1523)
Philippines
November 13, 2006 9:12pm CST
As mercury - the only metal that is liquid at room temperature - is also highly poisonous, mining it in its liquid state would be extremely hazardous, Fortunately, its found in the earth's crust in the form of solid mineral ore - most commonly cinnabar, a soft reddish-brown deposit. To extract the metal, the ore is heated, releasing mercury vapour that is passed through a series of tubes to condense it into the silvery-white liquid found in thermometers.
1 response
@warran (4)
• Mexico
1 Aug 09
Hi
my name is warren sybrandt my wife and i are both hobby miners with a need for mercury. I was reading your info about mercury and wanted to find out if you
are a geolest or chemest student or prof. can you help us find another extractor
for gold and silver.I live in the south west az area.
my email sybrandt54@yahoo.com
tks
warren sybrandt