Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) analyses of the Cretaceous marine sandstones at the Azogues (Loma Guashon), Ecuador cinnabar-mercury occurrence gave 11 - 113 ppm Hg. However, the ancient Azogues mines have been well documented previously, for example: 1) a 1799 hand drawn map “Plan del Cerro Mineral de Azogue” shows numerous adits; 2) during Colonial time, Cuenca founder, Gil Ramirez Davalos was owner of the mercury mines; 3) in the late 1800s, Teodoro Wolf described well-worked adits at Guashon and samples with 0.5% Hg; and more recently, 4) the Metallogenic Map of Ecuador shows the mercury occurrence at Azogues. Mineral resource assessment of the Azogues occurrence is important to regional archaeological studies of resource availability and ancient use of cinnabar as a pigment and as a source of mercury for gold amalgamation before the arrival of the Europeans, and possibly later, for silver amalgamation, during Colonial time.
Highlights
In Latin America, Spanish mercury is preferred for small-scale gold mining and azogue, with its hint of Spanish origin and supposed higher quality, commands a higher price than recycled local mercury or mercury produced in the U.S or elsewhere
Small pits in the Sind (Indus) Riverbed were filled with mercury; the mercury amalgamated the alluvial gold flakes and the mercury-gold amalgam was recovered, squeezed in a cloth to remove most of the mercury, and the amalgam “nugget” was burned to volatilize any remaining mercury
Cinnabar and mercury were known and used for only two purposes in the pre-Columbian Andes and mercury was essential to Colonial silver processing
Summary
Mercury and cinnabar occurrences are known throughout the Andes and blood-red cinnabar (HgS), the ore of mercury, was mined, selectively sorted, and ground for use as a pigment (vermilion), in funeral rituals, and as makeup during pre-contact time (Whitaker, 1941; Petersen, 1970/2010; Brown, 2001; Brooks et al, 2008). Perú produced 16-22 metric tons of gold from small-scale alluvial gold mining, using mercury, during 2007-2011 (Gurmendi, 2012). As another example of the importance of mercury in alluvial gold mining, approximately 26,000,000 pounds (or 342,000 seventy-six pound flasks) of mercury were used during the California Gold Rush in 1849-50 (Alpers et al, 2005)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
