Abstract
The Huancavelica cinnabar-mercury occurrence is the most well-known, but not the only, cinnabar-mercury occurrence in Peru. Therefore, a compilation of the approximately 20 other cinnabar-mercury occurrences is important in assessing the regional availability of this important mineral and its industrial uses in pre-contact Peru. These include: 1) cinnabar use as an ancient red pigment and, 2) more importantly, retorting cinnabar was an important source of mercury that was used for pre-contact alluvial gold amalgamation and, later Colonial silver amalgamation. Geochemical sampling of the lesser-known Chonta occurrence also indicates Ag, Pb-Zn, or Au exploration targets. Retorting cinnabar has been widely documented and dates to 8000 years ago in ancient Turkey; during Roman time; in ancient Mexico; medieval Europe; the western US; and Indonesia. Using only cinnabar, clay for the ceramic retorts, and charcoal, coal, or other fuels, this artisanal process provided the mercury that was essential to the small-scale gold mining technology that produced tons of gold from alluvial sources before the arrival of the Spanish explorers in ancient South America. In present-day Peru, mercury is used to produce tons of gold from small-scale mines, and by analogy, the tons of gold produced in pre-contact Peru are hard evidence that is consistent with small-scale gold mining and mercury amalgamation in the past.
Highlights
IntroductionThe primary present-day use of mercury worldwide is for alluvial gold mining; other modern uses include: auto switches, batteries, chlor-alkali production, dental amalgam, and fluorescent lamps
These include: 1) cinnabar use as an ancient red pigment and, 2) more importantly, retorting cinnabar was an important source of mercury that was used for pre-contact alluvial gold amalgamation and, later Colonial silver amalgamation
A simple retort was modeled from the racks of double-ceramic retorts shown in Agricola’s De Re Metallica (1556/1912, Book IX: p. 427) and a pre-contact double-ceramic mercury retort from Sierra Gorda, Queretaro, Mexico (Langenscheidt, 1986). This rudimentary process does not produce vermilion, only a sooty mercury-rich residue, and metallic mercury (Figures 5-8) that would have been collected and used for ancient small-scale alluvial gold mining. This compilation of cinnabar-mercury occurrences is important to the ongoing evaluation of the use of mineral resources in the ancient Andes
Summary
The primary present-day use of mercury worldwide is for alluvial gold mining; other modern uses include: auto switches, batteries, chlor-alkali production, dental amalgam, and fluorescent lamps. An example of the importance of mercury in alluvial gold mining is indicated by the production of approximately 26,000,000 pounds (or 342,000 seventy-six pound flasks) of mercury from New Almaden and other California mercury mines that were used to amalgamate alluvial gold during the California Gold Rush in 1849 (Davis, 1957; Bailey & Everhart, 1964; Bailey et al, 1973; Lanyon & Bulmore, 1967; Alpers et al, 2005). Alluvial gold was the main source of gold for ancient man and provided two-thirds of the gold ever produced (Boyle, 1979)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
