Im doing a project on mercury a 5 page essay to be exact and i need loads of information on mercury. Specifically How is it obtained and processed from the earth, Where is it found, What is it like in its pure state, I also need to list qualitative and quantitative descriptions, state uses of the metal, are there toxic qualities associated with this metal, what is the cost per pound or ounce of it.
The last mercury mine in the US, McDermitt Mine in Nevada closed in 1991. It was an open cut mine using trucks and an excavator to mine a vein of quartz that contained the mercury mineral cinnabar. - mercury sulfide. Cinnabar is a red mineral, usually earthy in appearance but can form red crystals. The USGS reports that red cinnabar can still be seen in rocks in the waste pile at the mine. Cinnabar is the most common mineral for primary mercury production. Underground mines in China also mine cinnabar. The process used at McDermitt was to roast the ore in a stream of air. The cinnabar reacted with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide and mercury vapor. The mercury vapor was condensed from the air stream. Mercury is produced as a by product of electrowinning of copper. The mercury collects together with other metals as a sludge at the bottom of the electrowinning tanks. One of the biggest produces of by-product mercury is the Yanacocha Gold Mine in Peru. Mercury occurs along with the gold. Yannacocha is a large surface mine using electric shovels and trucks. The process at Yanacocha is to treat the ore with cyanide solution, which dissolves both the gold and the mercury. Both gold and mercury are precipitated on carbon , from where there are again redissolved with cyanide and then precipitated with zinc powder. The loaded zinc is the smelted to recover the gold and mercury. The mercury is vaporised in the smelter and recovered by the pollution control equipment. The price of mercury has been hovering around $600 for a 76 lb flask. Use of mercury is declining and is down to about 2000 tons per year. Much of this is provided by recycling. The use of florescent lights for energy saving may increase consumption. Mercury is very hazardous. The links give more information.
