Formula: HgS
Origin of name: From Persian zinjifrah = dragon's blood, in Medieval Latin cinnabaris, name referring to the red colour
Crystal system: Hexagonal
Crystal class: 32
Twinning: Common on {0001}, contact; also about [1000] axis
Unit cell: a = 4.15 Ǻ, c = 9.50 Ǻ
Colour: Scarlet, brownish red, brown, black, lead-gray
Diaphaneity:
Luster: Adamantine, submetallic to dull
Habit: Crystals rhombohedral to thick tabular, stout to slender prismatic; crystalline crusts, powdery coatings
Hardness: 2 to 2.5
Specific gravity: 8.09
Cleavage: 1; {10-10} perfect
Tenacity: Conchoidal to uneven; brittle
Streak: Scarlet to reddish brown
Synonyms/varieties:
Comments: Trimorphous with metacinnabar and hypercinnabar. Formed from low-temperature hydrothermal solutions in veins, also in sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic host rocks.
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