Cinnabar with Sulphur and Pyrite on Quartz

This specimen displays cinnabar, the principal ore of mercury, occurring with native sulphur and pyrite on a quartz matrix, collected from the Puhi Puhi mercury field in North Auckland. The granular to earthy red cinnabar contrasts with pale yellow sulphur and brassy pyrite crystals disseminated through or attached to the quartz host. At Puhi Puhi, mercury mineralisation formed in a low-temperature hydrothermal environment, where sulphur-rich fluids circulated through fractures in quartz-bearing volcanic rocks. Cinnabar precipitated as mercury combined with sulphur, while pyrite crystallised from iron-bearing fluids under slightly different chemical conditions. The presence of both sulphur and pyrite reflects a sulphur-dominated system with variable redox conditions during mineral formation. This association provides a clear illustration of: Mercury ore formation in hydrothermal systems The coexistence of sulphide minerals and native sulphur Quartz acting as a stable host and fluid pathway Historically, cinnabar was mined as a source of mercury and used as a pigment (vermilion), though it is now recognised as toxic and preserved strictly for scientific and educational purposes.