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Mercury production
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Producing
mercury is a fairly simple process: cinnabar
ore is brought to the surface,
crushed and roasted in rotary furnaces.
Metallic mercury separates from sulphur
in this process and evaporates.
Liquid mercury is collected from the vapour
in a condensing column, purified and can then
be transported, usually in iron flasks.
But it may not always be quite as
easy as it sounds. At
Khaidarkan, for example, the working
conditions can be
arduous. Miners descend 400 metres
underground in one of
the two working shafts to reach the ore
deposit, a journey
which can involve a walk through knee-high,
fast-flawing water. |
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