Kermesite or

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient ti ...

oxysulfide is also known as red antimony (Sb₂S₂O) . The mineral's color ranges from cherry red to a dark red to a black. Kermesite is the result of partial oxidation between stibnite (Sb₂S₃) and other antimony oxides such as valentinite (Sb₂O₃) or stibiconite (Sb₃O₆(OH)). Under certain conditions with oxygenated fluids the transformation of all sulfur to oxygen would occur but kermesite occurs when that transformation is halted.

Mining and specimens

Deposits of this mineral have been found all over the world, however notable deposits have been found in Braunsdorf, near Freiberg,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

; Pernek, Pezinok, and Pribram,

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; the Lac Nicolet mine, South Ham Township, Wolfe County,

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

; Sombrerete,

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Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

; Santa Cruz and San Francisco mines, Poopo, Oruro,

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; Que Que,

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

; Djebel Haminate,

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;

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. I ...

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, Australia; Mohave,

Kern County, California Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county ...

and Burke,

Shoshone County, Idaho Shoshone County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,169. The largest city is Kellogg. The county was established in 1864, named for the Native American Shoshone tribe. Shoshone County is com ...

History and uses

Kermesite is named after a formerly used red dye,

kermes (dye) Kermes is a red dye derived from the dried bodies of the females of a scale insect in the genus '' Kermes'', primarily '' Kermes vermilio''. The ''Kermes'' insects are native in the Mediterranean region and are parasites living on the sap of the ...

, and was so named because of the grainy reddish color the mineral often has. The name dates from 1832. Earlier in English (17th and 18th centuries) certain antimony compounds were called " kermes mineral" for the same reason.''A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'' (year 1901)
Kermesite or red antimony has been used as early as the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourt ...

’s 6th Dynasty in ancient

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

(c. 2345–2181 BCE) in lip cosmetics and in the 18th Dynasty Queen Hatshepsut (Maatkare) (1498–1483 BCE) negotiated with the

Land of Punt The Land of Punt ( Egyptian: ''pwnt''; alternate Egyptological readings ''Pwene''(''t'') /pu:nt/) was an ancient kingdom known from Ancient Egyptian trade records. It produced and exported gold, aromatic resins, blackwood, ebony, ivory ...

for its colored antimony deposits. Besides stibnite, which was used for eye liner red, antimony is one of the oldest minerals used in cosmetics. Further archaeological evidence indicates that

levels were higher in ancient

ian female remains which had exposure to both antimony compounds (Bencze, 1994). Because of its color, the precipitate of kermesite was used as a coloring agent and in

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world ...

. Because of alchemy’s focus on material transformation as evidenced by color, red antimony was used to produce the red state. Kermesite is the mineral state for Kermes mineral which was used extensively in the medical field for centuries Presently, kermesite is collected for the beauty of its crystal metallic structure and not used in either cosmetics or the medical field any longer due to the toxic effects that it shares with antimony; less harmful substitutes have been found using both organic and pharmaceutical production.

References

* Bencze, Koloman. “Antimony” pp. 227–235. Handbook on Metals in Clinical and Analytical Chemistry (ed.) Hans G Seiler (1994) * Sneader, Walter. Drug Discovery: A History (2005).

External links

Mineral Gallery
{{Commons category Oxide minerals Sulfide minerals Antimony minerals Triclinic minerals Minerals in space group 2 Land of Punt Hatshepsut