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Why is underground mining commonly used for mercury ore deposits?

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A periodic table element box for mercury shows its symbol Hg, atomic number 80, atomic weight 200.592, electron configuration, and name. Icons indicate mercury is a transition metal, liquid at room temperature, has a rhombohedral crystal structure, and is weakly basic. — mercury Properties of mercury.

Underground mining is the most common method for recovering mercury ore because mercury deposits are typically small and irregular in nature, often occurring as veinlets rather than large, consistent formations. These geological characteristics make large-scale, highly mechanized mining operations impractical.1

Consequently, the industry relies on conventional underground mining techniques, which involve drilling and blasting followed by mechanical loading or scraping to extract the ore.1