Holiday season is about to hit full swing, so let's talk turkey. You and your loved ones might be lacking the perfect hot rock to round out your collection -- you can fix that here! Or, if your problem is cash so you can buy non-rock-appreciators other types of gifts (ugh), you can use this thread to turn your hot rocks into cold cash.

Rules:

Post as many items as you would like, but please keep it to one comment thread per month. Feel free to update your entries as often as you would like.

Once an item is sold or you have found what you are looking for, please update your comment with a "Sold" or delete it so we can keep things neat and tidy.

Mods will not be responsible for resolving any transaction disputes.

Use a secure third party to conduct the transaction. Etsy & eBay are options, although both have been known to remove listings for certain radioactive minerals.

Do not post anything that would violate Subreddit Rule 2 ("No Illegal Materials") or otherwise cause the authorities to take an interest. This thread is generally for the exchange of natural radioactive minerals and detection equipment, not purified chemicals or artificial isotopes which may be more hazardous and/or require special permits. If you are unsure, send a message to the mod team before posting and we can make a decision.

Familiarize yourself with all applicable requirements to safely and legally send/receive your mineral (e.g. USPS Publication 52), keeping in mind that foreign mail services may have regulations of their own regarding hazardous materials, and private couriers like FedEx typically ban them entirely. You can search this subreddit for past discussions on how to ship specimens.

Please keep posts and materials offered relevant to our subreddit. Feel free to post a link to your online storefront if you have radioactive minerals or related items for sale in your shop.

Cheers,

Your r/Radioactive_Rocks mod team

Was able to pick up a slightly worse for wear ICX Identifinder for about the price of a Radiacode 102. Needed battery pack replaced (fixed it myself), missing the scintillator cover (quick 3D design and print), and was out of calibration and internal backup battery was dead (I could probably deal with both of these but not really relevant for simple detection).

The two really nice things about it is that it has a 1.4′′×2′′ NaI(Tl) scintillator crystal and a "finder" mode that has the good features of a gammaDog. That is, it is varying tones and can be set to a default of the local background. It can also be set to a scanning frequency from 1 second to 10 times a second, and the deviation level from background before it starts giving alerts can also be adjusted. On the default settings it will start alerting me to a Korean War-era radium compass from about a meter away, so I am optimistic it will be useful for prospecting (edit: alerts on a .5µCi Cs-137 source from ≈25cm away).

It also has a neutron detector and a high rate geiger tube in case you are trapped inside a damaged nuclear reactor...

The downside is that it is monstrously heavy. My original intent was to mount it on the end of a metal detector handle, but it is a cast aluminum housing and weighs 1.25 kilograms (2.75 pounds), so sticking it on the end of a long lever arm is out of the question. I suppose I could do it with a special harness to compensate for the weight, but that makes it even more unwieldy for going through the woods, up and down tailings piles, etc.

The solution is as seen in the bottom of the picture. A quick 3D printed frame with feet to keep the scintillator from hitting the ground, paracord and a carrying handle. I can now just walk along with it, arm at full extension and scintillator right off the ground, and the adjustable knots let me adjust the height off the ground, either for myself or loaning it to someone of different height. Additionally, I can use the cords as a sling and carry it over one shoulder for scrambling up and down hills. And last, I can still hold it by its normal grip and use it for handheld scanning if sitting on the ground trying to localize something.

Going to be testing it with a fellow collector next week, and since he has a gammaDog it will allow some comparisons.

https://preview.redd.it/18rwn729bwxd1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b4684bac03f9a00b22796c4aca4e024b7cb61a7

A beautiful shine in this complex mineral. Some Niobium, Itrium, Tantalum, Uranium and Thorium. Nice radioactivity, also.

As the title implies, I'm making a display case fitted with UV LEDs to display a small rock of some sort, but I'm not sure what would be best for fluorescing. I know autunite is very brilliant but from my research, it breaks down relatively quickly and can start to turn to dust.

What would be the best option for such a display case? Trying not to break the bank on this either. Also what are some good sources for rocks/minerals/ores? I've checked out the resources in the buy/sell/swap threads and there's a good amount of selection, but I'm curious if there's any other notable sites/vendors.

Thanks in advance.

Hello,

I bought this chalcopyrite specimen at my local geology museum. They told me it was slightly radioactive and would be better to keep in the plastic case most of the time.

However, chalcopyrite in itself should not be radioactive.

Maybe it is the base? It looks suspiciouslyblike pitchblende😬

https://preview.redd.it/qxkquy81muwd1.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb18bc3689c12059917580053105fec6cd521bf0

https://preview.redd.it/wausnrpwluwd1.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f73d59a704531ca00f2c96a2450b6701a286a5c0

Edit: added pics

Newly acquired piece of Uranium ore. Composition: Uraninite 5,600 CPM

Packs a punch for a little guy.

I'm just wondering because why not

When I search for a nice sample they're always over 25k cpm, sometimes over 100k cpm...

I'm fascinated by radioactive stuff, but I don't really want a sample that has to be kept in a lead lined box all the time.

Selenite with Novacekite. Chihuahua,MX Im a radioactive rock noob. Anyone know how strong the radiation is for this type of specimen? I don’t have a counter yet (looking into it) Is it okay to keep in my glass mineral display case, or do I need a special case for it? Thanks in advance!

Hiya, I'm looking to buy a geiger counter with the sole purpose of putting it on something to just check - 'is this radioactive?' That's the sole purpose it needs to serve. I saw someone a while ago shocked about the fact they bought a $30~ counter from AliBaba and it surprisingly worked. Essentially just something that's a GM tube and a speaker.

For those safety concerned, I already have adequate counters, a GMC320+ and I've got a Radiacode on the way. I just want something inexpensive, to just stick on something and go, 'yeah, she be clicking'.

Any suggestions? Thank you.

I tested my newly purchased amazonite specimen a while ago and found that its radiation level was only slightly higher than the background radiation. However, I'm curious as to why amazonite also has weak radioactivity?