r/Radioactive_Rocks

The Official /r/Radioactive_Rocks Buy/Sell/Swap Thread -- Summer 2026

The /r/Radioactive_Rocks mod team is contractually obligated not to stay abreast of TikTok trends, but we understand that "hot rock summer" may be a thing this year, and we're all for it. Here's the place for you to pick up your own hot rocks -- or share your finds with others instead of letting them gradually turn to Lead in your closet. There will probably be a second B/S/S thread posted later in the summer (July?), so don't despair if you haven't yet gone digging this season.

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. You can view past threads to get to know our regulars and see their generally very positive feedback, but we as a sub do not keep an official list of "approved"/vetted sellers. We do try to remove fishy / vague listings if they appear, but always use your best judgment when dealing with strangers on the internet.

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. There are a number of reputable online storefronts -- incomplete list here -- although, as above, the mod team does not specifically endorse any particular sellers.

Do not post anything that would violate Subreddit Rule 2 ("No Illegal Materials") and Rule 1 ("unsafe Handling" includes crushed rock fragments and dust in vials) or otherwise cause the authorities to take an interest. This thread is generally for the exchange of natural radioactive mineral specimens 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 specimens (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

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u/Not_So_Rare_Earths — 5 hours ago

Chalcopyrite, Chalcanthite, Limonite, Sandstone, Malachite, Zippeite, and UO2

Just another rock from San Juan County, Utah. 55 K CpM

u/sonoran7 — 15 hours ago

green jasper replacement of petrified wood

I bought this green jasper replacement of petrified wood from Hampton Butte, Oregon. Should I be concerned about radioactivity from this specimen? Thanks! William

▲ 135 r/Radioactive_Rocks+1 crossposts

Zoom in- Heinrichite under UV light

Heinrichite (Ba(UO2)2(AsO4)2·10H2O) from Wittichen in the Black Forest under 365 nm UV light. This is a 5x magnification shot stacked from 600 individual pictures.

u/gmc300e — 2 days ago

Radioactive Coal

Hi guys, I found this specimen in the Příbram uranium district in the Czech Republic. It appears to be coal/carbon-rich material. it's very light, but it’s extremely radioactive, which is producing strong alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. My RadEye B20-ER measured around 300,000 CPM on contact.

From what I understand, uranium-bearing coal and carbon-rich material can occur in historic uranium mining areas like Příbram, where uranium minerals became associated with organic matter over geological time. Příbram itself is one of the most famous uranium districts in Europe.

Is this type of radioactive coal considered rare to find? I’d love to hear opinions from collectors, geologists, or anyone familiar with Czech uranium mining districts.

u/AtomStalker2018 — 3 days ago

Uranophane, Johannite, UO2, Utah

From a mine between Deer Flat and Elk Ridge. Adit is flooded and closed. 231 K CpM

Old material from the remote ore dump.

u/sonoran7 — 2 days ago

Heinrichite from Wittichen, Germany- one of the two type localities.

5x magnification in a mix of 365 nm UV and visible light

u/gmc300e — 3 days ago

Custom scintillator manufacture?

Was perusing eBay and saw someone selling scint crystals with a note that they could fabricate complete units. Got into a discussion with them and it turns out to be an actual small company that can make custom detectors. Talked about cost and such and this was the gist of the last message from them:

>I have discussed this with our engineering team. They previously developed a similar multifunction radiation detector system. We can build a custom detector using a 9 cm³ CsI(Tl) scintillator, which will provide significantly stronger signal sensitivity. The device can include: Durable metal housing, Custom logo on the enclosure, Bluetooth-connected mobile app (features can be optimized based on your needs). For group orders, the pricing would be approximately: 20 units: around $600 per unit, 30 units: around $475 per unit. In addition, for an extra $25 per unit, we can upgrade the scintillator to LaBr₃, which can provide approximately 1.3× higher signal performance compared to CsI(Tl). If this is of interest to you, we would be happy to discuss the next steps and possible configurations.

I responded that I probably could not get enough people interested, considering you can get a 5cm3 CsI(Tl) scint in a Radiacode 110 for US$369 (and get a polished, production unit), but that I would post this information just to get comments to pass back to them.

Your thoughts?

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u/BTRCguy — 4 days ago

Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite and UO2 replacing wood fiber

284 grams of Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, and UO2 from Red Canyon, Utah 172 K CpM

u/sonoran7 — 4 days ago

Petrified plant material in Sandstone Elk Ridge, Utah

One of very few bits of rock from the Big Red #2 Mine, on Elk Ridge, San Juan County, Utah. The adit is collapsed, the tailings rest at an angle of critical repose, and the hike is short and almost vertical. Truly a 'Once and Done'. The dark UO2 yields 54 K CpM

u/sonoran7 — 3 days ago

Malachite, UO2, Limonite, Gypsum, Sandstone, Andersonite, Zippeite

Old material 190K CpM Red Canyon, Utah

u/sonoran7 — 6 days ago

Chaorite found at market

EDIT: There's a better image of the whole piece in the comments.

There’s a travelling international market visiting my city in Finland today. Saw a stall selling pretty stones and decided to take a closer look.

Asked the seller if I can search with my 103 and found this piece of charoite. Looks like it has some thorium.

About 60 cps / 3.6 kcpm / 1.3 μSv/h

u/hiNputti — 6 days ago

Old material from the Sandy #3 Mune, Utah

Malachite, Uranophane, Sandstone, Limonite. The black area is organic material, replaced by Chalcopyrite and UO2 (Pet. wood). 71K CpM

u/sonoran7 — 6 days ago
▲ 561 r/Radioactive_Rocks+2 crossposts

I finally finished building my all electrically powered cloud chamber to be about to witness radioactive decay! What do y'all think?

I finally finished building my all electrically powered cloud chamber!

And yes, I realize I mis-pronounced "uraninite". I was concentrating on running the cloud chamber instead of what I was saying. Oh well... 🤷

u/Ekooing — 9 days ago

Hello advice with rock hunting equipment

Hi I have a GMC 800 it has a regular Geiger Mueller tube. It gets the job done to find nice rocks, but I was wondering for those with a radio code. Would it be much of an upgrade if I bought it? How does it make finding better samples in terms of activity easier ? For example if I’m scanning area where there is bunch of lower quality rocks and my Geiger counter is yelling at me and updates too slow for me to even find the best piece that might be bit more under ground . Are there ways that make hunting easier with it ?

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u/Walkingsacrifice — 7 days ago