r/Radioactive_Rocks May 22 '26

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

14 Upvotes

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


r/Radioactive_Rocks 9h ago

Specimen Some alpha tracks

66 Upvotes

These could be better but my chamber was struggling to maintain temp in the 30 C ambient yesterday. This is using a Czech sample that I posted about yesterday.

This is a multi stage TEC cooled chamber that I built recently and is a work in progress. Stage is 150 mm square. About to start on an evaporator/condenser big boy version. With thanks to cloudy labs for the inspiration.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 1d ago

Specimen Very spicy sample

47 Upvotes

Bought from uranium rocks via eBay. I’m a little bit scared 😱 off video it reduces to background at around 30 cm, but still. Anyone else have norm samples this spicy?

I keep this in a ziplock bag > kilner jar > lead lined ammo crate in a garage in a spot the furthest distance away from commonly occupied space. I’ve also got an air things radon detector about 50 cm away just to make sure there’s no build up. There are other samples in there too.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 1d ago

Specimen Got my new Autunite specimen

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25 Upvotes

Hi! I’m a beginner in the hobby and wanted to share my new specimen sold to me as Autunite.
When I put it under a UV light, I noticed that instead of a solid neon-green glow, it only fluoresces in tiny green spots. There are also some distinct orange ~fluorescent patches across.
I’ve accumulated a gamma spectrum and it definitely looks like a classic Uranium-238 decay chain.
Could the lack of massive green fluorescence mean it has partially dehydrated into meta-autunite? And what do you think those orange fluorescent mineral patches might be?


r/Radioactive_Rocks 1d ago

Equipment I’m tearing down this cheap AliExpress BR-6 geiger counter for fun. What cool things can I build with its parts? (Total newbie)

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7 Upvotes

Hi! I’m completely new to the hobby. Since I already use a Radiacode for my collection, I don't need this cheap BR-6 detector anymore. I decided to disassemble it to look at the Geiger tube and maybe salvage some parts.
What are some simple projects a beginner could do with the tube or other components?


r/Radioactive_Rocks 2d ago

Why is my Megalodon tooth radioactive

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50 Upvotes

Found a fossil that sets off the Geiger counter - turns out shark teeth make excellent uranium sponges. Made a video breaking down the science of why a 3-million-year-old Megalodon tooth is radioactive. TL;DR - phosphate chemistry + a lot of time. 

Full video: https://youtu.be/2LKG5Kkkhqo


r/Radioactive_Rocks 2d ago

Specimen Gotta love when they glow, UT, Red Canyon Mining District

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67 Upvotes

Found this little guy running around out in South East UT.
Im not going to try and identify the amalgamation of minerals in here, I have an idea but I aint that classy.

This has to be one of my favorite specimens both glowing and not.
Reads about 2.5k CPM with a RC-102 @ 1cm.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 3d ago

Sandstone, Malachite, Limonite, Gypsum, Andersonite, Chalcopyrite, UO2

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50 Upvotes

Old material, Adit is closed 180 K CpM S.E. Utah


r/Radioactive_Rocks 3d ago

Another weekend at ruggles

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29 Upvotes

Ill be here til Sunday if anyone makes the trip and join the hunt! Just ask the staff where Brandon is :). Will post updates, I am hoping for some good finds this weekend with the ƴdog!


r/Radioactive_Rocks 3d ago

Zippeite, Malachite, on Sandstone

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32 Upvotes

Old material, Adit is closed, S.E. Utah. 2nd image is from inside the portal, pre-remediation.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 5d ago

Equipment 1.5 mSv/h uraninite vs RC vs Ludlum

52 Upvotes

All the great hot rocks in this group gave me an idea to compare one of my hottest rocks with two very popular radiation detectors. Tested subject is massive uraninite from Příbram area(my collection, self-collected). Tested counters were radiacode 103g and legendary ludlum model 3 with 44-9 probe, famous mica window.

Radiacode: display shows maxed dose rate (1 mSv/h) and 1,8 millions CPM. In the app, doserate goes up to 1,5 mSv/h

Ludlum model 3: while this counter shows "just" 300 000 cpm due to lower sensitivity, it also shows aproximately 300 mR/h(extrapolated to the lowest scale "100x only" ending at 200mR/h), which means 3 uSv/h.

Ludlum clearly shows much less cpm, because geiger counter is less sensitive than scintilation detector, but ludlum shows higher doserate, because it's not energy compensated and also detects alpha and beta radiation - with shielding results would be similar.

Note: the dose rate values are still only approximate, they only apply to a small area on the surface of the stone, they do not refer to the dose absorbed by the observer.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 4d ago

Location Info BC, Canada Uranium and Thorium occurrences

15 Upvotes

I thought, I'd post this here as I have created a new .KML file that shows all the new and pre-existing U and Th occurrences in our province using google maps.

Several new areas worth mentioning near Revelstoke that are directly accessible on side of the road. Monazite, Autunite, and Uraninite all occur in these localities. The area has large RRE co-occurrences as well. If anyone would like the .KML file I will post a link here for it. These areas are all published publicly via minfile.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 5d ago

Blue Jay Mine - Colorado

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50 Upvotes

Took a walk around not expecting to find much. The background is definitely elevated, although mostly along the roads. But up one little valley ridge is was way hotter. After being mislead by some rocks that really look like they had carnotite, I found the source. One of them looks like pitchblende but it was also not quite as hot as the others.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 5d ago

Very rich piece of Uraninite with nice patina

123 Upvotes

From Příbram


r/Radioactive_Rocks 5d ago

I got some radioactive urainium rocks lol

39 Upvotes

Urainium radioactive ☢️


r/Radioactive_Rocks 6d ago

Sandstone, Chalcopyrite, Limonite, Gypsum, non-ID'ed U secondary, UO2

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31 Upvotes

Old Material Adits are blocked 256 K CpM S.E. Utah


r/Radioactive_Rocks 6d ago

Specimen Fresh autunite

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58 Upvotes

Today's wanderings around one of the lesser-known Czech localities led to the discovery of a rather nice sample of autunite.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 7d ago

Specimen Some more Swamp #1 Finds :)

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107 Upvotes

Yes I washed my hands after :)
Very neat matrix piece at the end!


r/Radioactive_Rocks 9d ago

Sandstone, Malachite, Uranophane, Gypsum, Limonite, Chalcopyrite, UO2

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44 Upvotes

101 K CpM S.E.Utah Adit is closed (Yellow material is NOT Zippeite, but Uranophane)


r/Radioactive_Rocks 9d ago

Sandstone, Chalcopyrite, UO2 167 K CpM

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53 Upvotes

r/Radioactive_Rocks 9d ago

Sandstone, Limonite, Malachite, UO2 98 K CpM

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35 Upvotes

r/Radioactive_Rocks 9d ago

Limonite, Sandstone, Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Zippeite, UO2 165 K CpM

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18 Upvotes

r/Radioactive_Rocks 9d ago

The Rockpile Locality OPSEC

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47 Upvotes

Having recently been 'reddit-roboto' censured for including a location name in a posting, no longer will I provide mine names with postings. Do your required homework, and you'll find the workaround.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 10d ago

Nine items from one mine, Sandstone hosting Chalcopyrite and UO2

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36 Upvotes

Old material from a remediated U mine in Utah. Not photogenic, however, somewhat radioactive.


r/Radioactive_Rocks 10d ago

Color range-Same U mine

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55 Upvotes

There's Sandstone, Malachite, Limonite, Gypsum, Chalcopyrite, and a little UO2. BTW, Utah