Deadly Crystals and Minerals which can make you sick or even kill you - Don't lick rocks!

Natural products are always good, right? Not always. There are plenty of natural things that can kill you - including rocks and minerals that we normally think of as inert. Have you ever wondered which of the world's crystals and minerals may be the deadliest? Find out in this video as we explore the deadliest crystals and minerals on earth, where they come from, and how they can be harmful if not handled with care. If you learn nothing else from this video: Don’t be a Rock Licker!
For those who want to learn more about Prospecting and finding gold check out my book, Fists full of Gold. It’s an encyclopedia of everything on the topic of prospecting. It’s available on Amazon. You can find it at (affiliate):
www.amazon.com...
For even more information on prospecting, minerals, gems and other related information you can also check out my website at:
nevada-outback-...

[@simpleautosolutions5147]

I always learn something from your videos. "Don't lick rocks" is good life advice.

[@jamesdavis5096]

See I’m really glad he said something because I do that every day I go around licking rocks everywhere I go

[@ChrisRalph]

Lol! - Don't be a rock licker!

[@stevengill1736]

As an avid rockhound I came across most of those minerals, including arsenic ores. One mine in Nevada had literal boulders of orpiment and realgar....tons and tons of it! I had to sign a liability release to visit the place, and the classic way to obtain gold there back in the day was to roast the arsenic out, smoking out entire valleys with arsenic smoke! Ah, the good old days of mining! :*0 Cool you have an example of Mtn Pass ore - always wanted to visit there....

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you liked the video.

[@Just.A.T-Rex]

Isn’t malachite also dangerous?

[@Just.A.T-Rex]

CFL are no longer available in most stores where I live

[@Linguae_Music]

I inhaled arsine gas! I almost died! :D 1/10 experience, I do not recommend.

[@lonniecaravello9728]

Thank you for sharing this info with all of us, kind sir.

[@darlinguniverse56]

Man, I've watched quite a lot of these most dangerous minerals videos, but just 30 seconds in and this is already my favorite one :D

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@terryblack4385]

Great video. I like collecting Rare Earth Minerals in my area SW Montana have some great places to collect. Thanks for the great information.

[@ChrisRalph]

Some of the rare earth minerals do have associated Thorium or Uranium.

[@MsNicka]

So glad I watched this video. I think I may have some dangerous minerals that I have been handling and crushing. frequently. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@ChrisRalph]

Crushing and breathing the dust could be a big problem.

[@markanderson3740]

Here in Nova Scotia we cleard a large area for our international airport. The Meguma shales they removed were full of arsenopyrite, which we knew. We just didn''t realize we would be killing 30 lakes around the site in the next couple years as rain had a giant fresh surface to work.

[@ChrisRalph]

Interesting - always there are some unexpected consequences.

[@kylefenrick9168]

Thank you for shedding light on some of the things which were placed into human bodies over the last few years

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad it was helpful!

[@thomvogan3397]

Thanks a lot, now I'm afraid to touch any rocks or stroll on a mineral laden beach. Like we don't have enough to worry about these days. You know what else is toxic to humans at high levels ? STRESS !

[@ChrisRalph]

Don't lick the rocks, wash your hands before you eat, all stuff my mom taught me when I was 5. And don't stress out.

[@oscarmedina1303]

It's always wise to wash your hands after handling rocks you've collected.

[@christopherhahn6166]

Thanks Chris! God Bless and Good Luck!

[@ChrisRalph]

Thanks, you too!

[@daffeydriver4964]

Thank You for Thi$ podcast. - I live in NV. & have seen mercury on mine sites. Most Valuable INFO will review it B4 I go prospecting . .

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mandybrown7758]

Very very educational video I love to learn and this was very informative Thanks for sharing

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@patrickjones1061]

Excellent video Chris!👍 Much appreciated information!

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad it was helpful!

[@georgemcconnell5405]

I love your channel. Just wanted to point out the only use of thorium i know of that you didnt mention. 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes used in gas tungsten arc welding atainless steel.

[@ChrisRalph]

I didn't know about that one. Thanks.

[@bigjay875]

Excellent video thanks for putting this together. Have a great week👍

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@rusminnoer632]

Very good video... BUT I need to see the mineral more longer than the speaker...

[@ChrisRalph]

I'll remember that.

[@chrisc8856]

Great refresher. When metal detecting for gold our most common exposure is lead in the form of bullets. When enjoying a detecting adventure it is hard to remember to eat your lunch carefully after handling bullets dug out of the ground. Good reminder.

[@ChrisRalph]

and the white coating on old lead is oxidized lead minerals. Good idea to wash one's hands before lunch (mine are often super dirty just from the dirt anyway).

[@s.d.iprospecting4359]

@@ChrisRalph Oxidised lead "the white powder" also is used in the manufacture of Picric Acid a voletile chemical and highly explosive. Its on the forbidden list of hazardous material that cannot be transported in bulk.

[@Godoursalvation]

Can you do a video specifically on Serpentine rock formations & their associated mineral content? We recently had our long driveway re graveled & it’s all serpentine stone. I thought the rocks were beautiful so I looked them up and discovered that it actually was. Wouldn’t driving up & down the driveway cause asbestos dust particles? I’m not sure how they could be allowed to use this as gravel stone.

[@ChrisRalph]

I'm not sure where you are but Its banned for driveways and gravel roads in California, and locally in some other places. Yes, most serpentine has some asbestos but the amounts vary. I'm not really planning a video on serpentine, but I am planning a video on Asbestos minerals (and their health effects) in the coming weeks.

[@aaronbrown9254]

Your story about the asbestos mine is a good reminder that safety regulations are written in blood.

[@ChrisRalph]

Yep - it takes years to understand the hazards involved.

[@lifegrip]

The Crystal shop at my mall is selling raw tigers eye, raw blue tigers eye and even galena. Kinda scary if people buy those and have no idea.

[@ChrisRalph]

So.long as the buyers don't saw or grind up the rocks and make dust, it should be OK.

[@wiskadjak]

When I first started painting in watercolour Winsor & Newton still sold cinnabar as Vermillion. Some companies still use it in their oil paints. Beautiful colour. Lots of warning labels.

[@ChrisRalph]

Interesting!

[@IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony]

I remember in geomorphology lab in college playing with samples of chrysotile. The litlle needle-like fibers would come off it and get all in your arms and they would itch and sting for days. We thought nothing of sniffing it to see what it smelled like and we handled it with abandon.

[@ChrisRalph]

I'm surprised the professor didn't give at least some warning.

[@IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony]

@@ChrisRalph Well it was in 1973 so to be fair, no one was getting too bent out of shape about it back then.

[@ragnarnorthman2673]

What about mimetite, wulfenite and vanadinite?

[@ChrisRalph]

There are a number of oxidized lead minerals - the ones you noted, pyromorphite, and many others - it was not intended as a complete list of all dangerous minerals.

[@stickyfox]

I built spacecraft parts with 5% antimony solder; it's miserable to work with, but the antimony interrupts the crystalline structure of tin and prevents "whiskers" from forming in the airless void of low-earth orbit.

[@ChrisRalph]

Antimony has been used in many alloys.

[@Smithsgold]

all good information to know

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad it was helpful! Stay dry! The high country hydro pits are going to be snowed in until July.

[@Smithsgold]

@@ChrisRalph I know makes me sad 😞 but we need the water 💦

[@andlem]

As a child, I found a heavy black stone about the size of a fist, it was somehow different and very fascinating. I couldn't identify it properly as a child, so I stored it with the other minerals in a box under my bed. Later I found out - it was uranitite. *No worries, nothing happened to me, no radiation sickness, no cancer

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad to hear the stone did not affect you.

[@DannyB-cs9vx]

I was told they used asbestos as a road bed material near Copperopolis, . I used to drive through there traveling from San Francisco to Sonora. There is a road between highway 4 and 120 that runs along Turlock Lake.

[@ChrisRalph]

They didn't use pure asbestos, but used serpentine, a rock that contains a few percent asbestos. So long as it is underneath the asphalt, it's not a problem. But for dirt roads, that's another story.

[@stephanieplatt6138]

THANK YOU I never knew any of this but I loved to walk out side and often pick up pretty stones . I have a beautiful red small horse sculpture from china now I wonder if it is poison. O have found small stones that appear the same colors as what you show here .

[@ChrisRalph]

Don't ID minerals by just by color - there are hundreds of minerals that can be found in the color red. Lots of red rocks and minerals are colored by iron. I did some mineral Identification videos - take a look at them for more info.

[@kingadasouth96]

This guy watched some Dan Hurd videos, seen him licking his rocks haha :) Good information for those who are just getting into rock hounding and prospecting.

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nobiden3134]

I bought a house on 5 acres. I've been finding variations of Leaverite on the surface. Theres so much of it I'm building a driveway with it!

[@ChrisRalph]

interesting.

[@Justsomeoneyoucouldhaveknown]

Arsenopyrite is what I'm going to label *"Fools Silver"* Thanks you for showing this

[@ChrisRalph]

It is silvery - you just can't judge a mineral by its color.

[@ernestrosenkranz7642]

Mercury was used in the filling material for teeth. I had it in my teeth in the 40s & 50s.

[@ChrisRalph]

Very true about teeth fillings.

[@rodgerdusterhoft-je7vm]

Will this winters weather expose minerals that I didn't find this year

[@ChrisRalph]

In some places I am sure it will.

[@KillaKiRawBeats]

Dont lik rocks! Dont Lick minetals more! Dont lick frogs either! 😛

[@ChrisRalph]

Don't lick toads either!

[@Lemurai]

I know of a lake in Asia that has a high concentration of cinnabar, people used to eat the carp in there & get horrible stomach ailments overtime, idk how they didn’t notice when the fish themselves looked anything but healthy & anatomically correct.

[@ChrisRalph]

It sometimes takes years to show effect and the fish don't live that long.

[@Lemurai]

@@ChrisRalph indeed, I’m a biochemist by trade and I’m familiar with a lot of those minerals, more specifically the ailments/morbidities they cause. I used to do studies on miners as well as military personnel, mainly people exposed to industrial waste & environmental pollutants, looking at their medical records you can see a common transition point depending on the pollutant they were exposed to, from beginning symptoms, to end stage and the ailments they cause are almost universal in the time & way they manifest. The minerals certainly are beautiful but so are Amazonian tree frogs, it doesn’t mean we should touch them, I only wish people would quit knowingly fooling with those minerals. Cinnabar can cause some pretty brutal renal injuries in people who have a bad reaction to it.

[@tres155]

Who the hell is licking rocks?? 😂😂 Awesome video though!

[@ChrisRalph]

More people than you think do it.

[@kmari9819]

Kind of crazy to think about all the environmental harm we’ve done by shooting off lead bullets all over the place. And that’s just one tiny facet of our impact. Great video!

[@ChrisRalph]

Yep, very true.

[@lifegrip]

What about getting silicosis from crystalline silica dust? Like from quartz.

[@ChrisRalph]

It takes a lot of exposure to a lot of quartz dust to get silicosis. So yes, in extreme cases quartz can be dangerous, but it takes years of exposure to high levels.

[@salem-gq9lt]

Honestly, I am afraid of minerals. I do not know what to do. I love excavation, but if something is dangerous, then this worries me

[@ChrisRalph]

Learn to identify minerals - most are not a problem but some are dangerous.

[@salem-gq9lt]

@@ChrisRalph I have some stones, I want to send you a picture of them, so you can know if they are poisonous Can I email you

[@ChrisRalph]

Please watch my video on how to identify minerals at: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6HOiGhuj8qEosU

[@dimirsen]

There is a city Asbest in the Urals (Russia) named after the deposits of asbestos.

[@ChrisRalph]

There is much asbestos in the Urals.

[@bigjay875]

Back in my boilermaking days being a contractor hired to keep a lead smelter plant running I saw the plant guys use huge amounts of arsinc in the refining of the lead that came out of the blast furnaces. It was so heavily used that there would be dozens of empty 5 gallon bucket size steel cans it came shipped in laying around any week. The steel cans were great for rod stub buckets or to catch steel slag when torching thick iron plate. The refined arsinc that came in the cans had a multi color metallic look to it very interesting metal. Terrible to try to weld through possibly worse than welding through lead

[@ChrisRalph]

Interesting .

[@JackWMatrix]

In California there is an 35,000 acre part of the Diablo range that is closed to any activity due to the high natural occurrence of asbestos. It's called the New Idria mine and ghost town. (Also the Clear Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern). It's near San Benito Mt. which looks like it has snow capped peaks in Google Earth, but which are just powdered serpentine and chrysotile asbestos.

[@JackWMatrix]

To give you an idea of it's size, San Francisco CA is only 30,000 acres.

[@ChrisRalph]

New Idria was a mercury mine. Check it with google and confirm - it was a mercury mine and cinnabar was the main ore.

[@russellsmith3855]

Awesome video

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@robertjennings7282]

👍 Another great video packed with great information👍! Thank you, Chris. Speaking of things that can kill you, I searched your channel, but haven't come across any mention of snakes. You must have encountered some of the world's deadliest in Australia. I hope you will post a video on how to protect yourself from dangerous wildlife, weather it's reptile, mammal, insect - or human.

[@ChrisRalph]

I saw one snake in Australia and it was the most pitiful snake I've ever seen (it was near 0 degrees C). The Aussie guy I was with said in decades of prospecting he'd only seen a few browns. He said to worry if you were in a area with a lot of rodent burrows.

[@BullProspecting]

Can the rocks shown in pictures be picked up with bare hands? I always wear gloves but was curious! I have found that yellow sand! I thought it was gold. I went back to that spot and got more material. I melted it down thinking I was going to get a tiny piece of gold. After melting it looked silver but more gray oxidation look to it. I tested it for silver and it was negative. Out of curiosity I put my volt meter to it and started checking it on various settings. It changed the numbers by a tiny bit on each setting. It was at that moment I realized I think I made some kind of craziness. I gave the chunk to a friend and never went back to that place. I want to get a radiation detector or something!

[@ChrisRalph]

I guess they can be picked up with bare hands so long as you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards - I'd rather have gloves on especially for the arsenic minerals.

[@BullProspecting]

@@ChrisRalph Thank you so much Chris! I will always wear gloves from here on out! This is a MUST SEE video for all prospectors out there!

[@allansgoldmining]

Wow ! Great presentation Chris. What a tremendous wealth of information for prospectors. Quite an eye opener too ! Many years ago, a group of us worked a gold mine that contained cinnabar and anglesite. We used mercury to amalgamate gold. Interestingly, we recovered more mercury than what was applied to the process. We think the cinnabar broke down in the impact mill because of the heat created by pulverization. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it - I hope all is going well with the rattler.

[@SuperMasterTurtle]

I haul copper concentrate from a mine to the smelter. I am told there is arsenic lead, sulfuric acid, and of course copper. I am curious how dangerous it really is? They tell us when we have to work directly with it to wear gloves, mask, but I wonder if this is a band aid not sufficient to protect us?

[@ChrisRalph]

What makes a difference is how much of these things are in the cons. If you don't breathe it, eat it or take in on your skin, it should not be a problem - its like poisons still in a bottle as long as they stay where they are, they are fine.

[@charliecastle3611]

Question is red poppy jasper a type of realgar?

[@ChrisRalph]

Totally and completely different. You cant judge a mineral buy its color - there are probably 500 minerals that can potentially be some shade of red. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6HOiGhuj8qEosU and Part 2 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIC6oGdvjZ5jnaM and Part 3 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZLFZoGknLefjNk

[@chriscarley9951]

Chris, thanks for another great video, I have your book, love it.

[@ChrisRalph]

Awesome, thank you!

[@wm.tomlinson1434]

Really appreciate your knowledge. Have a friend who is a rockhound. He will find this invaluable.

[@ChrisRalph]

Its good stuff to know.

[@anniehing6813]

Professor Chris I like to buy the book you introduce How much Malaysia Rm ?? Including shipping to west m’sia my daughter buy for as a Christmas gift Thanks wait for you reply’s ❤

[@ChrisRalph]

Buy the book through Amazon.

[@flyndutchmn]

BISMOR!!!! THERE'S BISMOR HERE!!!

[@ChrisRalph]

A gamer?

[@flyndutchmn]

@Chris Ralph, Professional Prospector yes. I play Deep Rock Galactic. There is a resource with a yellow substrate with red crystals on it, called bismor.

[@__--JY-Moe--__]

nice presentation Chris! almost reminds me of being 12 again! my Grandpah was a Geologist Engineer from GA Tech. he took me to so many mines before I was even 13!! fun days'! good luck! it's super good 2 know this info! mine splunkers should also wear dust masks!! very kind of U'r time Chris!

[@ChrisRalph]

Thanks for commenting and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@freelancerider100]

I was just talking about cinnabar! Lol maybe you could give some tips on its relation to gold? Can it be naturally soaker with gold? And if so how can you tell without amalgamation?

[@ChrisRalph]

I have no idea what you mean by "naturally soaker"

[@freelancerider100]

@@ChrisRalph gold dissolves in mercury and compounds with it, would cinnabar when in contact with gold dissolve it? And if it happens then can cinnabar have a high gold content?

[@llllajnalll]

Noup, cinnabar is just one of many minerals, some are rare earth ones, that were used since ancient times (not greek nor roman or whatever fake mainstream "science and history" tells us) as a source that mercury can be extracted from. When that's done, you have Hg and thats metal, not mineral anymore. Gold is a rare earth metal, and in ancient mining and metallurgy mercury was used with copper to get gold outa sand like ore mix, mercury would keep the gold and bond with it on a copper surface, and separate it from the rest. Heating it up would make mercury evaporate leaving only gold with high level of purity. Mercury is most toxic in that state if u inhale it, it was used in medicine too. Banning mercury like in EU just coz it's toxic is way too stupid, like people who lick stuff that they find on the floor, and chance to find it and lick it are whatever, way too small, there's a bigger chance to get killed by thunder strike while on mountains that are volcanic type, since those have other metals like iron and thunders hit those a lot and randomly. Picking up and eating shrooms or making alcohol drinks killed bunch of people comparing to mercury poisoning, if u drink home chems for dish washing ect. u can die too, and no one bans em right? ;)

[@Boxingatall]

How can i communicate you sir im from Philippines and we have this prospect platinum

[@ChrisRalph]

I don't offer private consulting or advisement services.

[@budmanzoom4441]

Always enjoy and learn from your videos, thank you!

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad to hear it!

[@KillaKiRawBeats]

Arsino pyrite looks like Platinum dont it?

[@ChrisRalph]

Sort of, but not that much.

[@KillaKiRawBeats]

THANK YOU! I APPRECIATE YOUR BEAUTIFUL Gems Of info that is very helpful to know. I worry around my old mines having minerals of different colors. I just want to know the important dangerous chemicals and gasses that were used before the 50s where they stopped mining but still active gold mines.

[@ChrisRalph]

Maybe learn how to identify minerals so you can know what is there at the mines. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6HOiGhuj8qEosU and Part 2 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIC6oGdvjZ5jnaM and Part 3 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZLFZoGknLefjNk - Those videos should answer a lot of your questions.

[@Medicinnov8r]

I had another idea to reduce the effects of volcanoes. Spray the plumes with a H2o2, water, dish soap solution. The H2o2 should have a positive effect on any sulphuric elements. They could use chemtrail jets and better yet, their new anti gravity tech could be employed to build a drone which could spray a plume from ‘inside’ preferably in all directions. I know they have anti gravity flyers, they wouldn’t cancel the shuttle program unless they had something better Eliminating ice ages is paramount to life on earth as we never had around 1000 nuclear reactors and over 500 spent fuel pools scattered around the wOrld. Every nuclear facility will likely fail during an ice age 🥵

[@ChrisRalph]

Yes, they could support the H202 machine with a sky hook.

[@KillaKiRawBeats]

WHAT IS bright YELLOW BUT HAS NO SMELL? Found outside of gold mines, I burned it and it turned rusty red. Is that mercury or what is that mineral?

[@ChrisRalph]

There are maybe 300 or more minerals that are yellow and have no inherent odor. I have no idea which one yours is. Take a look at my videos on how to identify minerals.

[@celtekrider2]

Shit! I literally have a bunch of Cinnabar and forgot what it was before I brought it home. Also, I found some Galena one day that I threw in some water (Which turned the whole tub Gray) I scooped some water in a cup and it was coming up on my metal detector as lead! 😆

[@ChrisRalph]

That's interesting.

[@GodsBestFriend-4ever]

I really enjoyed the extra facts you added in to this video like the region the minerals are most common: "this mineral is primarily mined in South Africa". Thanks for the information.

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@alexthai4957]

News flash, "open mouth" clickbait thumbnails are lame. Valuable content like yours doesn't require those childish tactics.

[@ChrisRalph]

Alex, thanks for your comment, most viewers are not like you and certain types of thumbnails are well tested to be eye catching.

[@marklockerby9010]

I was just wondering what kind of clay like green sand is irritating to your skin it's super Cold 🥶 if you have any ideas I think it's a sulfur of some sort??? thanks again

[@ChrisRalph]

From your description, I have no idea whatsoever.

[@davidrussell8795]

I put saliva on my finger,then on the rocks,if I do thaf,or water,I don't lick rocks! Bad idea to lick rocks!

[@ChrisRalph]

very true, Bad idea to lick rocks!

[@jonnywagner8472]

Have you seen Paul Cook’s channel? He always finds deep red sandstone in his videos. I wonder if cinebar explains much of it.

[@ChrisRalph]

There are many elements which can color something red. You will note in watching this video that both cinnabar (mercury) and realgar (arsenic) are pretty much the same color. Rubies are also similar - they are colored by chromium. Most things that are red - including sandstone - are colored by iron. There are hundreds of minerals that can be found in the color red.

[@curve5746]

We had a yellow mud puddle that we used to play in. We would sword fight with florescent light bulbs in that puddle to practice our ninja skills. We would quit when our hands started tingling and smelling like hot dogs so we were safe about it.

[@ChrisRalph]

It doesn't sound that safe to me......

[@TeslaAtoms]

Chris ralph discovering the effectiveness of "open mouth video thumbnails". 😓

[@ChrisRalph]

Yes, but it works....

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

My species has been eating purified uranium for years, none of these are gonna hurt me. Though the cinnabar would definitely intoxicate us.

[@ChrisRalph]

And exactly what species are you?

[@The-swampratt-nest]

I was told that Colman lanterns glow very bright due to thorium made into the combustion mantle and was wondering if it was true. Could you please clarify this for me as true or false ?

[@ChrisRalph]

Its true that old style lantern mantles contain thorium. I use an LED lantern with rechargeable batteries now.

[@tiffanyburkeen1189]

What type of rock is behind you directly under your tv at 29:50 i dug some up and was wondering if it was special ore something 😊

[@ChrisRalph]

No, its nothing special, just a piece of quartz.

[@jerrysponagle3881]

I live on an old coal mining island. What causes the brooks to have a reddish-brown color that are on near mining sites from the early day of coal miming?

[@ChrisRalph]

iron minerals.

[@ti-lo5hy]

Great video, always thought that cinnabar was edible since it shares it's root with cinnamon but oh well...

[@ChrisRalph]

You definitely dont want to eat cinnabar.

[@PerpetuallyTiiiiiired]

Man I was excited to go out gold prospecting...not so sure anymore since you can find some of these along with gold

[@ChrisRalph]

Just be careful and wash your hands before you eat.

[@Medicinnov8r]

Hey Doc, I like your style and thank you for sharing your wisdom. At Fukushima, they have been having a lot of problems since 2011. I came up with some ideas to help, I think I had around 5 ideas that I bundled and sent it out to tepco, the Japanese gov/press, the us gov/press, the can press as well as each party minister , all at the same time. and guess how many replies I got, y, 0 Anyway the ideas were good including one that you might find interesting. At Chernobyl, ‘China syndromes’ we’re averted by the design of the reactor chambers being above 3 levels each filled in with sand. By the time the reactor cores burned through 2 of the layers the fuel was diluted by the molten sand enough to cause it’s conversion back to a solid. One of my suggestions was to mimic that process by feeding the nuke fires a steady diet of sand/quartz. Maybe a supercooled hunk of quartz? LoveIsTheLight MuchPeacefulWarm4GivingHugsLoveNStrength2YouALL

[@Medicinnov8r]

With a supercooled chunk of quartz, you could probably do the math to figure out the amount of quartz necessary per fuel mass…?

[@ChrisRalph]

I don't think they have a China syndrome problem at Fukushima.

[@JamesLeMaire-z3j]

Are minerals stable in there form,and should you wear plastic gloves.

[@ChrisRalph]

Some minerals are stable, some are not.

[@tristanlasley8030]

I'm supprised meth rock's didn't make it on this list 🤣, the forbidden rock

[@ChrisRalph]

Because meth rocks are not made naturally by mother earth.

[@DR_SOLO]

It rings like a bell when it is hit with a hammer, it sparks when I hit it with a hammer or a spike. It weighs 29.5 lb it fits in a shoebox. It is peppered with golden color, speckles and concentration of clusters of gold glinting. The streak test showed no color no observable data or results just a sacral scratch on the tile. It is grayish and color dark greenish and is reddish an irony stain look to it it looks melty like maybe Semi Magnetic, Oceanic and half continental crust. I thought it might be ancient glacier deposit some say it's Slag but I don't know where it could came from. I found it outside of Las Vegas out on the way going to Lake Mead 🤔😒🤯🤕😳

[@ChrisRalph]

from your description, it could be a million things. Stuff found off a highway can be man made and not something natural.

[@DR_SOLO]

@@ChrisRalph yeah i hear there. I do have video and pictures i can forward to you or i can smack a piece of and mail it to the post office near you general mail. Or if you have a po box

[@trivialinsignific]

i would like to send you a picture of a rock i found and see if you can identify it, do you have an email or somewhere i can send it ? thankyou -

[@ChrisRalph]

Sorry - I get quite a few people every day who want me to ID their rock and mineral photos. I do not offer a mineral ID service, mostly because it’s not as easy as you think. Usually, minerals cannot be identified from just a picture. Please watch my videos on how to Identify minerals for yourself. Part 1 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6HOiGhuj8qEosU and Part 2 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIC6oGdvjZ5jnaM and Part 3 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZLFZoGknLefjNk

[@philmatthews3537]

Anything dangersou is much much more deadly than anything dangerous.

[@ChrisRalph]

Uh, OK.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Why spread fear? Driving a car is far, far more dangerous to a collector than any of those.

[@ChrisRalph]

The goal is to spread knowledge, not fear.

[@jerrysponagle3881]

What would Cinnebar look like if it was found along the ocean shoreline? All worn and rounded .

[@ChrisRalph]

Yes rounded but do not identify things by color alone - there are hundreds of minerals that can occur in the color red.

[@wadeji]

You don't eat them, they are pretty safe except the radioactive minerals.

[@ChrisRalph]

Handling some of them like the arsenic and oxidized lead, you can get enough on your hands to be a problem and you can inhale dust.

[@xxdeckxxdumanyan7413]

radioactive minerals can be pretty safe as well,if you wash your after touching and place them in some jar.

[@bluesmoke8714]

Don't lick rocks. Don't eat that yellow snow either.

[@ChrisRalph]

Both good ideas.

[@julianparks8485]

Who licks rocks 🪨 or minerals? But anything is possible.

[@ChrisRalph]

I've certainly seen people do it and I count putting rocks in your mouth to clean them as the same thing.

[@darlinguniverse56]

Should other lead-containing minerals such as wulfenite be treated like galena? How about something with very minuscule amounts of uranium such as eudialyte, how dangerous is that compared to the uranium minerals you mention here?

[@ChrisRalph]

Lots of things have very slight radioactivity. All potassium, - an element required by our bodies is slightly radioactive. If the radioactivity if very slight, its not likely to cause a problem. lead minerals depend on what you do with them. If you are making dust and breathing it, that is a problem. If your wulfenite specimen is just sitting in a display case - just sitting there is not a problem.

[@darlinguniverse56]

@@ChrisRalph thank you for the answers and the great content, looking forward to checking out more!

[@lindahanson4578]

How valuable is petrified wood?

[@ChrisRalph]

It can vary from almost worthless to maybe $20 a pound. The actual value depends on many factors - how bright and beautiful the colors are, how solid or fractured the wood is, the size of the wood, etc.

[@Rockerrobin]

I used to do asbestos abatement 20 years ago and did some mercury cleanup too. You have the potential to find asbestos in any home built before 1977 maybe pushing the 80s. Most commonly in floor tiles, drywall, drywall seam tape, and over old lead piping. It's safe enough untouched but often a water leak will degrade it and cause it to break up to become airborne. We had a bid on the trade towers which were full of asbestos but the cost for abatement was twice the value of the buildings themselves they got a big insurance payout after 911 nothing to see here🤔

[@ChrisRalph]

I used to do asbestos regulatory stuff - they banned it in new building products in 1979. However any materials contractors had in stock after the ban could still be used. So we got some stuff in buildings built into the early 1980s as the contractors were using stock created before the 1979 ban.

[@Rockerrobin]

@@ChrisRalph yeah figured the stock they still had was in use for years after it was banned from production. Glad I only did it for a year a lot of the old guys said they were screwed and got asbestosis.

[@allangibson8494]

And now the asbestos in the Twin Towers is spread all over New York City. They were progressively removing the asbestos starting in 1999 because it didn’t meet the original design fire proofing requirements (because the original contractor didn’t apply enough to protect the steel structure) and they were trying to upgrade the coatings so it did.

[@Rockerrobin]

@@allangibson8494 did cigarette filters use asbestos?

[@allangibson8494]

@@Rockerrobin The short answer is yes some brands did - specifically Kent from 1952 to 1956. 165 Mesothelioma cases have resulted in payouts from that company and its successor R. J. Renolds. WW1 & 2 gas masks also used asbestos in the filter elements.

[@izzzzzz6]

Millions of tonnes of these mined over thousands of years. Where is it all now?

[@ChrisRalph]

its spread all over the place!

[@sojh17]

Is proustite similar to Realgar? I got a sample recently but I can’t tell the precautions I should take when displaying/handling

[@ChrisRalph]

They are not the same, but both have arsenic in them, both can be toxic. Lots of minerals are red in color. Wash your hands carefully if you handle proustite. Don't breathe any dust if you crush it. However it will not evaporate into the air if it is just sitting there.

[@sojh17]

Awesome @@ChrisRalph , thank you for the reply! I was wondering if I needed to get some sealed glass chamber for it or something there. I may still get some kind of glass case, but in the meantime will handle with gloves and wash my hands thoroughly if I handle it.

[@kimberleymezo5972]

I had a yellow uranium rock in my house next to me for 4 weeks. I brushed it off, clean it with running water too. What is the chance i did any harm to me. And should i notify my doctor about it. 😅😅

[@ChrisRalph]

as long as you didnt drink the water you washed it off with, you should be OK.

[@xxdeckxxdumanyan7413]

You can place that uranium rock in glass jar and keep it at home and it would completely safe.

[@KillaKiRawBeats]

Thorium is better of a radiation for nucular energy than uranium isnt it?

[@ChrisRalph]

No, it's not. Thorium requires irradiation with neutrons before it can be used.

[@stevenuzzell7980]

But smoking hasn't that much and makes the hairs in your lungs not work right. My father asked a doctor about it and he said if didn't smoke the asbestos wasn't too dangerous. Did say my dad was a carpenter and sawed asbestos with a skilsaw.

[@ChrisRalph]

You should sue the doctor for malpractice.

[@stevenuzzell7980]

But dad didn't sie from cancer

[@GeigerCheck]

Thank you. I didn't know about stibnite and I needed to know that.

[@ChrisRalph]

I'm glad it was helpful.

[@rayonreid-ws2ym]

Very educational 👊🏾👍🏾.

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@harrymorant666breaker4]

Mate thank you super star for thee lesson and come to australia my friend and find gold sir wen your notto busy sir much respect have a wonder full day

[@ChrisRalph]

No worries - I want to come to Australia again - I was there 10 years ago in WA for 6 weeks.

[@harrymorant666breaker4]

Awesome im in victoria in thee golden triangle and would have so much fun looking for gold with you my friend wen you make your next visit sir have a wonerfull day sir

[@freelancerider100]

I've found a deposit of what looks like iron pyrite but it has a different structure and cleavage. Has an red hue to it when exposed to peroxide. Any tips on identifying paladium?

[@ChrisRalph]

Please watch my video on how to identify platinum group minerals - see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4XVZZiZjdikhLs

[@altonlynch5464]

I uses my "Simon & Schuster's guild to Rocks and Minerals" to help identify rocks. I have another one that is a little better but I think my friend borrowed that one.

[@ChrisRalph]

That is a good book to help identify rocks and minerals.

[@djmvremix2964]

this video is very informative wow now i know 😊 thank you

[@ChrisRalph]

Glad it was helpful!

[@stevenhart9004]

Chris that was fascinating. A friend & i went gold & mineral hunting in old gold, copper & lead fields recently in central QLD. Soon after our exploration of an old mine & smelter my friend has become quite sick & broken out with random welts across his body. I am wondering if he has somehow become contaminated while we were scratching around in endless minerals, some of which look like the minerals you described. We found lots of what we thought was pyrite but much is fine & silver colored & ive realized these might be other minerals & not pyrite.

[@ChrisRalph]

Of course I am not a doctor, but what you say seems like a real possibility.

[@mreu4558]

Cool to hear to talk about asbestos in California. You’re talking about CAM. Crazy place is the asbestos storage room where the high grade is kept. I helped close that and last uranium mine

[@ChrisRalph]

Interesting.