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Introducing Myself, the Newest Team Member at RadioactiveRock.com

Dec 9

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I am excited to join RadioactiveRock.com and finally share the world I have been living in for years. My name is Jake. I am a Montana based collector, lapidary hobbyist, and long time radioactive mineral enthusiast who keeps stumbling into stranger, brighter, and hotter specimens than I ever expect to find. If it glows under UV, chirps on a detector, or comes out of a forgotten corner of the Rockies, there is a good chance I have collected it, cut it, or traded something unusual for it.


My background mixes field experience, geology obsession, and scientific curiosity. I am a veteran, a graduate in biology and natural history, and a student of occupational health and safety with a strong interest in radiation science. I have spent many years learning the difference between rumor and reality in mineral collecting. My goal here is to make that knowledge accurate, accessible, and enjoyable for anyone who loves these materials.


I also run PawnshopGeology, a project built around the idea that science hides in unexpected places. Pawn shops, thrift stores, estate sales, mine dumps, gem club workshops. These are the environments where rare finds appear and where the best stories begin. I collect radioactive minerals, fluorescent calcites, Butte sulfides, photoreactive glass, uranium glass, and anything that behaves strangely under UV light. My home display has grown into a full mineral case with specimens from Montana, Utah, the Czech Republic, New Mexico, Washington, New Hampshire, and more.


Display case with glowing fluorescent radioactive rocks under UV light. Labels identify each mineral. Signs read "Pawnshop Geology." Dark background.
Jake's 'Hot Box'

Here at RadioactiveRock.com you can expect articles on the following topics.

  • How to identify uranium minerals and what makes them glow

  • Safe collecting practices based on real radiation science

  • Field stories, trades, and behind the scenes adventures

  • Deep dives into specimens from my own collection

  • Lapidary projects that involve hot material

  • Pawnshop and thrift geology finds that challenge expectations


I believe radioactive minerals deserve scientific respect and a sense of wonder. They are beautiful, complex, and rooted in deep geological history. If you are here to learn, explore, or enjoy the glow, I am glad to have you with me.


Up next is a full deep dive into a polished uraninite slab from Tunney’s Pasture, a Cold War research site in Canada that produced some of the rarest and most unusual uranium specimens in private collections today. This is not a mine and not a traditional locality. It is a place with a history, a mystery, and a story worth telling. Time to open the case and begin writing.


Stay curious, stay safe, and keep your detectors chirping.

Dec 9

2 min read

3

83

4

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Comments (4)
Rob
Rob
Dec 10

Jake! Looking forward to your postings. Based on this one... I can't wait to see what's next.


Great display by the way. What about the rocks do you document beyond specimen, location etc. Anything about the radioactive aspects? Do you record activity? Spectra? etc.


All the best and Merry Christmas!

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Jake
Dec 10
Replying to

Hi Rob, thank you. I appreciate the kind words. I document each specimen with both mineral data and radiation data, and that includes CPS or CPM, detector type, distance, and UV reactivity. I also use the Radiacode, so spectrum analysis is absolutely on the table. I plan to incorporate full gamma spectra into future write ups so readers can see not only how a specimen behaves, but why it behaves that way.

Most of my pieces get photographed under multiple wavelengths and angles, and I track alteration textures, associated minerals, and any features worth highlighting for collectors or researchers. The idea is to build a clear and repeatable record for each specimen.

More posts are already in progress. Merry Christmas to you as well.

Stay curious, stay safe, and keep your detectors chirping.

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Peter
Dec 10

What a great read!! AND a stunning collection. When did you first develop the interest in collecting rocks?

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Jake
Dec 10
Replying to

Thank you, Peter. I appreciate that a lot. My interest in collecting rocks started when I was a kid. My dad loved the outdoors, and he was always willing to take me places most kids never saw. Old trails, forgotten cuts in the hillside, riverbeds that looked ordinary to everyone else but were full of hidden stories. He never rushed me, and he always encouraged curiosity. If something caught my eye, we stopped and looked at it until the questions made sense.

That early mix of exploration and patience stayed with me. It followed me through my military years, through my studies in biology and natural history, and now through my work in occupational health and radiation science. Radioactive minerals captivated me because they bring together geology, physics, and history in a way that feels alive. Every specimen has a story, and I enjoy documenting those stories here so others can follow along.

Thank you again for reading and for the kind words. More articles are on the way.

Stay curious, stay safe, and keep your detectors chirping.

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