20 Most Dangerous Minerals in The World

It might seem crazy, but rocks can be deadly - and not only when they fall on your
head. No, there are so many imaginative ways to die from things in the natural world,
you’ll be amazed. Lick the wrong rock and you’re a goner. So, before you head out to
fondle a few minerals, best arm yourself with a little more information. You never
know what might be capable of making you dead.
From radioactive rocks available on Ebay, to shiny jewels stuffed with deadly arsenic,
here are 20 of the Most Dangerous Minerals in the World!

[jeffreyplum]

My grandfather was a coal miner. He suffered from Black Lung. This condition was caused by a build up of dust from coal mining. Even relatively harmless coal can sicken or kill if inhaled as dust. That is why mordern mining and rock drilling controls the resulting dust much more than in the past. We all may return to dust, but no need to hurry things. God bless you all.

[robertbrandywine]

My father had a job that sent him on expeditions with geologists. He'd pick up samples of things. He had about a 1 cubic foot square of asbestos and kept it next to the fireplace. As kids, we enjoyed occasionally holding a piece in the fire. He also brought home a 5 pound block of uranium that he stored just outside my bedroom. We also cleaned grease off our hands with leaded gasoline. Somehow, I lived through all of this.

[jo]

I love how he says how dangerous a rock is right after a shot of someone holding in their bare hands!!!!

[_Jitterbug]

"Are there any rocks trying to kill us?"
Short answer: "Yes. Earth."

[bipolarspock]

You forgot the most dangerous rock that is found everywhere you look depending on your location…..CRACK ROCK!

[kathyyoung]

I'm a Rock Hound and I got em All. And there All Raw Rock's. Been collecting since I was 8 year's old and I'm 65 now. Hell I'm still collecting Rock's from all over the world.

[ralphralpherson]

Dont scare kids away from mineral collectings, its an awesome hobby. Within 10 feet of where I now sit (my computer) is my mineral cabinet and I have probably at least 1/3rd of these minerals in there. I definitely have lots of quartz, and samples of stibnite, torbernite, arsenopyrite, fluorite, feldspar (all kinds, plagioclase, orthoclase, Labradorite, Andesine, etc...) and several you did NOT mention including uranophane and autunite. I feel like you really exaggerated some of the dangers.
Kids, there is ZERO danger associated with keeping some quartz or fluorite crystals around. Heck, you can lick them and be just fine. The arsenic containing arsenopyrite is fine to keep in your collection as long as you follow precautions. Why? because the arsenic is locked into iron arsenic sulfide, and so it is not as dangerous as in its pure form. However do not break or heat the rock, do not handle excessively and just wash your hands if you do, and you'll be fine. The best case is to keep your arsenopyrite sample in a plastic viewing box and just leave it there. As long as you aren't careless with it, you'll be fine. I also have a crystal of cinnabar and that is the only one I really will NEVER handle, mercury poisoning is pretty bad so I just don't take chances, but I have no problem keeping the sample in its little plastic case to show people. As long as it's not in its pure state, and is kept in a case, murcury is much more likely to fall out of your dental amalgum filling, or thimerosal in vaccines, or if you break an old timey thermometer. ((and it is thought that the small amounts in amalgum and vaccines is "generally" safe... but you make your own mind up there))

Many of the "hot rocks" out there which are radioactive can safely be kept in collections by simply putting them under glass and not handling them often. I have plenty of hot rocks just under glass (which will stop most alpha and beta decay, the gamma emitters are the ones you really need to be careful with, but even then remember the inverse square law, even a few feet away you greatly diminish your exposure.) The real danger with hot rocks is radon accumulation over time, so you want to vent your specimens with the windows open every so often and keep small samples. Don't wear them as jewelry and you'll be just fine.

[nicholasgarrett]

You may as well include table salt on the deadly list, as the elemental components when separate are super poisonous. Fluorite belongs on this list just as much as plain salt crystals!
With half the list being asbestos variants, I'm really wondering why I watched to the end of the list...

[yojimbe]

The most beautiful things can be the most toxic. I feel this applies to dating as well.

[benflips]

Dude I am dead serious, feldspar is literally part of all sorts of types of igneous rocks which will likely be in your backyard. If you have granite countertops, there’s feldspar in it! I have feldspar in my collection and it’s 100% safe.

[knutritter]

M. Sc. of chemistry here: Almost ALL minerals presented in this video are harmless and I would not lick on them (and I do not know anyone who would). And almost all of "the most toxic" you could actually lick. They hardly dissolve in water... kind of homeopathic solution.... 😂

The only ones I have trouble with are all the asbestos-type minerals and maybe the one containing beryllium. The copper sulfate would have a really bad taste! 😂 Even the radioactive one is easy to handle and I would love to put it on a table in my living room (with some transparent glass-shelter around it.

[zakosist]

Asbestos actually look creepy. I think it's a warning sign if a mineral looks flaky

[IVANHOECHAPUT]

What this video taught me:

As a part of a radio show challenge, people were asked to drink as much water as they could. The winner, a young girl drank a considerable amount - then died.

Therefore, please refrain from drinking water as it CAN cause death!

[TubeRadiosRule]

Galena crystals used to be used as a crude semiconductor in early radios (known as "crystal sets").

[Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

There was an asbestos mine near my home in Northern Ontario. It was closed in the 70’s when the danger from the mineral was disclosed. In my public school, the pipes in the classrooms were insulated with asbestos. Bored kids would peel off the paper covering and play with the fibres. Who knew?

[Arsupal]

I'm a geologist and i know some minerals are considered dangerous but it's if your exposed to it everyday... touching it or standing next to it wont do anything

[karleenpage]

Asbestos is NOT legal in the US! My son got his license for asbestos removal over 20 years ago. It is NOT used in insulation any more, although it is true that it may be present in older buildings. I'm not sure where you got your info, but it is inaccurate.

[rogthegoodboy]

If these were all really that dangerous I'd be dead long ago 😂

[rjoejohns]

Wohhh!! This is all so scary, I may never be able to touch a rock again 😳. But what is even more amazing, is the fact that the two deadlliest rocks in the world that have caused the deaths of more people all throughout history than all of these rocks combined, were not mentioned. GOLD and DIAMONDS, and they didn't even make the list lol. But thanks for the video, I may now be too traumatized to ever walk out amongst nature again. I might have to move to a big city where it's safe 😳. On a side note, most these rocks are less toxic to lick, than the cereals I eat 😂

[Jimigunneful]

Asbestos, asbestos, asbestos. Around ten of them were just varieties of this mineral. Should have mentioned asbestos ONCE and mention these several varieties.